Lamiaceae or Labiatae Mint Family

Latin or Botanical name	common name	herbal, medicinal or edible usage
Glechoma herderacea	Ground Ivy	Ivy is classically sacred to the Greek god Dionysis and tradionally worn on the head when attending good parties.
Lamium amplexicaule	Dead Nettle
Lamium purpureum	Red Dead Nettle	This is very common in this area, and a little annoying in the garden. The photo link I put on here does not EVEN look like my weeds, mine are ALL purple, even the leaves. Maybe we have mutations in Kitsap
Melissa officinalis	Lemon Balm	nice herb, easy to grow, smells like lemon, great in tea. The photo on this link is really nice, be sure to pan down even if you can't read it.
Mentha spicata	Spearmint	easy to grow. Many of the mint herbals from Europe are pretty hard to get rid of once you plant them in the yard, so be careful. Good in tea
Prunella vulgaris	Heal all	oddly, despite the name, it is not mentioned in ANY herbals I consulted.
Stachys cooleyae	Giant Hedge-nettle

Malvaceae--Mallow Family--according to Rose, the leaves and roots of this family, boiled and drunk generally enhance estrogen effects? Decoctions of all parts of the plant can be done in oil or boiled in water, mostly for topical use. Please consult Jeanne Rose if you are interested in this.

Latin or Botanical name	common name	use herbally or edible
Malva neglecta	Dwarf Cheese-weed
	Hawaiian Hibicus	used in Red Zinger tea, good for water loss, also many traditional uses in Hawaiian culture
	Rose O'Sharon

Nymphaeceae--Water Lily Family. According to National Geographic July 2002, water lilies may be among the oldest of flowering plants, and are not necessarily dicots.

Latin or Botanical name	common name	use herbally or edible?
Nuphar luteum	Western Yellow Pond Lily	interesting health notes, click here Rose has an extensive herbal write up on the Pond Lily, Nymphaea or Castalia oderata, She says the roots can be boiled for external poultices.

Onagracea--Evening Primrose Family

Latin or Botanical name	common name	herbal or medicinal use
Circaea alpina	Enchanter's Nightshade
Epilobium angustifolium	Fireweed	I've been calling this "false marijuana" for quite a while now, we walked past a lot of it on our nature walks in class, but it was not in bloom.
Epilobium sp.	Willow Herb	Apparently this is used naturopathically for urinary issues. Odd, it didn't turn up in any herbals I looked at either.

Ocalidadeae--Oxalis Family

Latin or Botanical	common name	herbal use
Oxalis oregana	Oregon Wood Sorrel, Redwood Sorrel	this is a really attractive "shamrock" grows profusely in coastal woodland areas in Oregon and Washington State. They make great houseplants, are hard to kill, love water. Some Pacific tribes ate this, but it's really not good to overdo.

Papaveraceae--Poppy Family

Latin Name	common name	herbal use
Eschscholtzia californica	California Golden Poppy	These are really beautiful and the State Flower of California. I found an identical red poppy (to this) in Greece in Spring1988: they were growing all over the ruins at Delphi and Mycenae. (It was smaller than the opium poppy used for heroin and morphine). I would be cautious of this herb for internal use. I nibbled a very small cornor of a leaf once in the interest of Science, and copped a mild buzz, an unpleasant one; toxicity is indicated. According to Rose, some California tribes chewed it for toothache, but in the Cahuillas, only the shamen used it. Herbal use indicated is mostly external, in balms, or for bath herbs. They look even better just growing in the yard, leave them alone! :)

Plantaginacea--Plantian Family

Latin or Botanical name	common name	herbal or edible use
Plantago lanceolata	English Plantain
Plantago major	Broad Leaved Plantian	Huge write up by Rose, mostly topical uses. Saxons used to bind it to their foreheads with red wool for headaches.

