Jill:

Isn't your post more fitting in the Herb forum? This is herbalism.

Thanks.

HerbDoctor

Yes, it is, HDoc...my mistake. I was rushing out the door to get Mom to another doctor and didn't check to make sure I was in the right forum. Nonetheless, i'd be interested to hear if you have anything particular you are growing for the first time this year.

Jan

Sorry. Got nothing. In Arizona, it's difficult to grow anything let alone herbs. I buy my dried herbs from brokers who get them from around the world. They're all ready to be used. My experience is not in botany, but rather in herbology. Herbology deals more with the clinical use of herbs for better health.

Sorry. Got nothing . . . still. ha,ha

HerbDoctor

many herbalists never see and wouldn't recognize the plants they routinely recommend for clients which is a shame imo as where and how the plants grow tells us a lot about them and their medicinal actions.....and simply means the herbalist's education is incomplete (which can be said for any herbalist really, ideally we are always learning). thankfully this is also easily remedied! a field guide for your area, a magnifying loop and a good pair walking shoes are all you need to start : ) there are plant identification forums online that are really fun and useful too. the book 'botany in a day' by tom elpel is a wonderful intro to plant anatomy and family characteristics, good for beginners and intermediates.

in addition to herbalism and clinical training a good professional herbalist is also proficient in botany, plant geography, ethical wildcrafting, etc. they are often gardeners as well. cheers! kali

Kalia, I've always ordered my dried herbs from Mountain Rose, but actually growing a few of them makes them much more interesting....like meeting a friend in person that I've only known online.

Gotu kola, for example, which helps with connective tissues, was the one thing that finally got rid of it my hub's severe edema, after all traditional medicine had failed. I had tried and failed to grow it years ago when I was an inept gardener, but now I know it's a bog plant. I have a couple of them growing in non-draining pots, and it's going to be my new BFF.

I think if I learned something new about herbs every day for the rest of my life, I would still have only scratched the surface.

Jan

Jan:

When I take walks and see an herb that I know and use, I feel the same way. In Pennsylvania, each spring I'd say hello to coltsfoot which happens to be the first herb to come up in the spring. Mandrake is fun to see each year. My favorite is boneset. A beautiful plant!

There are approx. 300,000 species of plants in the world. You'd have lots of fun learning them all.

HerbDoctor

HD,

Do you ever see stands of Motherwort in PA? I've just looked it up this morning and realized how beautiful the plants are, but can't recall ever seeing it growing anywhere.

Jill:

I remember seeing an herb which I couldn't be sure was motherwort or bugleweed (lycopus virginicus). It had a square main stem. with long lancelot leaves each row alternating perpendicular to the previous row below it. I think both herbs look kinda' alike.

I think I had once identified blue vervain in the wild, too. Not sure.

The herbs that I remember most were: mandrake (Mayapple), poke, sassafras, white birch, blue flag, meadowsweet, sumac, the mints, wintergreen, elder flower/berry, golden rod, american ginseng, pleurisy root, coltsfoot, hawthorn, lilly of the valley, nettle, comfrey, slippery elm, marshmallow, mullein, black cohosh, plantain, etc. Just too many to name. But like we talked about earlier, it's like seeing an old friend again that you haven't seen in awhile . . . like a year ago! ha,ha

Have fun.

HerbDoctor

Motherwort is a common sight at old homesteads and farms - like my place which was a farm for much of its 160 years. As non-native herbs, I have motherwort, catnip, burdock, teasel, self-heal, yellow dock, mullein, toadflax, elecampane, mugwort, dandelion, ground ivy, plantain, and more that grow here with reckless abandon. The odd one missing, stinging nettle. Most old places around here have that one growing wild too but not my place. I had to add it. Old places in this part of the country easily range in the 100-200 year old category - a time people definitely brought along and planted whatever they needed. Some of it is still here.

New herbs this season that I've started? Hmmmm...... nothing new. But my wintersowing of maralroot was my biggest success. I think everyone of the seeds sprouted. (I already had maralroot in the gardens but wanted more.)

The grecian foxglove has done well. Been blooming like crazy. The roseroot and eastern prickly pear coming along and getting bigger. My fringetree (I'm at it's Northern range) is finally putting on size. It's been a pee wee for 5 years and I'm pretty happy that it has finally gotten to be around 3' tall. My oodles of marshmallow ("Erfurter" grown from seed years ago) is uber vigorous. The gasplants were stunning this season. And I started a bunch more skullcap with wintersowing. It's been loving the monsoons we've been having here.

My native woodland garden has been doing well - bloodroot was quite vigorous this season. Black and blue cohosh making up for the hard and dry time last season. The twinleaf, meadow rue, mayapple, spikenard, jack-in-the-pulpit, trillium (multiple kinds), wild geranium, solomons' seal, etc. all doing well. Reminds me, I've had to look for the goldenseal. It has been growing well but last year's drought (a tough one for a normally moist part of the country) killed off or damage many plants. About half of my elderberries died last summer but I have some young new plants to add come fall. (I sometimes coddle the bareroot plants I get in pots for the summer and plant them come fall.)

And to the OP, certainly visit us on the Herbs forum. Most people talk about culinary herbs but discussions about all kinds of herbs are welcome. The forum is pretty active and cordial. Hope to see you there!

FataMorgana

Fat: (May I call you "Fat?")

I've never heard of eastern prickly pear. But last year I made 5 gallons of prickly pear wine. Not crazy about the taste. What state does eastern grow in and what does it look like? I'm just guessing, but are you in the south eastern U.S.?

Thanks.

HerbDoctor

lycopus and leonurus (motherwort) look nothing alike. easy to tell them apart once you've had a good look at each of them.

motherwort grows in every state except florida and california interestingly enough.

and there are several prickly pear's in the united states (Opuntia spp), look and see here
http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSearch

I live in the North, western NY State to be exact. We have loads of cold and snow. The prickly pear I'm growing is Opuntia humifusa and I included the vendor link where I originally bought it from. The page includes a range map that might be quite a surprise to you. Cactuses don't all need heat to grow.

Besides looking different, lycopus and motherwort do not prefer to grow in the same types of conditions. Motherwort prefers average to lean soil that is on the dry side (at least I my zone). Lycopus, if I recall correctly, likes average to moist soil and average to rich soil.

FataMorgana

Here is a link that might be useful: Prairie moon link

I'm originally from Punxsutawney, PA, just south of you. Near Jamestown? Buffalo? Rochester? I'm familiar with all those places.

Little known fact: Some of the world's best wines are from the Fingerlake Region of your state. Only reason California wines are more popular is because they spent more money on advertising. Though, California wines are pretty good, I'm just sayin' . . .

HerbDoctor

Interesting discussions....Thanks, Fatima. I pop in on Herbs often, and copied this thread to herbs as soon as I saw my mistake. I will have to find it and link to here from it.

Jan

Fatamorgana, I would love to have some of your mugwort. Do they seed? I have Holy Basil and regular basil plus about 100 other seeds I could trade with you.

This season's major herb propagations (by cuttings): the spineless form of Opuntia humifusa (much more gardener-friendly) and African blue basil (terrific ornamental, occupying a prominent position at the front of my subtropical bed).

hey jan, are you still growing papalo?