Collecting Wild Plants
The technique for gathering useful medicinal material from wild plants varies according to the season, the type of plant, and the part of the plant you intend to gather.
To collect flowers, fruits, buds, twigs, leaves, and some shallow roots, all you need is your hands. For deeper roots a shovel or spade is the best tool. For many plants a knife is required to cut the fibrous stems, and for the inner bark of shrubs and trees a large knife or small axe is usually the best type of tool to use.
Since lead often appears in the vegetation beside well-traveled highways (Pfeiffer), it is wise to avoid the convenience of roadside collecting and be prepared to walk off the beaten path in search of wild plants, to reduce the hazard of lead poisoning.
Sensitivity to the environment of our spaceship the planet earth is, alas! not something I can take for granted. It has been brought to my attention that merely the appearance of this book on medicinal plants may result in over-utilization of rare species, degradation of sensitive ecosystems, and insults and abuses to local Native people and their relationship with their traditional plant resources. This consideration was serious enough that I have hesitated to contribute to the decline of the wild environment by encouraging great hordes of people to go stomping and tramping over bogs and tundra to dig up roots and leave a wake of devastation behind.
One way to reassure ourselves that our planet will remain habitable is to accept the hypothesis, recently termed the Gaia hypothesis but similar to the intuitive visions of sages and mystics in many times and places, that the earth is one organism. If this is at all true, then we are all parts of one entity and whatever we do to harm one part of it will ultimately harm our own selves. There is no conflict between the best interest of the whole and the best interests of one individual self if that self realizes the relationship between itself and the environment.
Sometimes it is a matter of heedless carelessness that leads people to destroy the habitat by digging and collecting more than they need. Sometimes the selfishness and thoughtlessness apparent in people who dig up the last specimen of the pasque flower to show it to their biology class is a sort of ignorance masquerading as pride, or hubris.
I know in my own life there is a steady tendency toward more careful consideration before I pick one wild plant. There are more and more square miles of space in which I do not feel comfortable harvesting certain rare and endangered species. And so my own subjective judgement and ethical considerations toward the rights of the plants and the rights of other animals and other humans to use the plants are subject to continual re-examination to decide what constitutes use and what constitutes abuse.
The American Indians would offer a prayer of thanks before sacrificing a medicinal plant. Rolling Thunder would even offer a sacrifice and conduct a ritual explaining to the plant why he needed it. Surely it makes sense not to take all of the yellow dock or wormwood, or even yarrow or dandelion. It is true that many of the medicinal plants are "weeds" and are removed as pests anyway. Or maybe we are the parasites, in which case we might be wise to recall the stratagem of the successful parasite to take care not to kill the host.
From Leaf to Tea
Select leaves that are not decayed or discolored and gather them when they are dry. Take care not to disturb the area, avoid leaving trash and litter behind, and do not take all of the plant; harvest only a portion of what there is. Take only what you need. Attention to these considerations has an effect on your own state of mind toward the healing virtues of the plant.
Drying and Storing Leaves
Lay the leaves on a rack or screen or hang them in small bunches from pegs or strings in an airy place that is as warm and dry as possible, but not in direct sunlight. If your climate is hopelessly damp and humid or the plants too succulent, you may need to use a warm oven to hasten drying.
After the leaves are brittle they should be stored in airtight glass or tin containers in a dark, dry place that is cool. Don’t crumble the leaves into smaller pieces than necessary.
Making Tea
If you wish to extract more of the material from dried leaves, and you have a good fine paper or cloth filter, you may wish to use a mortar and pestle to grind the leaves into powder just before you make tea.
Otherwise, it is usually sufficient to break up the leaves into small pieces with your fingers and put in a preheated glass container. Pour freshly boiled water over the leaves, cover the pot or cup with a lid to keep the temperature high and to prevent aromatic materials from escaping with the steam, and steep for three to five minutes.
While the tea is steeping, and while you are sipping it slowly, it is highly recommended to be quiet - not reading, working, or bustling around. Most tonic teas are best taken on an empty stomach rather than with meals. And if there is a specific reason for using medicinal tea, meditating upon the healing you desire to take place while you sip the tea may promote the good effect.
Copyright © 1987 by Eleanor G. Viereck