Polygonaceae--Buckwheat Family

Latin name	common name	herbal or edible use
Polygonum aviculare	Prostrate Knotweed
Polygonum convolvulus	Wild Buckwheat
Rumex acetosella	Red Sorrel

Portulaceae--Purslane Family

Latin or botanical name	common name	herbal or edible use
Claytonia siberica	Candy Flower	so named for it's cute little pink or purple striped flowers. Natives used it internally and externally for headaches and stomach troubles.
Claytonia perfoliata	Miner's lettuce	Yes can be eaten in salads, fresh
Portulaca oleracea	Common purslane	really wide distribution, it's even in Australia!

Primulaceae--Primrose Family

Latin name	common name	herbal or edible use
Lysimachia nummularia	Money wort
Trientalis latifolia	Western Star Flower, Indian Potato	Tubers were gathered and eaten by local tribes: (Pojar and MacKinnon)

Ranunuculaceae--Buttercup Family-- while attractive, this family seems to be strictly out for itself, has no medical value (indeed most are poisonous), and they inhibit the growth of nitrogen fixing bacteria in the soil. Clover will not grow near them. Don't let them get started in your garden.

Latin or Botanical name	common name	herbal or edible use
Actaea rubra	Bane Berry
Aquilegia formosa	Columbine	I have a columbine that is growing in tandem with a hydrangea; no ill effects so far, though all buttercups are bad for companion planting. The local wild columbine is a salmon color, the blue one is introduced. Steeped in wine and drunk, it causes sweating (Rose) Ripe seeds rubbed in the hair repel lice. Rose as well as Pojar & MacKinnon have huge write ups on this.
Clematis ligusticifolia	Wild Clematis
Ranunculus occidentalis	Field Buttercup
Ranunculus repens	Creeping Buttercup	Ok to use in fodder, as the curing causes the toxins to evaporate. Collecting it raw can cause skin irritation.
Ranunculus uncinatus	Woods Buttercup

Rhamnaceae--Buckthorn Family

Latin or Botanical name	common name	herbal or edible use
Ceanothus sanguineus	Redstem Ceanothus
Ceanothus velutinus	Cinnamon Bush, Tobacco brush, Snow brush	Flowers smell kinda gross to me. Maybe some insects like them.
Rhamnus purshiana	Cascara

Rosaceae--Rose Family. Many family members have edible fruits, the leaves and hips (rose fruits) have been used medicinally for centuries. They are characterized by 5 petals, and 15+ stamens on the flower. Domestic apples, prunes, apricots all belong to this family as well.

Fragraria: strawberries are generally loved by all...the foliage is enjoyed by most livestalk (I think they feed it to racehorses), rich in iron, and good for bleeding issues. Tea that includes the leaves is used to aid with water retention (I believe it is in Red Zinger, a tea put out by Celestial Seasonings, which yes, does work. It also has dried hibiscus leaves); this tea is alkaline and neutralizes stomach acids. Strawberry plants also like pine needle mulch.

Fragaria chiloensis	Coastal Strawberry	thick shiny dark green. These are resistant to salt air, and thrive near beaches.
Fragaria vesca	Wood Strawberry	leaves are thin, and light green
Fragaria virigniana	Mountain Strawberry	thin, blueish green leaves

Roses: Roses all have inferior ovaries (as do their family cousins, apples) and the fruit that forms from the bloom is called a hip. Rose hips are highly prized by herbalists, can be eaten as they are, fresh, or dried, and stored, and used in teas. Hips are high in Vitamin C. Jeanne Rose loves roses, and has huge chapters devoted to them in her books.

Rosa nutkana	Common Wild Rose	Easy to confuse with the wood rose, though the latter seems to have a smaller blossom, and is deeper red. This is considered an "antique rose" and there are some serious collectors out there that trade and protect these species.
Rosa eglanteria	Sweetbriar--could this be the "Yellow Rose of Texas", celebrated in song?	On one of our field trips, I stuck my nose into a bunch of LEAVES of the wild roses, and it had the most wonderful smell! (Domestic roses don't come close to this! It was wonderful and fresh!) However, the leaflet numbers matched up with the Wild Rose, so it may have been two plants together.

