Oregon Grape

This weeks plant was Oregon Grape, Mahonia aquifolia, M. nervosa, M. repens,

M. aquifolia is the state flower of Oregon. It is a leafy bush of a plant growing two to six feet in height and covered with wavy, prickly, pinnate leaves. The leaflets are shiny, dark green above and a dull green below growing in an opposite pattern with a single terminal leaflet. The number of leaflets per leaf will vary from 5 to 7 to 9. The compound leaves are alternate growing from long, thin petioles branching out from tough brown woody stems. Sometimes a few of the leaves will turn a brilliant red. Scratch the surface of the woody stems and the inner yellow bark is revealed. Touch your tongue to this and taste the berberine. The roots grow rhizominously into underground runners, often times with more than one above ground “plant” emerging from the same root system. In march and april, as spring unfurls and the weather in these parts becomes dreamy again, Oregon Grape blooms into clusters of bright yellow, fragrant flowers. After the bees have their way with the flowers, they mature into round, blue-purple clusters of “grapes”. Really they are berries and if you eat a few you will find them to be sour and bitter at the same time. They make a great summer body paint and will stain your skin until you jump into the nearest river to wash it all off.

M. nervosa is very much like the above save that it is the short variety (but not the shortest). Its leaves are longer as well, consisting of 13 to 19 leaflets. Its roots also grow laterally, just under the surface of the soil. There is great joy to be found in the delicate tugging and pulling it takes to unearth one of these roots without breaking the runner too soon.

M. repens is the smallest of the three. It is often found creeping along the ground and it prefers the dryer habitats of the east side of Mt Hood and similar environs. It often has elaborate underground rhizome roots running all around each other. Tug at one and find it connected to a vast underground network of woody roots and tender rootlets.

You will find Oregon Grape growing in one or more of its forms throughout Oregon, Washington, B.C., Idaho, Montana, Nevada, California and it even has species that grow in the desert SW and south into Mexico. The plant can be locally very abundant and can be a significant undergrowth species in old growth as well as second growth forests of Doug fir and Hemlock. It grows on both sides of Mt Hood, but not in the alpine.

Mahonia truly carries the essence of old Oregon. It is a dependable plant, easily accessible, hard working, modest, beautiful and fragrant without being showy or flashy. This plant can get things done. Plain and simple, honest and forthright, Oregon Grape is a plant that can be called on to heal a variety of illnesses.

The roots, lower stems and leaves are all medicinal. I feel this plant is an extremely important plant to know, especially if you find yourself living in its bioregion.

The roots and lower stems are best gathered in the early fall, but can be collected from late summer to early winter. The leaves are best collected after they have hardened in May until the middle of the fall, after which point it is best to leave them alone.
The dried leaves of Oregon Grape are an effective antimicrobial. Steep them in hot water until the water is no longer hot and then strain the leaf material and warm the liquid back up. Soak affected part right in the bowl, or wet a clean cloth with the medicinal liquid and drape over affected area. This is great for wounds that just won’t heal, wounds that you don’t want to get infected, and wounds that have already gotten infected. I have also found that the dried leaf tea top be very effective for getting rid of acne.

For wounds and infections that are more persistent, the root must be enlisted to your healing service. A decoction (tea) in which the root material steeps in at first boiling water for 12 or so hours will be vastly more potent. Clean and scrub roots. Shave down to the inner bark or simply cut into small segments with pruners. Add hot water and let sit for the prescribed amount of time.

Internally the tea and tincture are very useful for stomach microbes. Eat some bad egg salad? Drink the water at too low an elevation? Push the envelope on the expiration date of your milk? Oregon Grape can help you. It may not speedily cure your dysentery or Giardia, but it will certainly slow it down and if you consistently ingest the teas that have been steeping for 24 to 72 hours (the longer, the stronger) you will rid yourself of those pesky little Giardia rascals. The tincture will not work for this purpose.

Oregon Grape is also a stimulant to liver metabolism and is an atimicrobial. This makes it a great ally for when you are sick with a cold. Most colds are caused by microbes that are messing with your internal chemistry. Oregon grape will help id you of the microbes while it flushes the liver (which is where the dead little buggers will go to be processed)

Oregon Grape is very effective for cold and flue season especially when combined with Devil’s Club, Yellow Dock, Burdock, Elderberry, and/or Rhishi mushroom.

For colds and flues, the tincture is very useful and that is why we have prepared it for the up and coming winter season.

This weeks class was attended by Chris, Marion, Eric, John, Lacy and myself. We identified the plant, learned the hard facts from the field guides, drew the plant with both sides of our brains, and then made a root tincture from brandy.

Thank you all for attending. See you next week!

Devil's Club

Our plant of the week was Devil's Club, (Oplopanax horridus).

