Herbalism Resources
Herbs are used for flavor, scent, medicine, fiber, dye, and oil.
The following resources were compiled by CGC’s Herbalism Working Group.
COVID-19 RELATED RESOURCES
| Get Radical Boil Roots: A Kitchen Witch’s Guide to Wellness in the Time of COVID-19 | Gina Badger @longspellherbs and Friends | A guide that highlights some time-tested, accessible immune-boosting practices, foods, and herbal medicines. Inspired by the kitchen witch’s motto: “the medicine you have on hand is exactly the medicine you need,” this guide was created to help folks design simple protocols to support wellness in the time of COVID-19. Please note that they are *NOT* claiming to know how to treat COVID-19!! They are not medical doctors and this is not medical advice. Rather, as herbalists they are sharing what they know of traditional knowledge, filtered through their own clinical and lived experience, that can support our bodies’ resilience in the face of infectious respiratory illness |
| Remedies: Plant Allies During the Time of COVID-19 | Edited by Jhon Jairo with Multiple Contributors | A guide of information and recipes on immune boosting, respiratory & lung support, antiviral, and mental & spiritual health support |
| Immune & Respiratory Herbs: A Resource for Tribal Communities During COVID-19 | Elise Krohn, Valerie Segrest, Renee Davis, Rhonda Grantham, and Sofie Geist | A guide offering herbal Support during the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak • General Recommendations • Immune Tonics • Medicinal Mushrooms • Kitchen Herb Remedies • Herbs for the Respiratory System • Teas for Immune and Respiratory Health • Essential Oils for Immune & Respiratory Health • Calming Our Nervous System • Finding Medicinal Plants & Harvest Guidelines • Canoe Journey Herbalists on COVID-19 and Community Care |
| Resources for Herbalists & Community Workers | Herbalists without Borders | from the document: “Collected articles, links, resources, and more for the current pandemic. This information is not an endorsement by HWB, but a gathering of information available online at this time.” An incredibly thorough gathering of herbal information, especially in regards to this virus. |
| HERBAL TREATMENT FOR CORONAVIRUS INFECTIONS | Stephen Buhner | Buhner explains the viral replication in the human body as well as symptom manifestation and describes various herbal protocols for treating various stages. |
| COVID-19 Resources | American Herbalist Guild | A collection of various links, webcasts, and categories of how to deal with Covid 19 |
BEGINNING HERBALISM
| Fire Cider Remedy by Rosemary Gladstar | HerbMentor | Herbalist Rosemary Gladstar shares how to make Fire Cider, a cold and flu remedy that she formulated and shared with the world. This is a perfect remedy for someone who needs a fiery kick to his or her immune system. A blend of spicy and sweet flavors were combined to enhance your circulatory and digestive system. Will come in handy for those cold months when you’re prone to sinus infections, or when you feel cold coming on. When you try this warming concoction, you won’t want to go without it! Rosemary formulated this remedy and was the first to call it fire cider, decades ago. Shire City Herbals has unethically trademarked the name and claim it was all their idea. So, why buy it when you can inexpensively make your own fire cider? Special thanks to Rosemary for sharing amazing recipes like this with the herbal community for all to enjoy. |
| Honey Onion Cough Syrup by Rosemary Gladstar | HerbMentor | Herbalist Rosemary Gladstar shares a simple herbal cough syrup you can make with two ingredients…an onion and honey. It’s the simplest home remedy you’ll ever make |
| The Herbal Home Remedy Book: Simple Recipes for Tinctures, Teas, Salves, Tonics, and Syrups | Joyce A. Wardwell | Acquire herbal healing wisdom with this guide to gathering, drying, storing, and blending 25 common herbs. |
| An Herbal Medicine-Making Primer | Simon the Simpler | This zine is an excellent introduction to making your own herbal medicines with plants that you forage yourself in the wild. It features an essay explaining the importance of making our own medicine and then outlines how to make several different types of herbal medicines. These include infusions, decoctions, salves, syrups, infused oils, tinctures, glycerites, etc. |
