Heather Sage has always been drawn to the microcosm, with an unquenchable curiosity and affection for the insect, plant and fungi kin who – if not actively reviled or mined for their use – often go unnoticed. In addition to being a current ESHM student, she is also a Forrest Yoga teacher and myofascial release bodyworker. She believes that at the juncture of inner and outer ecology is a fertile zone of exploration where the integration and healing we seek abide. In her clinical practice, she has a particular affinity for working with Lyme disease, digestive disorders, and emotional healing.

 

Motherwort: Learn from the mother’s herb

Genus and Species: Leonurus cardiaca

Family: Lamiaceae/Labiatae

Common names: Motherwort, Lion’s Tail, Heartwort

Energetics: Relaxing, astringent, warming

Properties: Sedative, diaphoretic, nervine (relaxant), cardiac tonic, uterine tonic, uterine stimulant and tonic, emmenagogue, antidepressant, hepatic [Read more…]

Dave Jeffries is a chef, wildcrafter, and student of the Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine.  He also does a garden work-study here at Wellspring Mountain.

Genus and Species: Polygonum cuspidatum (formerly Fallopia japonica)

Family: Polygonaceae (Buckwheat family)

Common Names: Japanese Knotweed, Hu Zhang, Tiger Cane, Itadori, Fleeceflower, Monkeyweed, “thuggish” (Newsweek), “thug” (The Guardian), “tarmac-smashing thug” (The Telegraph).

Taste: The young shoots are distinctly sour and tart, crunchy, juicy and mucilaginous, piercingly acidic– redolent of rhubarb, but there is a petrichor quality, and none of rhubarb’s sweetness. It resembles asparagus spears, only more fierce and exotic, its stem flecked with a sanguine red and its tip and nodes bloodstained. [Read more…]