with Matthew Wood, MS (Herbal Medicine)
and Jolie Elan, MS (Natural Resources/Forestry)
Classes cover:
Plant Ecology. We should know that we are part of an ecosystem, with characteristic plants in various mixtures. The plant is inseparable from the soil the water, air, pollinators, birds and of course, us. We are part of the living, sentient ecosystem. Learning plant ecology will ground the herbalist and enable them to think like an ecosystem. Geez, this plant in the rose family is growing on the edge of a wet meadow helping to dry it out, I wonder if it does the same thing in my body.
Botanical nomenclature and plant taxonomy (how plants are categorized). We need to know the Latin name in order to identify the plant and converse with others about it. Knowing the scientific name informs us where the plant lies on the family tree; who are its sisters and cousins. The herbalist can start to ask interesting questions like: “I wonder, can I substitute Hound’s Tongue for Comfrey since they are cousins in the same Borage family?”
Safety. We need to know the poisonous plants that are found in our ecosystem.
Evolutionary Botany. We need to know the major plant families to which medicinal herbs belong. This gives us insight into medicinal properties and basic planetary evolution. We want to understand the evolutionary history of plants, in order to understand the relationship between major families.
Herbal Education and Communication. We will be better teachers for our students and we will have better communication with our herbal peers.
Plant Communication. We want to fully appreciate plants by understanding the new scientific knowledge about how plants, and plant communities, communicate. This is highly analogous to traditional knowledge based on plant-to-person communication. We want to value both. This class delves into the science of Plant Intelligence.
Ethical Harvesting and Plant Propagation. We want to know if an herb can be sustainably harvested – and how to look that information up, if we don’t immediately know.
Herbal Practice. The best practitioner is the one who knows her or his field thoroughly and competently. When we are selecting the correct herbs, we want our minds to naturally slip from one to another, making associations based on medicinal properties, tastes, ecology, botany, correct identity (at the least), safety, and ethical harvesting.
And More:
- How plants are named and grouped
- How to see a flower: plant parts and functions; plant sex 101
- Evolutionary history of plants and why it’s important for herbalists to know.
- Intelligent medicine - The fascinating new field of plant intelligence - Indigenous wisdom meets modern science
- Plant ecology and ecological medicine – How plants relate with each other and their communities; how this influences their medicine.
- Major medicinal plant families - how to identify them and their shared medicinal properties
- Botanical identification and ethical harvest
- How to read the landscape
- Includes access to the private, online community
“Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven't time, and to see takes time - like to have a friend takes time.”
- Georgia O’Keeffe
