Leeks:

eat the leaves for colds and cough
*warm the juice from the leaves and bulbs and use for earaches

Partridgeberry:

One of my favorite. I use to eat these in my oatmeal when on lengthy backpacking trips. They kind of taste like apples…..tiny apples.
*Dried or fresh leaf or even tea made from the berries is good for late, irregular or painful periods.

Passion Flower root extracts help reduce blood pressure

Rattlesnake Plantain:

Make a tea with the leaves and mix with whiskey for colds and toothaches
*If you have a burn type accident when hiking, chew some of the leaves and place it on the burn, it eases the pain

Wild Potato Vine:

Poulticed root is good for rheumatism
*root tea good for coughs and asthma
*dry the plant and pound it into a powder, make a tea for this for headaches

Turtlehead:

These grow tall and have a pretty bloom. I will take a picture this Spring in full bloom and add it to this post.

A beautiful wildflower in this area, I grow it in my yard as well. The leaves made into a tea is very good for fever and a laxitive

Comfrey

One should keep comfrey available in case say….

you are cutting something like say, a bagel….and you almost slice your finger off, you are bleeding all over the place and most likely need stitches. Well, wash a comfrey leaf thoroughly and wrap it around the area. It stops the bleeding so you can give yourself stitches (or go get them or whatever).

after the bleeding stops

cover the area with RAW honey and place another comfrey leaf around the wound and wrap it up. Change this several times each day, washing gently and putting more honey on. The honey helps heal and the comfrey keeps it from bleeding.

If you take the root, wash it thoroughly, peel the outside layer away, slice the inner layer into thin slices and let them dry slowly and completely….

you can pound this into a fine powder. Store this powder in an air tight jar and if you have a bleeding cut, you can add a small amount to water, stirring thoroughly, and wash the wound with it. This helps stop bleeding.

Jewelweed (Touch Me Not).

This is almost an embarrassing post, but something that I am sure everyone has dealt with at one point or another.
I was on a backpacking trip with Tom, my partner for 7 years. Well I was terribly constipated. It was to the point of pain and I was miserable. As we were hiking, he gave me a few leaves off of a jewelweed plant and told me to chew on them. Mind you NOTHING I tried was working. I did as he suggested.
Within an hour, well…..I was no longer constipated! I have used this plant several times and it always worked well.Mind you it is perfect for Poison Ivy/Oak as well. The juice from the stalk placed on the affected area will ease the itch. I know of some people who take this and freeze it, making little ice cubes to use for poison ivy as needed.

The information on this website has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any diseases.

This information is intended as an introduction to how medicinal herb plants are used for the individual who posts the information. I am not a medical professional and I cannot prescribe what herbs are right for you.

If you use herbs, do so responsibly. Consult your doctor about your health conditions and use of herbal supplements. Herbs may be harmful if taken for the wrong conditions, used in excessive amounts, combined with prescription drugs or alcohol, or used by persons who don’t know what they are doing. Just because an herbal remedy is natural, does not mean it is safe! There are herbs that are poisonous.

Violet Toothed Polypore (as seen in photo below)

Polypore’s have great medicinal value and some can be eaten as food (which I will get to at another time). For here I will discuss what they are and the medicinal value.

The Violet Toothed Polypore grows on wood, preferrably dead hardwood. They are a fungi that are decomposers and/or parasites.

This Polypore has medicinal properties of being anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-oxidant, anti-tumor and immune enhancing. The best way I have found to use this fungi is to make a tea. You can make a nice invigorating tea from the “shells” and drink this for all of the above mentioned needs. I have soaked these overnight in sterile water and used this water for cuts. It aids in the healing proces and keeps away those nasty bacteria that eat at your flesh and cause horrid infections.