Not only are our wild plants beautiful when flowering this time of year, but many have unique characteristics and medicinal and nutritional benefits. Today, although ethnobotanical knowledge is not needed for survival as it once was for indigenous people, studying the various attributes of plants common to this area can be fascinating and an occasional source of food and medicine.
Robin Baire, a local herbalist, discussed four useful native and non-native plants found in the Methow Valley at Potlucks with a Purpose at the Twisp Valley Grange in March. Although many herbs have been used for various ailments for hundreds of years, clinical studies of their efficacy are limited. They are best used under the guidance of a clinical herbalist.
First on the list was the bane of my childhood: nettles, that ubiquitous, brilliant green plant with jagged leaf edges and stinging hairs. This plant was not my friend until I learned about its many remarkable properties.
Nettles, Urtica dioica, are well-known for the hair-like structures on the underside of their leaves, which contain formic acid and histamine, causing a painful rash or urticaria on the skin. Heating or immersing nettles in water neutralizes their sting.
In early spring, young nettles can be steamed and used as a spinach alternative. Dried or fresh, they make an excellent tea rich in an antioxidant called phylloxanthin, as well as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, Vitamin K, and boron. Drinking nettle tea regularly helps maintain calcium levels in the body and may help prevent and ameliorate osteoporosis; it is a natural diuretic that supports kidney health and detoxification; it also supports the immune system and may offer relief from hay fever, while helping control blood sugar and promoting heart health.
Mullein, Verbascum thapsus, also known as cowboy toilet paper, is familiar to most of us due to its soft, silvery-green fuzzy leaves and tall central stalk adorned with yellow flowers. Although mullein is not native to North America and is considered an undesirable weed by many, it has been beneficial for hundreds of years in easing respiratory ailments. Today, it is widely used in various herbal preparations for allergies, sore throats, coughs, eczema, insect bites, osteoarthritis, and ear infections.
Mullein is an expectorant, a substance that thins mucus and makes it easier to cough up. It contains mucilage, which coats the mucous membrane with a film, reducing inflammation. It also contains antioxidants that boost your body’s natural defenses and has antiseptic qualities. Mullein is not known to have undesirable side effects.
Berries from the Hawthorn tree, Crataegus sp., have medicinal value, although the nasty thorns on this tree make collecting them challenging. I recently purchased a Hawthorn sapling at the Twisp Farmers Market from Michael Pilarski, aka “Skeeter.” Skeeter, who founded Friends of the Trees in 1978 and who was a fixture at the early Okanogan barter fairs, now lives in Port Hadlock and owns Friends of the Trees Botanicals, an excellent source of “organically grown and sustainably wildcrafted high-quality medicinal herbs.”
In Celtic countries, the Hawthorn was known as the “Faerie Tree” and was associated with fertility and revered as a tree of protection. Hawthorn berries have long been used in traditional medicine to strengthen cardiovascular function and as a digestive aid. Called an “antioxidant powerhouse,” oligomeric procyanidins are responsible for Hawthorn’s many health benefits — boosting the activity of vitamins A, C, and E, improving circulation, strengthening capillaries, reducing inflammation, boosting the immune system, protecting against atherosclerosis, and enhancing nerve and connective tissue health.
The Serviceberry, the lovely white flowering bush of the shrub steppe that just finished blooming, was the last plant discussed by Robin. But for brevity’s sake, I will refer you to Robin Wall Kimmerer’s most recent book, “The Serviceberry, Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World.” In it, the Serviceberry is the model for the gift economy, “distributing its wealth — its abundance of sweet, juicy berries — to meet the needs of its natural community.”
