Plantain (Plantago major)
Plantain is known as the bandaid plant and is one of the most astringent herbs in existence. Astringency tightens tissue, either drawing things out and/or drying things up. Plantain is a common external remedy used in spit poultices on bee stings and bug bites, in anti-itch formulas, and even in poultices to draw out stones from road burn. Internally, plantain can help to dry up diarrhea and to tighten up leaky-gut tissue. Plantain is also a bitter herb which can assist with getting those digestive juices flowing.
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Herbalism
as
the
People's Healthcare!



​
​Basic herbal knowledge for self-care is a human right, a need embedded in our evolutionary DNA, and all the more vital in a time of decreasing healthcare and increasing healthcare discrimination!
​I created Online Herbal Summer Camp because I’m passionate about health justice and about herbalism as “the people’s healthcare”!

Health justice seeks to not just bridge gaps in accessibility, but to dismantle systems of oppression in favor of new ways of doing things that provide open access to all.

Once upon a time, all of our ancestors lived in harmony with the land, depending on it for sustenance and nurturing it as it nurtured and nourished them. If they had a cut they knew which herb to pick. They knew what plant to turn to for an upset stomach or indigestion. Rashes and bug repellants were at their finger tips. In fact, etnobotanists have found that chamomile was one of the very first crops ever planted, suggesting that herbal knowledge extended back into the paleolithic era. We quite literally evolved to live in harmony with nature, using herbs!

Unfortunately, systems of oppression, genocide, capitalism, and patriarchy have pushed aside the common plant knowledge and self-healing-wisdom our ancestors carried. Traditional healers were burned or hung as witches. Women were forbidden from practicing medicine. People were stollen from their land and forced into slavery on another continent. Whereas land had once been their joy and sustenance, it now became a tool of torturous oppression at the hands of those who cared nothing about harmony with the land and cared everything about capitalism. Natives here were driven from their home lands, their hunting and gathering grounds. Their medicine and their spirituality were one, and yet their religion was outlawed in the US until the 1970's (yes, despite a constitutional freedom of religion!) resulting in deep losses of healing wisdom. Native children were forced from their families into residential schools in a system of cultural genocide.  Through it all, systemic racism and oppression became the backbone of where our culture is at today. The Civil Rights Movement and other moves for freedom have only begun to address these issues.

As a result, few people today know the power of plants, and fewer still have access to this knowledge and the wellness it provides. The way our culture is set up at present, especially here in the United States, herbalism is an expensive, out-of-pocket, alternative healthcare modality that’s available only for those who are privileged enough to know about and to afford such things. This is further complicated by the fact that we are at times using indigenous and traditional remedies that have been lost to and are no longer affordable to the very people whose cultures we robbed them from!

Again... health justice seeks to not just bridge gaps in accessibility, but to dismantle systems of oppression in favor of new ways of doing things that provide open access to all.

Online Herbal Summer Camp - and my other seasonal online herbal workshops - are an attempt to build a new container or system capable of providing widespread access to basic herbal knowledge.

Research shows that most folks in the developed world have internet access via smart phones and even more via libraries or internet cafes. Even in the developing world many people have internet access. By offering these workshops online, they become accessible to English speakers worldwide. Last year there were participants from 6 continents!

​But what about cost? I offer these workshops on a sliding scale basis to make them affordable to most everyone. In the future, I'd like to explore scholarship and/or grant opportunities that can further bridge the gap for people from other nations. I'd also like to partner with herbalists from other nations to offer a similar structure but with herbs that might be more easily accessible in other nations/climates. If you are an herbalist interested in this work, do let me know! And if you know more about grants for such work, I'm all ears!

By participating in all four seasonal workshops, participants gain a wide body of basic knowledge empowering them to use herbs for themselves and their families - and a foundation of knowledge on which they can easily build further, should they choose to.

Online Herbal Summer Campwww.rebeccagraceandrews.com/online-herbal-summer-camp.html - participants learn herbs, recipes and techniques for basic herbal first aid.

Online Herbal Harvest Fest - we cover basic herbs, recipes, and techniques for immune fortification and cold and flu symptoms.

Online Herbal Winter Retreat - this session focuses on herbs and recipes for mood boosting, sleep, and exquisite self-care - an R&R session.

