Trapped in the Goddess’s Mousetrap
Our choice to highlight Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) on our 2021 Valentine's Day cards was inspired by the article, “Trapped in the Goddess’s Mousetrap: Equitable Solutions for Poverty Poaching of Venus Flytraps” by Katrina Outland (2018). This article dives into the legal aspects of both the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act as the main plant protection laws. Katrina points out that federal plant protection is sparse. An aspect of her in-depth research that ...
Making Plant Medicine Sustainable: From Wildcrafting to Organic Cultivation
Author: Ingrid Bauer. Five Flavors Herbs was founded with a vision to improve the health of people, the planet, and our communities by trusting the wisdom of nature. When we first began making herbal extracts 20 years ago, our audience was small, and we grew or wildcrafted many of the plants we used. We traveled up and down the West Coast to the same stands of wild plants each year: St. John's wort, osha, yerba ...
In the News: Ecological and Ethical Problems of ‘Smudging’
Sage advice: The ecological and ethical problems of 'smudging' Published on October 1, 2020 article by Taylar Dawn Stagner, provides important perspective on the wild sage harvest in California. Taylar Stagner is from the Wind River Indian Reservation and is currently getting her masters in American Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University. Stagner is Shoshone and Arapaho and loves to write fiction as well. High County News is a wonderful publication to follow and ...
Black Cohosh Cultivation & Growing Guide.
Originally published in The Forest Farmers Handbook: A Beginners Guide to Growing and Marketing At-Risk Forest Herbs by United Plant Savers & Rural Action (available here). Overview (Actaea racemosa)Ranunculaceae Black cohosh is a perennial species that is commonly found growing along forest edges and in deeply shaded forest interiors throughout eastern North America. Black cohosh plants can grow as a single or multiple stem, each with three compound leaves containing multiple serrated leaflets. Plants are ...
Bloodroot Cultivation & Growing Guide.
Originally published in The Forest Farmers Handbook: A Beginners Guide to Growing and Marketing At-Risk Forest Herbs by United Plant Savers & Rural Action (available here). Overview Bloodroot is one of the most iconic and well-known spring wildflowers found in the deciduous forests of eastern North America. As an ephemeral species, bloodroot is one of the first plants to emerge and bloom in the spring, thus ensuring sufficient time for plants to capture and store ...
Goldenseal Cultivation & Growing Guide.
Originally published in The Forest Farmers Handbook: A Beginners Guide to Growing and Marketing At-Risk Forest Herbs by United Plant Savers & Rural Action (available here). Overview Goldenseal is considered to be one of the most at-risk medicinal plants in the United States and is estimated to be at a high risk of extinction throughout its native range (Oliver, 2017). Goldenseal is typically found growing in densely clustered patches (Burkhart and Jacobson, 2006) on forested slopes, ...
Ramps Cultivation & Growing Guide
Originally published in The Forest Farmers Handbook: A Beginners Guide to Growing and Marketing At-Risk Forest Herbs by United Plant Savers & Rural Action (available here). Overview There are two species of ramps (Allium tricoccum and Allium burdickii) commonly found in the forests of eastern North America. These species are similar in physical appearance and flavor profile and will be simply referred to as “ramps” throughout this publication. Ramps are one of the first forest ...
