The Personal Materia Medica
Sharon July 31st, 2009
One of the projects I’ve been undertaking as I research herb growing and expand my body of knowledge is the development of my local Materia Medica – that is, what plants would I have to rely upon locally – ones I can grow well or wildcraft ethically – if I was unable to afford or locate others? I was inspired on this project by James Green’s list of 35 Herbs that he felt were sufficient to meet most needs. That’s great, and I’m all for it, but a lot of those don’t grow near me. I can purchase some of them and preserve them in tincture form, if they preserve well that way, but I want to be able to renew my resources. So I’ve set out to discover which herbs I can grow or find locally. I’m also researching which ones I might also be able to grow for sale locally as well.
Here’s my current list:
Alfalfa, Aloe (lives happily in a pot here), Angelica, Arnica (not A. Montana, but the less fussy native), Astragalus (although saving seed is somewhat challenging in this climate), Barberry, Bee Balm, Betony, Black Cohosh, Boneset, Borage, Burdock (got enough of this to provide blood thinning and anti-cancer benefits to billions of people, approximately 
), Calendula, California Poppy, Cardinal Flower, Catnip, Cayenne, Chamomile, Chickweed, Comfrey, Crampbark, Dandelion, Dill, Echinacea, Elderberries, Elecampane, Evening Primrose, Feverfew, Gayfeather, Goldenrod, Gotu Kola (tropical, but will overwinter indoors), Hawthorn, Hops (used to be a major crop around here), Horehound, Joe Pye Weed, Lady’s Mantle, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena (drops leaves a couple of times in the winter but is happy enough indoors), Lovage, Marshmallow, Meadowsweet, Milk Thistle, Mormon Tea (maybe, it hasn’t grown that much, but it did survive in pots), Motherwort, Mullein, Mugwort, Nettle, Oats, Oregano, Pennyroyal, Peppermint, Periwinkle, Plantain, Red Clover, St. John’s Wort, Sage, Self-heal, Shepherd’s purse, Sheep Sorrel, Skullcap, Spilanthes (won’t overwinter, but will set seed), Thyme, Uva Ursi, Valerian, Vervain, Violet, Willow bark, Wormwood, Yarrow.
I’m struck by what a long list that is, and how long it will take me to exhaust the possibilities of those many remarkable plants. I think it would be easy to get hung up on what you don’t have, but I suspect many of us have more than we think. Do you have a list?
Sharon
- herbs
- Comments(19)
Good list- you can also add many of the Chinese herbs to the list- they will grow up here in the far-north so should grow just about anywhere. At one point I had about 50 beds of different herbs growing including many of the Chinese medicinals.
I grow over 100 different medicinal herbs and use those growing around me in the small copse and 2 wildflower meadows I have access to. I’m still identifying new species every year. What’s mormon tea?
Mormon tea is one of several American species of ephedra, especially E. viridis; the American species contain little or no ephedrine and were mostly used for diarrhea, urinary problems, and venereal disease, and as a beverage.
My current list (based on fortuitous acquisitions and a few purchases) includes ephedra as well as two species of echinacea, St. John’s wort, yarrow, peppermint, chicory, dandelion, lavender (which has not yet survived a winter), a rather pathetic valerian, hyssop, a little shepherd’s purse, rue, chaste tree, black haw and meadowsweet (both new and not thriving), Roman chamomile, and American elderberry; plus pots with catnip, lemon balm, and pennyroyal, and a few culinary herbs like chives and basil. (We were recently asked by the neighbors if the chaste tree [Vitex agnus-castus, which has small, palmately compound, toothed leaves] was pot. No, the blue flowers are a tip-off – but thank you for asking yourself rather than having the asking done by heavily armed fedgoons.) This fits mostly in a strip <3 feet wide down one side of the yard, with plenty of space left to fill in.
I have plans to add more species as I go, but they must tolerate either shallow clay soil or small pots. Next desired acquisitions are Oregon grape, nettle, a thyme, a couple of Artemisia species, plus dual-use pumpkins, and raspberry if I can find a good place to keep it both alive and under control. Would really like to add a hawthorn and a Rhamnus species but we have a small yard with low power lines; we cannot have indoor houseplants thanks to the psycho-kitteh.
Grows prolifically: yarrow, peppermint, raspberry, garlic, thyme, lemon balm, bee balm, calendula, dandelion. Also growing: echinacea, spearmint, sage, lemon thyme, elderberry, wild rose, New Jersey tea, wintergreen, dill, chamomille, lavender (overwinters here in southern Ontario), sage, oregano and cayenne. Can forage: mullein, burdock, plantain, red clover. There’s probably a good number more things I can forage (and possibly collect seed from to grow in my yard), but I have to learn to identify them.
Not such a long list yet. We’ve, over the years, been lazy and thrown aspirin at most everything.
Well, we have on hand: Aloe (pot), Blackberry, Calendula, California Poppy, Cascara, Chamomile, Comfrey, Dandelion, Dill, Echinacea, Garlic, Hops Lavender, Lemon Balm, Mullein, Myrtle, Nettle, Oregano, Pennyroyal, Peppermint, Periwinkle, Plantain, Raspberry, Red Clover, Sage, Thyme, Willow bark, Yarrow.
Every year I add a few more.
This year I found mullein growing in my garden and was so pleased. Our wee one had an ear infection last year and we used antibiotics. But a friend told me about using mullein and garlic steeped in olive oil. So there is now a jar steeping on my window sill.
Bee balm is new to my garden this year.