Online Herbal Spring Awakening - in the spring we cover herbs for rejuvenation, cleansing, and energy - following the burst of new life around us.

Each session is 4 weeks in length and held online, on a private Facebook page which provides an online room to chat, post photos, request feedback, and network with others in one's corner of the world as well as with folks around the world. I post a few fun herbal quizzes and conversation starters as well as the course info.

On Mondays the herbal info goes out - PDF info files and sometimes instructional videos. This year we'll also be making use of the live Facebook video feature! In addition to the Monday herbal info, Wild Wednesdays focus on nature connection and bonding around sharing of photos and art inspired by one's time in nature. Finally, each week there are special activities just for the sweet children amongst us - for they are our future! 💕

Helena has loved animals since infancy and been working with me with herbs for several years now. She wanted to combine these two loves. 

www.PawsforHerbs.com is her new website! I'm so proud of her!

And here she PUBLISHED an article on how she used herbs to help our recently rescued canine sweetie Lilly. 

Finally, she's started a YouTube channel to teach herbal skills and knowledge for animal herbalism. 

Interested in an herbal consultation for your furry friend? Contact us at [email protected] :) 

​Here, families enjoy lunch on the second level of the treehouse, and enjoy their hike through the Bioreserve. I tried to only post photos here that don't give away the identity of the families since I forgot to ask permission to post photos. 

This was a rare treat! Most ash trees in NYS have been destroyed by the Emerald Ash Borer!! They used to be prolific in NY and were used to make baseball bats. I didn't think to ask how or why this one has managed to survive unscathed. 

Two kinds of bittersweet grow locally, American bittersweet or Celastrus scandens and Oriental (Chinese) bittersweet or Celastrus orbiculatus. The American vine grows quite tall, but it does not take over other plant species in the way that the Oriental variety does.

​In the first photo above, you can see the vine twisting and creeping along. It had a long end extending beyond the host plant, seeking out another host plant. Dennis and kids had fun wrapping it around a neck - vicious strangling species that it is haha!!

In the second photo you can see bittersweet trailing up a host tree, and in the third photo above you can see the results of its growth on a tree. It compresses the bark, strangling it almost, and causes the tree trunk to grow in those twisty patterns that look like it was squeezed out of a soft icecream maker. Dennis said he had torn the vines off that tree in a previous year. 

Both bittersweets have berries containing seeds that the birds, especially the blue birds, enjoy. The vines with their golden and red berries also make beautiful autumn wreaths. But if you're going to plant it, make sure you get the American species! 

Another vine that grows on a host, but is NOT invasive and does not hurt its host.. wild grapes. They abound here in NY and make excellent Tarazan-like swings for kids to enjoy.

Phragmitis are another invasive species here in NY, a common marsh grass that was introduced into the area and has taken over. They alter the biochemistry of marsh waters, push out other native plant species, and even alter what animals can live in the marsh. But here? Here is a brilliant use of the species, to make a wilderness survival shelter, weaving them between support posts. The Bioreserve is also home to a local wilderness school. Ths low shelter was then topped with longer branches/saplings and covered with leaves and/or more interwoven reeds or a tarp. The wilderness school kids sleep out in it! 

In a previous post I talked about my discovery of the Mayapple and gave more information on it. Those photos showed it in flower. It was fun to return to the Bioreserve several weeks later and see the early yellow/green fruit. At this stage, the fruit is poisonous. It ripens and is edible, but, as noted before, Dennis says the critters get to most of them before he does. 

A large beech with a smaller one growing beside it  - or "beech and son of a beech" as Dennis, the perpetual jokester, put it. He also pointed out how this is one of the few trees locally with a smooth bark trunk. He asked the kids which part of the bark contains live cells, pointing out that our skin is all alive, but the outer bark of a tree is not. Kids guessed the middle of the tree's bark. I called Helena over from a tree she was climbing, and she knew the answer: the ring right beneath the bark called the cambium is alive. I explained to everyone how the rings we count on trees are not just there for our counting convenience, but mark where, each year, the nutrients have travelled up the tree, right below the surface of the bark. Helena and I learned this from the biology textbook she requested. She's my little scientist. I guess I'd never thought previously about *why* a tree had rings to count! Of course, being the perpetually curious unschooler that she is, Helena then wanted to know how long it takes for a cycle of nutrients to travel up the bark from the roots to the top leaves and for nutrients gathered in the leaves through photosynthesis to travel down the middle of the trunk back to the bottom of the tree. Good ole' Google has failed us on this one, so if you know the answer, do tell!! 