| Wild Remedies | Rosalee de la Foret and Emily Han | New book that covers ethical wildcrafting for 25 wild and abundant herbs, with recipes for medicine making and food |
| Making Plant Medicine | Richo Cech | simple guide to ratios for extract making |
| Herbal Medicine Makers Handbook | James Green | guide to common preparations, uses for common plants, beginner-friendly! |
BIOREGIONAL HERBALISM: (Includes Zone and/or Region; also philosophy of Bioregional Herbalism)
| Edible Weeds on Farms: Northeast Farmer’s Guide to Self-Growing Vegetables | Tusha Yakovleva + many contributors | Northeast US region; resource guide for culinary “weeds” commonly found on farms and in gardens |
| Open-source food: Nutrition, toxicology, and availability of wild edible greens in the East Bay | Phillip Stark | region: CA Bay Area, but relevant to any urban area or elsewhere with concern for contaminated soils; toxicology findings of wild edible plants gathered in urban soils |
| Foraging YouTubers and Online Classes (By Region) | “Eat the Planet” | list of (herbalism, foraging) instructional videos and online courses, categorized by region |
| Sustainable and Bioregional Herbalism | Juliet Blankespoor | Explanation of sustainable herbal practices and bioregional herbalism, including dos and don’ts for ethical herbal medicine making. Also includes links to more instruction on foraging, growing herbs, sourcing seeds and herbs, etc. |
GROWING HERBS - (Include Different gardening practices, such as container gardening)
| OUTDOOR GARDENING: | ||
| Planting a Medicinal Herb Garden | Traditional Medicinals | Great intro on how to plan for your garden, where to get seeds and what plants to begin with. |
| CONTAINER GARDENING: | ||
| Growing Medicinal Herbs in Containers | Juliet Blankespoor, Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine | Good information on which herbs to grow in containers, plants that prefer various soil conditions, types of containers to grow in, etc. |
ETHICAL FORAGING (can include Ethical Purchasing too)
| Yellow Dock Plant Identification | Herbal Academy | A video describing how to identify Yellow Dock, Rumex crispus (Polygonaceae), and the use of the Root and Leaves |
| Nettle Plant Identification | Herbal Academy | A video describing how to identify Nettle, Urtica dioica (Urticaceae), and the use of the Aerial Parts, Seeds, and Roots |
| Cleavers Plant Identification | Herbal Academy | A video describing how to identify Cleavers, Galium aparine (Rubiaceae) |
| Dandelion Plant Identification | Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine | A video describing how to identify Dandelion |
| CSCH Botany Break – Ponderosa Pine | Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism | A video describing how to identify Pinus ponderosa, or Ponderosa Pine |
| When to Pick What in the Wild | Eldermoon Apothecary | A blog discussing ethical foraging |
| CalPhotos: Plants | UC Berkeley | A photo database for plant identification |
| Meet the Plants: An Introduction to Wild Plants | American Herbalists Guild | Gives an introduction to Wild Plants |
| Reclaiming the Honorable Harvest | Robin Kimmerer at TEDxSitka | Her talk, “Reclaiming the Honorable Harvest: Indigenous Knowledge for a Sustainable Future,” examines ways in which traditional indigenous approaches to the environment and harvest as practiced by the Potawatomi can teach us valuable lessons about healing our own relationship to the living earth. |
| An Herbal Medicine-Making Primer | Simon the Simpler | This zine is an excellent introduction to making your own herbal medicines with plants that you forage yourself in the wild. It features an essay explaining the importance of making our own medicine and then outlines how to make several different types of herbal medicines. These include infusions, decoctions, salves, syrups, infused oils, tinctures, glycerites, etc. |
| Botany Everyday | Marc Williams | Introductory botany course by the wonderful ethnobotanist Marc Williams. Offered annually, by donation. |