There is but one Devil's Club and it is unmistakable in appearance. It's large spiky leaves resemble Maple, but once you touch the leaf of Devil's Club, there is no way to confuse the two. The stalk, or club, of the Devil's Club is two to over ten feet tall and covered in spikes for all but the last foot or so above the ground. The plant grows from creeping rhizomes that form dense stands just under the duff of the forest floor. From these runner roots grow thin rootlets that sink into the earth. There are no spikes on the roots. Devil's Club has an impressive flower bloom that is greenish white in color and arranged like spiral pinnacles. In the late summer, the berries form bright red pyramids of fruit good for birds and bears, but not humans.

Devil's club is a plant of old forests and if you find a patch of it growing, know that you are in a portion of the woods that have not been too disturbed by the intrusion of humans. Its range is from Coastal Alaska south to Oregon. It grows east throughout British Columbia and northern Washington on into Montana and Idaho. In all of these regions the forest needs to be a wet one, moist enough to host Western Red Cedar. However, the further north one goes, the more one will find Devil's Club growing out in the open.

I find that the plant is most exalted in the old growth forest of the west slope of the Cascade Mountains. It is here in the cathedral forest that light can filter through a healthy canopy and dance upon the large spiky fan leaves tops of the Devil's Club, providing impressions of shadow and illumination that do not soon leave the beholder.

The Medicine Club has adopted the gathering method written about by Tara at hobostripper.com. It is the cut, shave, and strip method of harvesting just the upright "clubs" and a few inches of the root. This placement of the cut eases the stress of harvesting from the stands of Devils Club. The medicine is still very potent and a years worth of personal research has shown that as a wellness formula, Devil's Club works fine when harvested like this.

Devil's Club is best harvested with gloves on. Bring a pair of clippers into the forest, as it will make your job easier on you and the plant. Cut a few inches of the root and then cut again about a foot or so above the ground. This "club" will be easy to transport out of the woods. Then take back to your prep area, shave off the spines and outer bark, revealing the succulent green inner bark. Strip this from the hard inner wood by girdling the club and cutting into strips one inch wide and three to five inches long. Cut and peel. Pile the strong smelling strips separate from the shaving area for tincture or to be dried for tea.

Devils Club is a medicine of many uses. Please read Michael Moore or do lots of online research in order to learn more about this wonderful plant. I will write about what I know about the plant. Devil's Club is an amazing restorer or depleted energy reserves. The Northwest Native peoples from Alaska to Oregon have called Devil's Club a panacea, and assert that it can cure most anything.

First and foremost Devil's Club is, to quote Michael Moore, "A safe and reliable expectorant and respiratory stimulant, increasing the mucus secretions to initiate fruitful coughing and soften up hardened bronchial mucus that can occur later in a chest cold."

I have found that in times of life where I am spreading myself thin, when I have taken on too many projects or have stayed up too late engaged in wine fueled love making once again and my vital essence is well drained, under these conditions and many more I have found that the Devil's Club will come to the rescue and help restore my energy levels. Granted, I have to do my part and rest up a bit and take things easy.

Feeling a little sick, but not yet fully knocked out? Take some Devil's Club. Feeling the winter time blues? Take some Devil's Club (and a little California Poppy). Feeling sluggish? Low energy? Take some Devil's Club.

There has been a long history of Devil's Club for Adult Onset Diabetes. I have yet to work directly with this disease state so I would recommend more research if you are looking to treat you or someone else's diabetes with Devil's Club.

I have found that Devil's Club will decrease one's desire for sugars. I have heard that Native Americans of the region would drink Devil's Club tea on a fast because they said it reduced hunger and the need for food. I have found that my appetite decreases when I am using Devil's Club as a tonic for wellness.

Devil's Club has been likened to Ginseng. Both plants are more than capable of restoring the bodies energy systems. Michael Moore puts it best when he says Devils Clubs "main value is in modifying extremes of metabolic stress and adding a little reserve to offset the persons internal cost of living."

This weeks class was great. The Devil's Club workings are the funniest sessions of the Medicine Club. Something about the plant is just down right giggly, especially for those inclined to sexy humor, what with all the shaving and stripping and rendering smooth of the staff or club and the piling of the lovely smelling strips.

I'm not going to get too into it. It's just something that you'll have to attend in person next fall.

The class drew the images in both the spirit form and the analog of how it is. We talked a lot about old growth forests, strippers, and the devil in the ecological and geographical history of the West.

Thank you to everyone for being a part of this weeks class.

See you next time,

D

Sitka Valerian

This weeks plant was Sitka Valerian (Valeriana sitchensis).  I took this picture while gathering. However unglamorous it appears, this is how the plant looks at harvest time.  

We also looked at V. officionalis, V. dioica, and V. capitata.  As a genus, Valerian is a cosmopolitan plant growing in many different habitats around the northern hemisphere.

Sitka Valerian is a plant of high mountain meadows at or below tree line.  It prefers moist meadows and clearings between Mountain Hemlock and Subalpine Fir, sometimes found growing well away from trees in the open alpine regions like Paradise Park.