The Bioreserve contains some amazing examples of Ginkgo biloba. Dennis explained that Ginkgo is not really a tree, but you can see, from the image of him looking for seeds to show the kids in front of the Ginkgo, that it sure *looks* like a tree. It's HUGE! But apparently Ginkgo is not an angiosperm, instead containing an odd plant sperm that has the ability to swim. Due to this and other factors, Ginkgo is in a class of its own. Literally. In fact, Ginkgo also has its very own phylum of which it is the singular plant in it! Here is its taxonomy for those interested. 

In the fourth picture above, Dennis is pointing out another distinctive feature of Ginkgo: its leaves grow directly off of the trunk rather than on branches or stems of their own.

Ginkgo samples have been found dating back over three million years in China, if Wikipedia is at all reliable. In any case, it was around with the dinasaurs, making it one of our oldest surviving plant species. Dennis explained that it has outlasted every parasite and pest and is extremely hardy. 

He also told us that when people first started importing it as an ornamental for its exotic shaped foliage, they didn't know the difference between female and male species. In fact, when the plant is young you can't tell - except with lab work that didn't exist back in the 19th century. Eventually it became quite useful to differentiate and only import male species. In fact, that's all you can buy today at a plant nursery. Why? The female produces a fruit that has a very unpleasant, pungent odor! The Bioreserve is one of the few places around (maybe the only?) that has both male and female species. As a result, it abounds in itty, bitty, baby Ginkgos! (Is it ok if I think they're cute?!) In the fifth photo above is a sprouting Ginkgo seed and in the sixth photo are a few of the many Ginkgo babies.

In addition to being an ancient and just plain cool survivor, Ginkgo biloba is also highly medicinal. Maybe its ancient wisdom helps us to live and survive in this world. Touted as "the brain herb" it's great for memory, Alzheimers, dementia, Raynaud's symptom, anxiety, glaucoma, and more. 

The thorns on this tree were just massive!! GASP!

Needless to say, the kids found the thorns pretty cool! 

My daughter Helena pictured in the front here brought back a leaf all folded up and sewn together with some sort of insect webbing. Inside was a bit of what looked sort of like dryer lint. It turned out, under the miscroscope, to be super spongy. In the bottom photo above, she's fascinated by poking it and watching the effect on the big screen. We don't know what the spongy stuff was, but at this age it's just great that the kids are excited about exploring and discovering, having a blast with science, fascinated by the invisible world. The fact that many microscopes were hooked up to large computer monitors was really amazing, because the kids were able to explore together.

One of the kids brought back this leaf to better examine the little red spore thing sticking out of it. That was pretty cool magnified, but nothing compared to what else was found. On the edge of the leaf were microscopic hairs, and on the edge of one of those hairs was a little microscopic creature. Click on this link here to view it on video. While it goes in and out of focus, it's short and you can really see the invisible critter co-existing with the leaf. And most fun of all... you can hear the excitment of discovery in everyone's voices!

Organizing the field trip was one of several parts of my volunteer work for this Field Botany class. It involved numerous hours of time in posting to the homeschool FB page to guage interest and a preferred day; checking that time with Dennis; posting a place where people could register; rescheduling for weather; and finaly the day of the fieldtrip itself, during which we spent about four hours at the Bioreserve exploring, learning, and sharing knowledge. 

Class competencies: 
Diversity: We viewed a great diversity of plant species on the Bioreserve fieldtrip. We also saw how various species imported into a new environment will act. This was especially interesting since the Corning Estate used to have extensive gardens and now was all growing mostly wild. Diversity was also seen back in the lab when we looked at the invisible single celled organism living on the leaf and examined pond water, jewelweed liquid, pinecones, ticks, and many other parts of the ecosystem. 

