The salsifies are spring weeds.Three species are found all over North America, introduced from Europe. Salsify, also called vegetable oyster and oyster plant, Tragopogon porrifolius, is a purple-flowered plant with a flower shaped like a dandelion, narrow leaves, and a seed head like a large dandelion (about the size of a tennis ball). Meadow salsify, […]

Freakin’ out?  Upset?  Worried about what might happen? Have PMS?  High blood pressure? You might just need some Motherwort! Motherwort may be just a weed to most, but it has many uses and benefits.  Hidden among the other green plants, it thrives and flourishes.  If you just look for it, you will find it.  If […]

Russian, Common and Prickly Comfrey, learning how to know them when you see them. Common Comfrey Common comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is an erect, stout, often branched perennial, 20 – 42 inches tall. The large leaves are broadly lance-shaped. The middle and upper leaves are without stems, but the point at which they attach to the […]

Plantains, especially common plantain, Plantago major, and lanceleaf plantain, Plantago lancelolata, are very common plants, so common they usually go unnoticed.  They’re small plants (up to 20” tall, often much less) with flat leaves and distinctive veins running the length of the rounded (common plantain) or long narrow (lanceleaf plantain) leaves. All the leaves come […]

Some of the many varieties of mint made clear. Commercial Cultivation of peppermint and spearmint dates from 1750 in England; by 1790 the industry had migrated to the United States. Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) is primarily grown today in the fertile, sandy loam soils of the Pacific Northwest; “native” spearmint (M. spicata) and Scotch spearmint […]

A little-known plant, found abundantly in Mongolia as well as North America, with a multitude of uses. In the space race of the 1960s and 1970s, the Soviets had an inside track to keeping their astronauts in the peak of health; oil of the sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides). Used as a vitamin supplement and as […]

Skunkbush (Rhus trilobata) and fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica) (in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae) are widespread sumacs. If you think smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) when you think of sumac, you may not recognize them. Instead of a large compound leaf with long leaflets on each side, skunkbush and aromatic sumac have smaller, three-lobed, irregularly-shaped leaves. Both […]

Sumac. It is a weedy shrub that fills in neglected pastures and spreads into your yard. But if you haven’t done so, stop and taste the red fruits. There are twelve species of sumac native to the United States, 130 worldwide. All the actual sumacs, genus Rhus, have red fruits and are safe to eat. […]

Lambsquarters is a vegetable most people weed out of their yards. The foraging community calls it wild spinach. Lambsquarters: A Wild Spinach with Many Names Lambsquarters, Chenopodium album, in the amarathus family (Amaranthaceae), was a pot herb (vegetable you add to the stew) across Eurasia and was certainly brought to North America as a food. […]

In this episode, host Joanne Bauman discusses Elder (Sambucus), its history, folklore, and how to use it. Mother Earth Gardener – Elderberry Benefits Mother Earth Living – Amazing Elderberry Properties Herbal Living – Elderberry vs Pokeberry Identification JoAnne’s Website: Prairie Magic Herbals JoAnne’s Facebook: Prairie Magic Herbals Products and Books Elderberry Syrup Kit with honey Elderberry […]