Medicine plant of the Day

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Sweet leaf is tiny right now, difficult to spot unless you know where it's at. Look for it when its blooming, around memorial day. I scattered a lot of seed last fall, wild plants are weird. They might come up this spring or wait years.

There's a buttercup that is almost identical to goldenrod when it's this small. It's growing now also. I'd wait on looking for grod unless you know both plants well. Much easier id when it's larger. It grows in patches, same place every year. Once you know were a couple patches are... It's very common here, acres of it.
 
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Today I found yellow root growing millimeters from an elderberry sprout. The yellowroot is taller and it's leaves are a lighter shade of green.

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@Peanut does Soloman's Seal prefer a moist soil? I hope you can get it in the ground soon.
I find it in well drained woodland soils. Most often on hillsides.

Today I saw that yellowroot has leafed out, looks like a couple recent nights around 32 burned a few leaves. I harvested here last spring. Nice to see it has bounced back nicely.

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The woods are full of early spring medicinals, May apples, Trillium, false solomon’s seal and solomon’s seal. Even saw some wild ginger.

I found false Solomon’s Seal and Solomon’s Seal growing together. I’ve never seen that happen before. I sort of expected to find false seal at this location but did not expect to find true seal growing here too. Guess I need to rethink where I look for true seal.

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Where was I hunting plants today? There is some wild country back in here, much of it vertical with a few old coal mines. In summer I can walk across this river, not today. Looked like someone’s been doing some logging, maybe last summer.

When I was a teenager we had a large swing for dropping into a deep pool here. We used a skidder cable about 70ft long, bolted up to the top of a big white oak. A big swing and a load of fun.

The rocky bluffs in this area are loaded with rattlesnakes. The biggest timber rattlers I’ve seen all came out of this place.

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This is the only place I’ve found wild yarrow growing within 30 miles. A few years ago I heard a rumor the county was going to spray herbicide on the right-of-way which would have killed it. So I transplanted it into pots and have it growing on my porch now.

Last summer I noticed the county replaced a culvert at that spot. Destroyed everything growing, dug out and reshaped the drainage ditch. I was sure they had killed the yarrow.

Today I stopped to check this spot. Well, well, well… the county didn’t kill it after all. And… instead of one group of plants… now there are 3 clumps growing. Wild plants amaze me sometimes, they almost never do what I expect.

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Yarrow used to grow under this big pile of dirt.

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Went for a little drive, scouted some plant locations.

Found sensitive briar everywhere, seems a good year for it.

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A good year for black berries too.

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Found a new patch of Oak leaf hydrangea aka 7 bark aka 9 bark.

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Seems a good year for Queen Ann's Lace ( queen ann has hairy legs)

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Last year I harvested a lot of yellowroot from this spot. More than I was comfortable harvesting but it was needed by a lady. It came back like gangbusters this spring. In about 4 yrs I can harvest here again.

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Stinging nettle and its bad reputation! It stings, it burns, it’s dangerous, it’s invasive… And yet, it’s also an absolutely incredible plant for your health and cooking. It’s undoubtedly one of the most interesting edible plants, and because it’s fairly invasive, it’s also virtually inexhaustible in nature!

The Plant​

Native to Eurasia, the stinging nettle, or Urtica dioica, has made its home all over the world (except perhaps at the poles, because there’s not much growing there). It likes nitrogen-rich soil and part shade. That’s about all there is to know about this plant if you want to grow it.

To get rid of it, I’ve heard that planting a few potatoes at its feet it will be enough to starve it of nitrogen, but well, I read that on an unsourced website, so I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the information. Personally, I’d rather eat it to control it.

In Mother Nature’s Garden: Stinging Nettle

 
@Patchouli More than likely... what does it say on the box? Herbal teas have plants listed by the latin name on the pkg or label. Look for the name Urtica dioica.
Yup, if I’d have read the info on the box I’d have known.
Good for joint health it reads. I need to drink more of it, my hands have been hurting a lot.
 

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