Innovation: Innovation was exhibited in finding the Bioreserve, organizing the field trip; and using both microscopes and field work to interest children in botany.

Stewardship: I think one of the things that stood out most to me was seeing the impact of the Oriental bittersweet and learning about how the phragmites can destroy an ecopsystem. This drove home the need for stewardship and healthy ecosystems. Also, I think anytime you get kids outside, loving and enjoying nature, you're doing great work for future stewardship and preservation!

Community: This field trip was intensely community oriented! I developed a relationship first with Dennis and then brought together homeschoolers from about an hour radius, some of whom knew each other and many who didn't, to the Bioreserve. We talked about what sort of learning experiences we'd like there in the fall, and I'll be further organizing a class or classes - either weekly in October and/or perhaps a monthly class. 

In conclusion, the Bioreserve fieldtrip was an amazing experience and garnered wide praise from numerous families. What I shared above is only touching on the surface of all that we saw and experienced. There was also an old orchard and white cedars grown ornamentally around the old estate now towering overhead. There were mulberry trees, wildflowers, and of course animals. There was talk of picking up on a study U. Albany had done in conjunction with the Bioreserve, looking at water quality flowing into two ravines, one where water drains off a highway and one with natural water flow. The water at the point of convergence would also be interesting to study. The Bioreserve is indeed a diverse place for learning in more ways than one!

​I'll leave you with one final picture, taken from my car window on the way out, of a cedar waxwing, enjoying a few underripe mulberries. 

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As herbalists, we’re all quite familiar with the idea that bitter herbs or herbal combinations known as “bitters” are a strong digestive aid. But how exactly does this work? What occurs in the body from the first taste of a bitter to the end result of increased digestion?

The process begins with transduction: the epithelial cells of our taste buds translate chemical stimuli into action potentials received by the brain. Each of our approximately 10,000 taste buds, most of which are on our tongue - but a few located in the cheeks, soft palate, pharynx and epiglotis - contains 50-100 epithelial cells that register and respond to the chemical molecules in our food (Crash Course A&P 16, n.d.)

In the taste buds, type 2 taste receptors join with G protein gustducin thereby detecting bitterness on the tonuge (Maehashi et al, 2008). In turn, phosphodiesterase is released activating secondary messengers of diglycerides (DAG) and IP3. IP3 is a molecule that transmits signals. Due to these secondary signals, potassium ion channels are closed, and a build up of potassium ions in the cell leads to the release of neurotransmitters to the brain (Maehashi et al, 2008 & Jacob, n.d.).

The neurotransmitters carry signals which are in turn received by the 7th, 9th, and 10th cranial nerves: the facial, glossopharyngeal, and vagus nerves (Crash Course A&P 16, n.d.). The gustatory area of the cerebral cortex makes sense of the bitter taste and begins to release digestive enzymes in the saliva and gastric juices in the stomach (Crash Course A&P 16, n.d.).

From an evolutionary standpoint, bitter foods were often poisonous. Even some of the bitters we eat have small amounts of phytochemicals that could be poisonous in larger amounts. For example, spinach, wood sorrel, chocolate - and in general many nightshade and cruciferous plants - all contain minute amounts of oxalic acid which at much larger amounts of 10-30 grams can cause kidney failure (CDC, 2014). Perhaps because of this potential for poison, bitters stimulate more production of digestive acids, saliva, bile, and digestive hormones and enzymes than other flavors (Mase, 2013). Additionally, bitters can lower blood sugar and signal the body that it is full. (Weil, 2014).

Specifically bitters stimulate the liver to produce bile. The production of bile not only allows the liver to function more thoroughly in cleansing the body but also helps to break down fats and make fat soluble nutrients more bioavailable (Weil, 2014).

From sensors on the tastebuds to secondary messenger molecules that stimulate neurotransmitters; from processing by the gustatory cortex to nervous system messages sent back to the digestive track: bitter flavors work along a complex pathway to stimulate digestion.