Maybe you’ve already covered this, but I’m interested in finding some good books about herbs. Any recommendations?
Sharon, This is perfect timing! I’ve been trying to start with a list of everything we have growing here in our garden, north of Boston. And then list what I’d like to add in.
I’m pretty new at using herbs so, it will take me awhile to work my way through how to preserve and utilize all of what I’ve got growing now. But thanks for the nudge!
Great list – perhaps you could add a few foods to the list?
Chiles, for example, are great for colds and flu, and have anti-inflammatory properties. I make a hot chicken soup with chiles when anybody here is sick with a cold or flu and find it more efficacious than echinacea (which is a great tonic for other ills – I grow it.) I realize as a Jewish mom, you probably have your own chicken soup recipe.
I realize you live far north, but here in Wisconsin we’ve had a very cool summer and I’ve harvested more chiles than any other vegetable so far. That’s because I planted them in clay pots placed on pavers.
Also, I assume you grow raspberries? The leaves are supposed to be helpful for relieving nausea in pregnancy and reducing pain in childbirth.
Lorna, I can think of a few “favorite” herb books. A great one for telling you exactly how to prepare and use herbs, with wonderful pictures is Encyclopedia of “Natural Medicine” by Andrew Chevallier.
James Duke’s, “The Green Pharmacy” is the first herb book I ever bought and is starting to wear thin
I just purchased “The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers” (I also got Trees, there are more in this series even minerals and sea shell ID books, how cool is that?!) to help me with plant ID. Since I own a combination of woods and open land I have a huge variety of plants and really needed the help identifying what’s there.
If you are in Appalachia I found this book when I was looking for a calendar based on wildcrafting, it’s “Appalachian Plants” by Bill Church. I haven’t bought it yet, but this man lives only 2 counties away from me. He also has a website called appalachianplants.com
A couple of good websites with pictures are foragingpictures.com (lists of edible, medicinal, poisonous, etc.)
and pfaf.org – this one is plants for a future.
So I’m kind of a geek when it comes to knowing my plants, but it’s a useful skill right? Please say yes so I can make my hubby read it
James Green, The Herbal Medicine-Maker’s Handbook – great for the how-to.
Stephen Foster, The Herbal Drugstore – great for telling you what’s best (or at least best studied) for many different health issues.
Ani, what in particular have you had good luck with?
Wisconsin Garden Chick, It has been really cold and wet here – peppers are not thriving. I’ve got mine in pots and up on dry hot spots, and they still are only just beginning to set fruit. I did put cayenne up there, and I eat them for, let’s just say, non-medicinal reasons
. I did forget raspberry leaves, which I’ve got in huge quantity.
Lorna, I like Richo Cech’s _Making Plant Medicine_, Tammi Hartung’s _Growing 101 Herbs that Heal_. James Green’s _The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook_ and _A Modern Herbal_ by Maude Grieve. Steven Foster’s _Herbal Renaissance_ is also excellent, but he does tend to be on the cautious side.
Sharon
I have James Green’s book, and my list is not written down, but I’ll think of what I can:
comfrey, red clover, garlic, sage, oregano, bee balm, nettle, violets, mountain mint, catnip, lemon balm, hot peppers, jewelweed
These really cover most ailments I can imagine dealing with. Some volunteered, some have naturalized, a few are recently planted.
Two more useful books: (Peterson Field Guides) Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants by Steven Foster/James A. Duke and (Herb Society of America) Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses by Deni Bown.
I have often consulted Duke’s old website: http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/ and now I see he has another although I haven’t explored it yet: http://www.greenpharmacy.com/
A lot of traditional uses are valid but some books still carry a whiff of the “doctrine of signatures” so it’s reassuring to have resources that are based on research.
Not that I’ve learned to use them all (or most) yet, but things I either do or could grow here, or are native or naturalized here, include:
Aloe vera, arnica, angelica, basil, bee balm, blackberry root, black cohosh, black currant, black walnut, blueberry, borage, calendula, California poppy catnip, cayenne, chamomile, wild cherry bark, chickweed, chicory, cleavers, clover, coltsfoot, comfrey, cottonwood, corydalis, dandelion, dill
elecampane, echinacea, elderberry, evening primrose, fennel, feverfew, fig,
garlic, Garry oak, ginger (wild native, and potted tropical), ginkgo, heal all (aka self heal), hawthorne, holy basil, honeysuckle, hops, horsetail, juniper, Lady’s mantle, lavender , lemon balm, lemon verbena, lovage, marshmallow, milk thistle, motherwort, mullein, oats, Oregon grape, oregano, peppermint, plantain, raspberries, roses (domestic and wild), rosemary, sage, skullcap, spearmint, stinging nettle, St. John’s wort, thyme,
uva ursi (which is called kinnikinnick here), valerian, violets willow bark, witch hazel, yarrow, yellow dock, yucca.
Whew.
The Shaker museum just west of Pittsfield, MA has hundreds of medicinal plants growing in demonstration beds. Well worth a summertime visit if in the neighborhood.
The Shakers sold medicinal herbs and the first commercial vegtable seed production to finance their various communities.
The Shakers also have a community at Sabbath Day lake in Maine. They sell herbs there as well.
Great lists… a couple things I would add to my shelf are, Usnea barbata (old man’s beard), Lobelia inflata and Acorus calamus (sweet flag). One of my favorite books and would highly recommend is Native American Ethnobotany by Daniel Moerman.
Well, I’m not sure in the event that’s going to work for me, but definitely worked for you personally! Excellent post!