A while back I posted about limoncillo. Well this is limoncillo’s “sister plant” called Pague (dogweed / fetid marigold / Dyssodia papposa). As an herbal remedy, it can be used as an alternative to limoncillo. A tea made from the leaves and flowers of Pague are used to settle the stomach and relieve GI discomfort….
Free Remedios Workshop for Hispanic Heritage Week Me and my comadre, Pilar Trujillo of Viva Vida Botanica, will be hosting a free remedios workshop at Northern New Mexico College on Wednesday, September 18th at noon. We’ll be talking about remedios for seasonal support… just in time for the transition into autumn! See flyer for more…
Limoncillo / lemon scented chinchweed (Pectis angustifolia) has become one of my favorite herbs to take as a beverage. It was introduced to me several years ago by my neighbor after she made a salve with it. It was love at first whiff!! Its scent is just really quite pleasant. And it has a pleasant…
ELDERberry embodies wisdom. From an Ayurvedic perspective, its role is to dry and cool.. so it also serves as a mild expectorant. But perhaps elderberry’s better known attribute is its antiviral properties. My understanding is that it disables an enzyme in the flu virus, so basically it stops viral replication. It’s contains certain compounds that…
This morning we did a steam distillation of coyaye harvested from our front yard. Also called snakeweed / escoba de la vibora / Gutierrezia. Surprisingly this distillation is yielding a decent amount of essential oil, so we’re thinking of using it to create an arthritis relief salve. This special and abundant plant has a wide…
Today we saw a plethora of dormilón / cutleaf coneflower / Rudbekia laciniata. It’s pretty common so you’re bound to come across it in the mountains. It’s traditionally used as a remedy for delayed menstruation, birthing contractions, and pelvic inflammatory issues. But also has high value for immune support during cold and flu season. If…
Here’s a good example of when poison is also medicine! I came across a huge stand of Red Baneberry (unripened) yesterday, which is also called Red Cohosh (Actaea rubra). Everything above ground is very poisonous, but the roots are known for assisting with lower back problems, PMS, menopause… so in an energetic/spiritual sense, it moves…
Pedicularis, also called Betony, is considered a pretty top notch plant medicine. New Mexico has at least 7 Pedicularis species. Pictured is Pedicularis racemosa. After identifying a few Pedicularis species several years ago, I started digging in to the medicinal properties of this beauty. According to Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West (Michael Moore) it’s…
Today I created a new Facebook Group: Edible & Medicinal Plants of New Mexico. I know there were already several NM plant groups on Facebook, but those groups are focused on either gardening or identification. Both of which are great, but there wasn’t a group specific to discussing edible/medicinal/spiritual values or characteristics of New Mexico’s…