A Country Rag-- Country Reckoning

A Country Rag
Rustic Refrain

by H.m.Jobst

Appalachia shares some common terrain and lifestyles with America's West Coast. Although particular plants noted below may be specific to Oregon, their counterparts in this region have been gathered and applied as home remedies since our first native inhabitants sought cure for maladies of man and beast.

Wildcrafting is the natural selection of medicine from an area where it is plentiful and unpolluted. Wildharvesting is done with consideration of the moon's position, to harvest above ground (flowers, leaves) when waxing (before the full moon), or below ground (roots) when waning (after the full moon). Before you harvest these wonderful natural cures, please consider how much you really need. It is an unspoken rule to leave more for others, and always to leave enough for seed. You will be keeping the ancient traditions. Another ancient tradition of Native Americans is to bring an offering and say a prayer to the Great Spirit and the plant from which you harvest. Know what you are looking for by researching and learning all the specific elements of the herb you will harvest. Look at the leaves, the flowers, the stalk, and the root. There are specific medicinal properties for each herb, which can help you define your particular needs. Are you prone to stomach aches? You may need a carminative, an herb that expels wind from the bowels, or a stomachic, an herb that strengthens the stomach and relieves indigestion. Do you have a sore throat? You may need an expectorant, such as choke cherry bark. Need a vitamin C boost? Look for a wild rose bush in fall, and collect rosehips.
If you know what you are looking for, you may find a simple natural remedy to your ailment. By no means is this intended to replace the professional advice of a trained physician. My experience comes from experimenting in times of necessity. My entire family has willingly accepted to be my patients and share the power of natural healing.

Oregon Grape Root and Berries, Berberis Aquifolium species, is a profuse ground ivy bush, with waxy dark green leaves, produces yellow flowers and fruits purple berries. Oregon Grape is an excellent tonic, known to detoxify the body of built up toxins, can be found across Oregon state (it's the state flower) and the nation. In early spring, we dig roots, dry them by hanging, and boil for tea as needed. Later in spring, we use the yellow waxy berry shape flowers for dyeing cloth. In the summer, we can our Oregon grape jelly made with natural pectin, like Pomona's, and add honey.
Similar properties are found in Goldenseal, which is rapidly becoming over-harvested. Oregon Grape is a better choice because of its plentitude, its multiple uses, and its hardiness to most climates. I believe we should consider the use of medicine and foods found in our native land.

Wild strawberries, Fragaria species, grow in poor soil from the beach, to the hillsides, in low elevations, and fire burnouts. The white petals turn to sweet red fruit from May to July. I have stumbled across many patches in areas where logging trucks once drove. Strawberry leaves are excellent for upset tummies. The leaves, flowers, and berries, even green berries, are edible. The berries are much smaller than the cultivated Strawberry and much sweeter, too. Steep (brought to preboil) in distilled water; this is the best way to get the most of any herb you use.

Nettles, or stinging nettles, Urtica Dioca species, make an excellent cooked green, which provides Vitamins A and C and is high in protein. Nettles have medicinal properties also: anti-asthmatic (arresting asthmatic bronchial infection), astringent (causes contraction and arrests discharge), depurative (purifying blood) when a tea is made of the leaves.

Nettles have been used by many dreads as a hair rinse. Simply, preboil water; add chamomile, nettles, licorice root, yarrow, and fennel. Add henna for color, if desired. Strain and rinse hair. Nettles grow in forests and marsh areas. Use gloves when wildcrafting, by pressing the fine hairs downward against the stem and pinching. Hang to dry out of sunlight. The stalk of nettles are stripped and dried to make a fiber. The stalk of Nettles are stripped, dried, and weaved to make the fiber Raime.

Yarrow, a tall white flower with fern like leaves, and very fragrant, is used as medicine for sore throats and also makes a fragrant hair rinse. The stalks of Yarrow are used to throw in I Ching. The flowers and leaves are excellent for sore throats steeped in distilled water and add equal parts of honey and organic apple cider vinegar.

Rosehips, Rosa species, the round red ball with seeds that grows after a wild rose blooms, contain Vitamin C. To attain, 100% of value, shell seeds and eat skin raw. For storage, 65% of Vitamin C properties can be kept if you dry. I use window screens with rope to dry out the shelled skins. You can store the seeds in your fridge until spring for a new rose garden. Rose marmalade can be made by boiling one pound of rosehips in two cups of water until tender, then mash through a sieve. Add one pound of honey to mash and boil until it jells. Yields two pints of delicious brown spread.

St. John's Wort, Hypericum Perfortaum known worldwide as the herb of upliftment for emotions from depression to anxiety, is also excellent for physical relaxation. Our recipe for this "love potion" is three parts organic extra virgin olive oil and one part fresh picked flowers. When harvesting, try to pick only flower, not stalk. The most potent time to harvest is on the day of St.John (June 24).

"This article has been presented for your life enhancement by H.m.Jobst. References: Kloss, Jethro Back to Eden Lifeline Books, 1972 Riverside, California; Wigginton, Eliot Foxfire 2, Anchor Books, Doubleday 1973, Hydrastis (goldenseal) and Berberis (Oregon grape root); Grieve, M. Mrs. A modern herbal; Culpepper's Compleat Herbal; Wild Harvest; Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest, Terry Domico, 1979 Hancock House. Questions about these herbs? Find some scientific info here: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
"H.m.Jobst lives with her family in Southern Oregon, where she forages for wild medicine and foods. She enjoys writing, raising her children, gathering with enlightened beings at festivals and barter faires, gardening, hiking, wildcrafting, singing, and sharing time with family. 'I am commited to raising consciousness about the importance of wild foods and medicine, and positive education for children. I consider myself blessed to live in this age of information, and feel sharing is the key element to harmony.' " - H.m.Jobst
Visit her website at http://www.oocities.org/i_and_i2000/IandIinklings.html.

"The image of thought [ennoia] is feminine, since... [it] is a power of conception." -- Hippolytus

Mountain Medicine: Herbs

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A Country Rag Rustic Refrain

by H.m.Jobst

A Country Rag
Rustic Refrain