I recently spent a day in a workshop
given by Susun S. Weed, called "My Herbal Medicine Chest," which elucidated the
healing powers residing in more than a dozen common plants, from burdock to yarrow. Weed, an ethnobotanist and internationally recognized expert in
herbal medicine, has devoted her life to the study of plants of all sorts, and
her workshop was a revelation. She added immeasurably to my
knowledge not only of herbal remedies, but also how to spot and utilize these
plants, most of which grow right around us. Plantain, for instance,
is a common weed that grows all across North America in front lawns and
meadows, and even pops up through the cracks in your driveway. (See photo: Common
Plantain, plantago major, is distinct
from the banana-like fruit that grows in the tropics.) It has remarkable
healing properties when chewed and made into a poultice. A few days after the
workshop, I happened to slash the heel of my hand while doing home repairs, and
decided to forgo the hydrogen peroxide and sterile gauze pads and give plantain
a try. Chewing a small leaf and spreading it across the bleeding, inch-long
gash, I covered the moist poultice with a whole leaf and wrapped it all with a
strip of adhesive tape. The pain dissipated almost immediately, the bleeding
stopped, and I forgot about it as I continued working.