Genus Rubus: these are really hard to sort out from the photos, so I highly recommend a good key for figuring out which is which, the leaves and blooms are all very different, and they fruit at different times (what I call a co-operative family! :). The good news is they all have very good, edible berries. According to Pliny (Rose) they are alleged to "bind you up" if you are loose a bit in the bowels (odd, exactly the opposite effect of apple juice, which is in the same family). Steep one oz. rubus leaves in 20 oz water for 15 min, strain and drink, for tonic. Good for pregnant women, must have vitamins.

Rubus armeniacus	Himalayan Blackberry--something curious here, I found the Rubus discolor to be the Himalayan Blackberry, and it corresponds to the blossom and plant type I know, from too many berry expiditions. This came from Professor Marvin: You commented about the confusion in scientific names for the Himalayan Blackberry. It so happens that Luther Burbank, the famed horticulturist, first intoduced it as a cultivated plant. The scientific name was never reliably ascertained, but has been known as R. discolor and R. procera. It wasn't until several years ago, when a Rubus expert from the former Eastern Block (where it is native) came and visited the PNW and pronounced it to be R. armenicus, that we finally had the correct name.	A voracious yard conqueror! They give wonderful berries, but don't plant them in your yard, whatever you do! They bloom AFTER R. ursinus, so they are easy to sort out. Just about everyone considers them invasive,all over the webs. Count the leaves for better identification.
Rubus laciniatus	Evergreen Blackberry
Rubus leucodermis	Black Cap
Rubus parviflorus	Thimbleberry	Leaflets are fused into a single leaf.
Rubus spectabilis	Salmonberry	These fruit much earlier than than the others, and have a yellow to red "Salmon colored" fruit.-also apparently found in Northern Ireland, showing a polar distribution.
Rubus ursinus	Wild or Trailing Blackberry	Very similar to the Himilayan berry, except that this is lower to the ground, is not as agressive, and has less lethal thorns. Flower is more open than the Himilayan. I found it amusing this is called the "California Blackberry" the name translates as "bear berry".

Other Rose Family members:

Latin or Botanical name	common name	herbal usage
Amelanchier alnifolia	Service Berry or June Berry	edible, and they look very good.
Aruncus dioicus	Goat's Beard	Yes, this has an inflourescence that hangs down, just like a goat.
Geum macrophyllum	Big-leaf Avens
Holodiscus discolor	Ocean Spray	has huge inflourescence that cascades like ocean foam
Malus fusca	Oregon Crab Apple
Oemleria cerasiformis	Native American peach or Oso berry	The fruits are small, at first look like little peaches, then turn black and look like prunes.
Potentilla fruticosa	Shrubby Cinquefoil
Potentilla anserina	Silver Weed
Prunus emarginata	Wild or bitter cherry	I found the bark to be more indicative of the species, and genus...they tend to have little horizotal "eyes", lines in the bark.
Sanguisorba minor	Garden Burnet	This was difficult to get a good photo of, scan the link, ignore the German (unless you can read it of course), and click on the small photos for more details
Spireae douglasii	Douglas's Spiraea

Physocarpus capitatus

Nine Bark

bark used for constipation

Rubiaceae--Madder family

Latin Name	common name	herbal or edible use
Galium aparine	Goose grass, or cleavers	Yes poultry loves the stuff, and eaten, is supposed to make egg shells thicker, and animal hair nicer. Can irritate skin, so use gloves when collecting in large quantities. Fresh, young leaves can be boiled and eaten, eat like spinach or use in soups. Gibbons noted that ancient herbals proscribe this for weight loss! Of course, if you use butter on them, it might not be such a good idea for a diet. Use externally on farm animals for tumors (Levy)
Galium triflorum	Fragrant Bedstraw	One wonders if this was not used for just this purpose, bedding. The Sweet Woodruff, introduced here, is a member of this family.

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