References:

CDC (2014). Oxalic acid: Immediately dangerous to life or health concentrations (IDLH). Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/idlh/144627.html


Crash Course A&P #16. Taste & smell. Retrieved from: https://curiosity.com/paths/taste-smell-crash-course-a-p-16-crash-course/#taste-smell-crash-course-a-p-16-crash-course


Jacob, Tim (n.d.). Taste (gustation). Retrieved from: http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staffinfo/jacob/teaching/sensory/taste.html

Maehashi, K., M. Matano, H. Wang, L. A. Vo, Y. Yamamoto, and L. Huang (2008). "Bitter peptides activate hTAS2Rs, the human bitter receptors". Biochem Biophys Res Commun 365 (4): 851–855. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.11.070. PMC 2692459. PMID 18037373

Weil, Andrew M.D. (2014). Why bitter is better. Huffington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/bitter-foods_b_5206909.html

Lavender for the Nervous System


Latin: Lavendula angustifolia (Elpel, 1997; Johnson et al, 2014).
Family: Lamiaceae
Parts Used: Aerial: Mostly flowers; sometimes leaves (Gladstar, 2014).
Common Forms: Essential oil, tea, tinctures (Winston & Maimes, 2007, p. 227-228).
Native To: Mediterranean region and Southern Europe (Castleman, 2009).
Energetics: Bitter, cooling or warming (Crowell, (Links to an external site.) n.d.); spicy, fragrant, mildly bitter, cool (Tierra, 1998, p. 151)
Actions: aromatherapeutic; Also antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, carminative, nervine, mildly nootropic, and antidepressant (Gladstar, 2014, p. 94; Winston & Maimes, 2007, p. 227; Tierra, 1998, p.151)

Common Uses: 
It is likely that many individuals are more familiar with lavender for its usage in the fragrance industry. The greatest commercial usage of lavender blossoms today is in perfume and perfumed products, with the essential oil of lavender containing over 150 different phytochemicals that contribute to its pleasing fragrance (Kowalchik et al, 1987, p. 350; Castleman, 2009, p. 302). Yet lavender is more than “just a pretty face” or aroma. Don’t be fooled by her delicate appearance, this gal has both beauty and brawn. She’s an aromatherapeutic powerhouse when it comes to treating anxiety and her purplish-blue flowers speak to her ability to calm the emotions (Culpepper, 2007; Tierra, 1998, p. 151).
Lavender’s nervine and nootropic qualities contributed to a variety of historical usages. Greek and Roman women clung to it for courage in childbirth (Gladstar, 2014, p. 93). In the Middle Ages, it was believed that sprinkling a lover’s head with lavender water would keep him or her faithful, and some even viewed it as an aphrodisiac. English farmers put sprigs under their hats to prevent sunstroke and headaches, and all over Southern Europe and the Mediterranean region people used it as an air-freshener in sachets and potpourris. Fusions and tinctures of it were used through the early 1900’s to cleanse wounds (Castleman, 2009, p. 300; Kowalchik et al, 1987, p. 350). It was also used for acne, fainting and dizziness, and muscle spasms. The 16th century British herbalist John Gerard wrote in his Herball, “It profiteth them much that have the palsy if they be washed with water of lavender flowers, or are anointed with the oil made from the flowers and olive oil” (Castleman, 2009, p. 301).
There have been multiple studies on the efficacy of lavender in relieving both situational and clinical anxiety. For starters, those ancient Greek and Roman women who clung to a sprig of lavender during childbirth exhibited intuitive wisdom not superstition. In a study of women in labor, 63 were randomly assigned to receive lavender aromatherapy while 58 were used as a control group (Mizraei et al, 2009). All of the women were first-time laboring mothers >37 weeks, 3-4 centimeters dilated, and with average anxiety levels at the start of labor. In the end, those mothers receiving lavender aromatherapy treatments while giving birth exhibited lower perceived anxiety, reduced plasma cortisol levels, and greater serotonin levels than women in the control group - demonstrating that lavender is an effective anti-anxiety remedy for birth. 
In another study, a lavender oil capsule called silexan was compared to the benzodiazepine lorazepam (Ativan) in a randomized adult population diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) (Schlafke et al, 2010). Baseline and six week measurements of anxiety were taken with the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. Researchers concluded that lavender oil capsules were equally effective to the benzodiazepine treatment but without the dangerous pharmaceutical side-effects.

