Wildcrafting

 Wildcrafting isn’t as simple as going out and digging an identified plant out of the ground in order to use it! Learning and teaching others how to harvest plants must be combined with a fair amount of instruction on why one should harvest in the first place, which plants to harvest, when to harvest, and how to do it in a sustainable way. Ethics and sustainability should always be in the forefront of our minds as we forage! 🍃

While there is a lot of information we herbalists should pass on to wildcrafting newbies, perhaps the most important is teaching about at-risk plants and why we should not harvest them. 🍃

At-risk plants are either naturally rare in the environment or becoming rare through human influence. Just as some plants reproduce and spread quickly and are often termed as “invasive” plants, there are those that are quite the opposite. These are naturally rare – due to slow growth habits, habitat incompatibility, population isolation, genetic incompatibility, problems with seed dispersal, loss of pollinators (can be caused by human influence), or by competition from or overpopulation of invasive plants and animals ... and so forth! 🌼

As herbalists, our work revolves around plants, so it is important we use plants in a wise manner—protecting and preserving them with their long-term viability in mind, not just for our sakes, but for the sake of the plant and the ecosystem. We must ask ourselves if we truly need the plant we’re considering using and we must help others understand this importance, too.

Becoming a responsible wildcrafter sometimes means not harvesting a plant if the population simply cannot support that impact and sustain itself, or whenever you are not sure what the impact of harvesting could be. This is why it’s so important to study foraging with a mentor or reputable school and to make sure you’re aware of sustainable guidelines before you start harvesting.

Species At-Risk List via United Plant Savers –– Sandalwood, Kava Kava, American Ginseng, Venus Fly Trap, Sundew, Maidenhair Fern, Cascara Sagrada, Squirrel Corn, Goldenseal, Lady’s Slipper, Orchid, Ramps, Lomatium, False Unicorn Root, Peyote, Stream Orchid, White Sage, Osha, Bloodroot, Virginia Dutchman's Pipe Trillium, Beth Root, True Unicorn Root, Blue Cohosh, Echinacea, Elephant Tree, Wild Indigo, Butterfly Weed, Stone Root, Wild Yam, Yerba Mansa, Black Cohosh, Eyebright, Pipsissewa, Chaparro, Pink Root, Mayapple, Slippery Elm, Lobelia, Arnica, Gentian, Goldthread

Farmers Market Flowers

Spring At The Farmers Market

Blooming Trees

Under The Canopy Of Flowering Trees At City Hall Park

Gorgeous Gladiolas 

at the farmers market.

Cannas

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

Passion Flowers

Passion Flowers

Also known as apricot vine, maypop, and

Passiflora incarnata L. is a native vine to the southeastern US. Passionflower leaves (Passiflora spp.) are the only food source for gulf fritillary caterpillars (Agraulis vanillae, Nymphalidae). Other butterfly larvae also feed on passionflower leaves. You can pop open the fruits when they are starting to turn yellow and begin to wrinkle, and slurp up the seedy flesh. You can chew up the crunchy edible seeds, though some folks opt to spit them out.

HISTORY & FOLKLORE

Passiflora sp. has a rich history of traditional use dating back to pre-historic times. Seeds that were thousands of years old were found around Virginia, where the Algonkian Indians thrived. Early European settlers have records of the Algonkian Indians eating the passionflower fruit. The Cherokee used the roots as a poultice to draw out inflammation in thorn wounds; tea of the root in the ear for earache; and tea of the root to wean infants. Additionally, various parts of the plants, including the fruits, were made into a beverage, and the leaves and young tendrils were boiled or fried and eaten. The Houma people infused the roots as a blood tonic. Various indigenous groups were known to use the plant as a topical poultice. P. incarnata has had documented uses in Europe going back to 1787. In the spirit world, passionflower has been used as a magical charm to attract friendships and to bring peace, and the leaves can be placed in a house to illicit harmony and lessens discord.

USES & PREPARATIONS

Can promote natural relaxation and stress reduction.

Primarily the above ground parts (the entire vine including leaves, stems and flowers) are dried used as a tea or tincture or are powdered and encapsulated. Fresh or dried plant material may be made into a tincture.

Passion Flower of another color.

Curly Passion Flower

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

Disclaimer

My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.

My New Website

Elise Creations & Passions 

My new website

elisecreations.net

is now up. Check it out and feel free to share with others who may be interested. I'll be adding new content on a regular basis, so please check back occasionally. 

Clouded Sulphur Butterfly

Clouded Sulphur Butterfly

(Phoebis sennae), On New England Asters. 

I believe this one is a female.

Clouded Sulphur Butterfly On Echinacea

Colias philodice on Echinacea purpurea.

The whole plant can be used for its immune boosting properties.Technically speaking, this thick and spiky cone is actually hundreds of flowers, all tightly packed together.

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Disclaimer

My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants and mushrooms are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.

Chasing A Butterfly

Rosey Chasing A Monarch Butterfly

or

as I prefer to call it a Monarch Flutterby

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

Hostas Beauty

Hostas Flowering Beauty In The Rain. Hostas grow best in part to full shade, ensuring that they’re in shade during the heat of the day. Hostas are a wonderful edible in your very own yard. They were a wild plant in their native Japan, China, and Korea growing in woodlands and along stream banks. In Japan, hostas are known as Urui, and they’re part of a class of vegetables known as “Sansai” or “mountain vegetables” which describe wild edibles that are commonly harvested and eaten. When hostas made the transition from wild woodland plant to backyard ornamental, people forgot about eating them. They have a pleasant crunch, a bit like the juicy green mouthfeel of iceberg lettuce, but with a lot more flavor.  The best time to harvest hostas is when they’re young shoots just emerging from the earth in spring. I’ve heard the flowers are also delicious later on in the summer, and you can eat those without cutting into your actual plant. Use a sharp knife to slice hosta shoots off at ground level. Take off a handful or two from each plant and there’ll be more space for the remaining stalks to thrive. Choose shoots that are tightly coiled and haven’t opened their leaves. Cook them like you would asparagus.

Hostas Have Lovely Patterns

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

 Disclaimer My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.