Plants!

I took an herbology course at the end of June, and at the time, I was a little disappointed with it. Now, a few months later, I have to admit that it really helped stir my interest in medicinal plants that we just know as "weeds" that grow all around us. I've been pretty lucky this summer to have gone on some plant walks both guided and with friends, and feel like I'm finally starting to recognize many of the little things growing all around me.

The first self-guided walk, that a friend and I went on, reminded me of walking through a large museum, or trying to get through all the galleries in Chelsea. You really had to choose what to look at, because there was so much. You could either stop and look and try to identify each plant you saw, or you could take stock, and keep moving and until something catches your eye. We were armed with plant identification books, and it helped that my friend had been through that patch of woods many times, and had seen many of the plants earlier stages (like flowering) which really help with identification.

Jewelweed was the first plant that I feel like I really made friends with. It was nice that it was such an exact match with all of our guidebooks as well. Much like when you learn a new word, you start to hear it everywhere you go, once we saw and identified the Jewelweed, we couldn't stop seeing it at every turn. It is definitely an invasive species, and you can see why once it gets to its seedpod stage, they literally POP! and spray the seeds all over the ground.

Its use is mainly for skin irritations, and the leaves and stems are especially helpful for the poison ivy rash. You can just mash them up and put them directly on the skin. They start to become a bit mucilaginous when you break and squish them, making it easier to apply to your skin. I also took some home and heated the chopped leaves and stems in oil (on a very low heat), for several hours, then strained out the solids to make a topical Jewelweed solution to have on hand.

The other photo is of Virginia Creeper, which was the first one I identified all by myself! Fun stuff. I started some herbal tinctures on Friday, so I'll post those photos soon!