Specific Indications:
In short, lavender is good for a pattern of anxiety or nervous exhaustion in which the person needs to be both relaxed (lowering stress hormones) but also strengthened to deal better with stress over the long-term. For example, a woman in childbirth needs to be relaxed to allow her body to open and birth with ease - but also needs strength for labor.

Lavender is a powerful nootropic that has been described as both stimulating and sedative (Winston & Maimes, 2007, p. 227; Culpepper, 2007, p. 110). One Chinese herbalist describes it as follows:  “Lavender is pungent, slightly bitter, and cooling or slightly warming. It is both stimulating and relaxing; it sinks the qi in the body and disperses it. Lavender is both restoring and astringing. Sounds a bit contradictory, doesn't it?” (Crowell, n.d.) Gladstar explains these seemingly paradoxical energetics pointing out that lavender has both the ability to relax a person while also giving them a felt sense of resilience (Gladstar, 2014, p. 93). Anxiety and depression are often comorbid; thus these qualities of lavender make synergistic sense. Yet even for an individual solely experiencing anxiety these opposing qualities are beneficial. Gladstar elaborates “It is one of the best herbs to use in herbal baths to relieve tension, stress, headaches, and insomnia. Used traditionally to imbue courage and strength, lavender is still a favorite herb to strengthen the heart and mind during stressful situations” (Gladstar, 2014, p. 93). It is not always enough to gain relief from the stress; lavender offers the courage to muster hope and move forward as well.
Dosage:
Lavender essential oil is very safe and diffusing it is an excellent way to obtain the calming yet fortifying aspects of lavender without actually ingesting it. 

• Diffuse 10 drops of pure lavender essential oil in an electric diffuser for 15 minutes at a time. Never diffuse for longer than 15 minutes. Essential oils are strong chemicals. While they are natural and while lavender is one of the safest, they can be toxic in high quantities.
• Alternately, put about 10 drops of pure lavender essential oil in a bath. 
• A lavender hydrosol is water leftover from processing the essential oil and provides a lower dosage of the phytochemicals in lavender. It’s a great aromatherapeutic choice for children.
• Finally, for a more traditional and less aromatherapeutic (but still pleasant smelling) dosage… A tincture or tea is a common herbalist’s recommendation for lavender intake. Winston & Maimes recommend a tincture (1:5) of 15-30 drops to be taken three to four times per day and Tierra recommends a similar 10-30 drops (Winston & Maimes, 2007; Tierra, 1998). Various infusions of one to three teaspoons of lavender per cup are also recommended (Castleman, 2009). 
  
  

References
Caslteman, Michael (2009). The New Healing Herbs (2nd ed). Rodale Press: Emmaus, PA. 
Crowell, April (n.d.). Lavender’s dynamic energetics. Retrieved from: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/lavenders-dynamic-energetics-0 (Links to an external site.)
Culpepper & Potterton, David (editor) (2007). Culpepper’s Color Herbal. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc: New York.
Gladstar, Rosemary (2014). Herbs for Stress & Anxiety: How to Make and Use Herbal Remedies to Strengthen the Nervous System. Storey Publishing: North Adams, MA.
Johnson, Rebecca & Foster, Steven & Low Dog, Tieraona M.D. & Kiefer, David M.D. (2014). National Geographic Guide to Medicinal Herbs. National Geographic Society for Barnes & Noble: Washington D.C.
Kowalchik, Claire & Hylton, William Editors. (1987). Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs. Rodale Press: Emmaus, PA. 
Mirzaei, Firoozeh & Keshtgar, Sara & Kaviani, Masoumeh & Rajaeiford, Abdoreza. (2009). The effect of lavender essence smelling during labor on cortisol and serotonin plasma levels and anxiety reduction in nulliparous women. Journal of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. 16(3). 
Schlafke, S. & Woelk, H. (2009). A multi-center, double-blind, randomized, study of the lavender oil preparation silexan in comparison to lorazepam for generalized anxiety disorder. Phytomedicine: International Journal of Phytotherapy & Phytopharmacology. 17(2). 
Tierra, Michael L.Ac., O.M.D. (1998). The Way of Herbs. Pocket Books: New York, NY. 
Wood, Matthew (1997). The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines. North Atlantic Books: Berkeley, CA.