“Each tree, each shrub, and herb, down even to the grasses and mosses, agreed to furnish a remedy for some one of the diseases [of humankind] and each said: “I shall appear to help man whenever he calls upon me in his need.”—oral teachings of the Cherokee Nation (as quoted in Stephen Buhner’s Herbal Antibiotics, p 157.
I believe this to be true. The God I believe in loves His children and has given us what we need to be healthy, including options in the way of treating diseases that don’t require selling a kidney or a firstborn child. (Of course, a nutritious diet and exercise, good hygiene and sanitation go a long way towards maintaining optimal health.)
The God I believe in is also a God of order. He has organized this planet so that the herbs we need to treat disease grow near us, not on a different continent. For that reason, we really need to learn what exactly grows around us.
As is often the situation, medicinal herbs happen to be invasive weeds or plants. Just consider the plants in this short list:
Mints—peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, catnip. Gardeners are always cautioned to plant these in pots to keep them from overtaking the garden.
Japanese honeysuckle, Japanese barberry, and Oregon grape are fairly well behaved in desert conditions but apparently spread like wildfire in moister climates.
Raspberries and blackberries—who hasn’t heard about the phenomenal lengths some people go to in order to contain or eradicate these plants?
Dandelions? You get the picture.
Tumbleweeds, also known as Russian thistle, have some medicinal uses.
Usnea, a lichen growing on weakened trees, is a top antibiotic.
The list goes on and on.
As I sat in bed pondering the quote above, I got to wondering about some of the other invasives the government ecologists get worked up about in Nevada. The way the news media presents the threat of these weeds, well, you’d think it was worse than the zombie apocalypse. Of course, when you think about trying to eradicate tumbleweeds or dandelions from your yard, maybe it is.
Anyway, Nevada has a few invasives that have caught the government’s attention and that if not controlled, will probably ruin our state’s and even our nation’s economy. (Because our decline couldn’t have anything to do with legalized gambling, prostitution, drug use, homosexuality, cut-and-paste families, or endless unemployment checks.)
So I looked up a few of our invasives, just to see if there was anything to learn.
Cheatgrass is a hated weed here. My husband can’t say enough bad about it. It is used to relieve chest pains.
Isatis, dyer’s woad, a top antiviral, made Nevada’s most wanted list this year. Like a murder suspect, its image was posted on one of the electronic billboards in Elko, with a phone number to call, so I knew it was around somewhere. I had planned to hike up into the canyon looking for it and had my daughter find some images of the flower online to help me identify it in the field. Fortunately, she also pulled up images of the seed pods. A field at the end of my street is filled with it.
According to government officials, tall whitetop was going to devastate Nevada’s agriculture a few years back. But we’re still here and so is it. It is used to treat liver, skin, heart, and kidney issues.
Spotted knapweed has been on the hit list for a while and should be appearing on billboards soon. It has historically been used to treat jaundice, venomous bites, and skin sores.
Invasives, by their nature, reproduce well and spread prolifically, particularly where they are not wanted. God has given us these plants to help us in times of need. But we need to prepare in advance. Medicinal herbs are generally most easily identified when they are in flower. They may be next to impossible to locate in the fall or winter unless you tag them.
Before things totally collapse, put the Native American saying to the test, especially while we still have the internet and smartphones to help with plant identification. Learn the medicinal uses of the plants that are growing near you. Chances are there is some really good stuff. Even if you don’t need it, someone around you might. And you might learn of some alternative food sources in the process. Cheatgrass, tall whitetop, and spotted knapweed can all be used as food. You know, for those who chose not to store real food.
08.14.23
And who has the most to gain from making these weeds "Public enemy number one"? Besides evil, the pharmaceuticals.
ReplyDelete