by Katherine Ziff “The plants are calling you. They have a rich and diverse vocabulary and speak in many tongues…the plants are calling us now, asking for help. The wild gardens are in trouble, and the precious medicines of the earth are being lost.“ — Rosemary Gladstar, 2000 What inspires stewardship of Earth’s medicinal plants? …
by Shantree Kacera In the last decade, especially the previous year or two, the field of herbalism has been shifting—the consciousness of both herbalists and the general public has changed as our climate and landscapes have around the whole world. The shift to looking through the eyes of our ecological selves has come more into …
Read moreShifting the Paradigm: Consciousness in Plant Medicine
by Dr. Michele Devlin The population of rural America is changing very quickly due to the global economy, new labor needs, and an influx of refugees and immigrants to work in meatpacking, agriculture, and related fields. Nearly 200 languages are now spoken even in small states like Iowa, and some rural towns are quickly becoming …
Read moreRural America: The New Global Heartland for Traditional Medicinal Plants
Republished with permission of IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature The latest update to The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ saw Goldenseal classified as “Vulnerable” on The IUCN Red List in a move that highlights concerns about the medicinal plant’s decline. The IUCN Red List (www.iucnredlist.org) now includes 87,967 different wildlife species, of …
Reprinted with permission of Matt Candeias, In Defense of Plants When we think about long lived plants, our minds tend to fixate on bristlecone pines (Pinus longaeva), coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), or that clonal patch of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in Utah. What would you say if I told you that we can add a …
by Ruth Davis Plants are often introduced into my garden by a share from a friend. Sometimes it is only a fond memory shared that sends me on a search for the plant itself. This is the case with the chinquapins. My mother spent her childhood in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and …
Read moreLessons on Stewardship: Chinquapins, Chiggers, and Indian Pipes
by Erika Galentin, MNIMH, RH (AHG) The Elephant in the Room Define sustainability. “Sustainability” is a not-so-new term floating around the shelves of our global economy, hot on the tongue of marketers and advertisers ready to sell us the next best thing to organic. Within the natural products industry, “sustainability” is a concept that appears …
Read moreLEARNING TO DEFINE SUSTAINABILITY: LESSONS FOR ESSENTIAL OIL CONSUMERS
by Melody Wright The cultivation of medicinal herbs using regenerative agriculture methods can be as vital as conservation and education in meeting United Plant Savers’ goals. Herb farmers have the ability to cultivate some of the UpS “At-Risk” or “To-Watch” species, potentially reducing pressure on wild populations, as well as grow and promote alternatives to …
by Laurie Quesinberry Unlike ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum multiflorum) sells for very little to a local root broker. However, its tendency to grow in thick patches and being easy to dig makes it a poacher’s gold mine. These plants were once found in abundance along the meandering roadsides of my area. As a …
by Miranda Grizio At the northwest corner of Nepal, bordering Tibet, lies Nepal’s Humla District. This remote district is known for its Tibetan villages and Buddhist way of life in a majority Hindu country. Medicinal plants are the first line of treatment for most villagers here as a part of their tradition of Tibetan medicine. …
Read moreHumla Fund: Wild Medicinal Plant Conservation in Nepal’s Humla Valley