Category: Spotlight Herbal Partners
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PNW Reishi (Ganoderma oregonense)
The season is now! If you live in the PNW and have a hankering to make a Reishi tincture, Ganoderma oregonense is the Pacific Northwest species of “Reishi”. You will know it by its white pored underside and deep red-brown topside. It will have a slight give to the top, similar to searching for a…
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Grab a Turkey by its Tail, Trametes versicolor that is!
Tis the season! It’s time to get it and start collecting Turkey Tail. While there are a few things you might confuse with this medicinal powerhouse, they are easy to tell apart once you know! The two semi look alikes are: Stereum hirsutum and Chondrostereum purpureum. You can look those up and you will see…
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Red (Purple) Dead Nettle, not so Dead.
Red dead nettle, also known as Lamium purpureum also known as purple dead nettle, is a herbaceous flowering plant that belongs to the mint family. While it is often considered a weed, it has a long history of medicinal and culinary use. During this time of year in the PNW, it’s cropping up all over…
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Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa), friend?
By now, you’ve started seeing the early leaves of our lovely delicate Pacific Bleeding Heart. This species is the Northwest’s native species of Dicentra. MANY people have other horticultural varieties in their gardens, generally picked up at some of the big box stores around the area. Those are beautiful, however, they are generally larger and…
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Winter Twigs Abound! Id’ing Trees and Shrubbery in the PNW
Have you had a few long months of gray and rain, perhaps looking through your window, perhaps braving the elements to get out for a wintery hike or doing some other activity outdoors? Maybe you have found yourself wondering; What is that tree or bush? If yes, then I’m hoping maybe I can help you…
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Red Clover Red Clover let Healthy come over!
Do you live in an area that blossoms with Red clover? Do you ever wonder if it’s tasty or helpful? Does it call to you to work with it? There’s a great reason for that! I have used it in IBS tinctures, Menopause aiding tea, Hormonal balance tea, circulation tincture. If you are interested in…
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Hops, not just for Beer!
Enter my delight and reverence for a plant so well known to the public for its use in creating ale/beer/lager, etc. I am not a beer connoisseur; however, I do love me some herbaceous (plants that aren’t woody and die back each year) plants that have secret powers! Of course, I love it even more…
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That fabulous time of year: enter Prunella vulgaris
If you look around, you may be starting to see some lovely purple flowers that seem to bloom randomly along their densely packed flower spike. It seems also that they pop up in a variety of places. Yards/lawns, edges of pathways, woodland floors, etc. They have a square stem and elongated lance shaped leaves. Upright…
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What a name, what a plant, what a friend! I recall a few years back; I was cutting through a cul-de-sac to get to my local park. Well, it was a path, but it was inconveniently right through two people’s front yards. Inconvenient for them I presume. Who knows, maybe they enjoyed fellow earthlings tromping…
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Dandelion Delights! Spring Greens, part 2.
Here they come! At least here in the Pacific Northwest we are in an emerging land of yellow! Yes, I speak of Dandelions. There is so much to say about these powerhouse “weeds” aka: plants. You can use the flowers, the leaves and the roots. Generally, we don’t eat the stems due to their latex…
Ministry of Making 