Sweet Gum Tree: the warm protector

Common Name:  Sweet gum Latin Name:  Liquidambar styraciflua Family:  Hamamelidaceae (Witch hazel family) Parts used:  green balls, leaves, bark, resin Tissue or system affinity:  lungs, throat, joints, immune system Taste:  aromatic, slightly bitter Energetics:  warming, slightly drying Actions:  anti-viral, expectorant, astringent, drawing Uses:  topically, the resin can be used to draw out infection; topically, the … Continue reading →

Insomnia or Natural Biorhythms?

This is a post for all of the folks that inquire about sleep and insomnia…  I suspect, that a decent amount of you actually have nothing wrong with you.  And, more importantly, the 8 hours of *uninterrupted* sleep a night thing is a myth! What I view as sleep problems are the following: can’t fall … Continue reading →

Mimosa: If Happiness Was a Tree

I knew this was going to be my last article in the wonderful, local Mississippi magazine, Catfish Alley.  I’ve moved to Tennessee, so we knew we had to part ways…  However, I didn’t know that this was going to be Catfish Alley’s last issue. I’ve loved getting to know the publisher, Birney Imes and the … Continue reading →

Poke: a Deep South Herb for Deep Work

The Spring 2017 issue of Catfish Alley is now available!  And, as usual, I submitted an article on a local plant that I like to use as medicine.  As you can already tell by now, the article was on poke or Phytolacca americana. A fun twist this quarter, is that my article on poke was … Continue reading →

Rose Medicine: Cooling and Comforting

Here’s an article I just wrote for the Catfish Alley Magazine, my favorite local Mississippi magazine which covers soulful things here in the state.  They, of course, tightened up and edited the article.  Here is the unedited version (smile).  ENJOY! “Where, you tend a rose, my lad, a thistle cannot grow.”  ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett, … Continue reading →

Goldenrod: A Plant That Makes us Whole

The Fall Catfish Alley magazine is hot off the press and with that, my recent article on goldenrod.  And, perfect timing, because she will be blooming soon!  In this post, I’ve shared the original article that I submitted to the magazine.  Of course, they had to edit it a bit and tighten up the language … Continue reading →

Herbal Allies for Cold & Flu Season

  Is it a cold or flu? similar in their manifestation and are both respiratory viruses colds tend to last a shorter amount of time & express mildly with runny nose, sore throat, a wet cough flus tend to last longer & have more severe symptoms (fever, sudden symptoms, body aches, chills) one can also … Continue reading →

Dandelion: The Teeth of the Lion

My article on dandelion just ran in the local MS magazine, Catfish Alley, and I wanted to share it here with you… — There is no spring-time herb (well, almost year-round in Mississippi) that is better to talk about than dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). A member of the aster family, one of the largest botanical families … Continue reading →

Three Medicinal Mushrooms

As the days begin to get shorter and the temperature begins to drop, our blood thickens and moves inward like the sap in trees to nourish and warm our vital organs. And, with any extreme change in the environment around us, the cold weather will certainly challenge our immune system. Due to the cold weather, … Continue reading →