| Foraging and Feasting | Dina Falconi | Profiles of edible/medicinal wild plants along with detailed botanical illustrations, recipes, and harvesting protocols. Species relevant across the continent, but weighted toward the Northeast US |
| Go Botany | Native Plant Trust | Excellent online plant identification (and key) resource for New England/Northeast US region |
| Foraging and Feasting | Dina Falconi | How-to videos on ethical wildcrafting for food and medicine |
LAND STEWARDSHIP
| Wild Wisdom Zine | kuwa jasiri Indomela | |
| Indigenous Sovereignty: One Land Plot at a Time | KQED | KQED | The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, in East Oakland is an urban Indigenous women-led community organization that facilitates the return of Chochenyo and Karkin Ohlone lands in the San Francisco Bay Area to Indigenous stewardship. |
| Reclaiming the Honorable Harvest | Robin Kimmerer at TEDxSitka | Her talk, “Reclaiming the Honorable Harvest: Indigenous Knowledge for a Sustainable Future,” examines ways in which traditional indigenous approaches to the environment and harvest as practiced by the Potawatomi can teach us valuable lessons about healing our own relationship to the living earth. |
| Herbalism in an Age of Mass Extinction, Part One: Context, Concepts and Strategy | Janet Kent | Sweeping discussion of ecologically-minded wildcrafting practices in the age of mass extinction, part one |
| Herbalism in an Age of Mass Extinction, Part Two: Ecologically Minded Practice | Janet Kent | Sweeping discussion of ecologically-minded wildcrafting practices in the age of mass extinction, part two |
| New England Farmers of Color Land Trust | Stephanie Morningstar, Çaca Yvaire | “NEFOC is working towards a collective vision of advancing land and food sovereignty in the northeast region through permanent and secure land tenure for POC farmers and land stewards who will use the land in a sacred manner that honors our ancestors dreams – for sustainable farming, human habitat, ceremony, native ecosystem restoration, and cultural preservation.” |
REMEDY MAKING - PRESERVATION & FORMULATIONYour Title Goes Here
| Herb Infused Honey Tutorial | Herbal Academy | How to make an herbal infused honey |
| Herbal Honeys & Syrups Tutorial | Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine | How to make an herbal infused honey or syrup |
| An Herbal Medicine-Making Primer | Simon the Simpler | This zine is an excellent introduction to making your own herbal medicines with plants that you forage yourself in the wild. It features an essay explaining the importance of making our own medicine and then outlines how to make several different types of herbal medicines. These include infusions, decoctions, salves, syrups, infused oils, tinctures, glycerites, etc. |
| Tincturing The Folk Medicine Traditional Way | Jenn Costa | Explains how to preserve herbs for medicinal uses |
| Medicine Making | Herbalista | This website is intended to support the craft of the practicing herbalist and help us continue our traditions in healthcare! These guidelines are intended for community herbalists… not manufacturers. |
HERBALISTS AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTS & PRODUCTS
| Jen Costa | Woodstock, NY | Jennifer Costa | Offering consults, herbs via apothecary and online herbal education. |
| Suzanna Stone | Scottsville, VA | Owlcraft Healing Ways | Offering consults, herbs via apothecary and in-person herbal education |
| Lauren Giambrone | Hudson, NY | Good Fight Herb Co | |
| Mandana Boushee | Phoenicia, NY | Mandana Boushee | |
| Amanda David | Ithaca, NY | Root Work Herbals | |
| Geraldine Lavine | Brooktondale, NY | Sun Trap | |
| 7Song | Ithaca, NY | 7 song | |
| Dina Falconi | Accord, NY | Botanical Arts Press | |
| Hannah Schiller | Hudson Valley, NY | Foliage Botanics | |
| Karen Rose | New York City, NY | Sacred Vibes Healing | Offering herbal remedies and in person and online education |
| Mandi Sanders | Starkville, MS | Son Sand Moon | Offering herbal remedies, some consultations, online herbal education coming soon |
CATEGORY: Materia Medica
| A Modern Herbal | Maude Grieve | The hyper-text version of… A Modern Herbal, first published in 1931, by Mrs. M. Grieve, contains Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-Lore of Herbs. |