I collected this batch from the timberline trail of Mt. Hood.  This time of year, after the first frost, you can smell the tell tale odor of Sitka Valerian wafting on the breeze for about twenty yards before the patches of the plant are encountered. Often, it's the smell more than anything else that helps you to find the plant.

Sitka Valerian has upright stems tow or so feet tall with one or two sets of opposite leaves along the stem, each group well separated from the next.  During the flowering times, the stem is crowned by white to pale pink umbel flower heads that look similar to mustard and carrot family flowers.

When flowering is complete, the stem deteriorates, leaving the basal leaves to photosynthesis for the remainder of the season.

The roots of Sitka Valerian are hardy, almost woody, yet succulent and smelly too.  The plant sets a main rhizome which branches off into many translucent rootlets.  It grows in clusters and is often found in the company of lupine, green corn lilly, bistort, and other lovers of the high mountain meadows.

Let's take a moment to consider the yearly round of Sitka Valerian, who is often found growing at 6000 feet on the west side of the Cascade Mountains.  By late march there is often 15 or more feet of snow on top of the ground where the plant grows.  The loamy soil that hosts the roots is frozen, often to the depth of two to three feet below the surface.  In late May, when the valley's are feeling the sun and people are sporting tank tops, the snow begins to melt.  The meltdown is not usually complete until mid June, at which point the alpine meadows are soggy with the remains of the previous winter.  The soil up there does not hold water very well, so the roots must use this time to wake up from the winter's frost and drink deep of the most water abundant time of year.  By July the heat is on.  The sun's UV rays are stronger in the alpine than they are in the valleys.  The soil begins to dry up and all of Valerians energy goes into flowering.  By August, it is hot and dusty in the alpine.  Rain is scarce and if it comes, it usually drains away within hours.  First frost usually comes by the end of september and come October, the snow begins to fall again.

Sitka Valerian is a tough plant.  It is for this reason that I prefer to harvest it over all the other Valerians. I believe that a little of that mountain hardiness transfers over to the plant, and that the medicine of Sitka Valerian is stronger than out garden variety of V. officionalis.

All of the Valerians are a sedative and an antispasmodic.  In my humble opinion V. sitchensis the most potent.  The medicine of Valerian puts you to sleep.  If you have ever had a night with the wheels of your mind spinning round and round as you lay awake in bed thinking about everything from your mother's health to tomorrows responsibility, to your car and whether or not you locked the passenger side door, to a thousand other things that move jingle around your brain like change in your pocket.  It is for nights like this that Valerian is very useful.

I have also had good success putting children down to sleep with Valerian, especially little children who refuse to go to bed because it's that time of life in which they test their parents at every corner as a child's will is developed.  A word of warning, the taste is really hard to conceal.  My kids soon caught on to the tell tale taste of the medicine, even when I hid it in honey and I was only able to pull this trick on them a few times.  It was, however, very effective every time and I owe my success at "the bedtime wars" to Valerian.

If you are an adult, Valerian will calm you down enough to go to sleep.  During times of my life that the wheels of mind would not slow down, I have found this plant to be a great ally. Insomnia can really suck the life out of a person.  Valerian will help put an end to it.

But Valerian can become a little habit forming.  So, if you find yourself returning to it's medicine again and again, perhaps you should meditate and get to the root of your monkey mind problem.  What's really on your mind and what can you do about it? You may need to develop a meditation practice to calm your mind from the inside out.

This weeks class was really chill.  It was just me, Jon, and Erik.  I am very sensitive to the medicine of Valerian.  The process of gathering it puts me in a very dreamy state.  Then being in the Medicine club room, picking apart the roots, drawing the plant, and inhaling that funky smell, all gave me a buzz that is unlike any other.

The three of us drew the plant and made out spirit images of the plant.  We talked about Valerian and dream time as well.

Valerian has always had a profound affect on my dreams.  I have found them to be more vivid, lucid, and strange when I take the medicine.  This is not true for everyone.  Some people report very unsettling, bizarre, and disturbing dreams after taking Valerian.

There are certain metabolisms that will not fit well with Valerian.  It can be a stimulant to some and can also make for a rough awakening the next morning complete with grogginess and an unwillingness to face the day. 

Back to the medicine at hand...we cleaned the roots and removed a half-pint jar of mountain soil that is now on display at the Medicine Club room.  The clean roots were broken by hand and put into a half pint jar and a tincture was made using brandy.

Jon, Eric and myself finished off the class with a discussion of the search for Soma.  I related my unsuccessful attempts at a northwest blend of plants that involved Sitka Valerian.  I have found that the medicine of this plant to be so potent that its effects over-ride the medicines of the other plants such as Bleeding Heart and Morning Glory.  The Medicine Club will be investigating this and other phenomena of plant alchemy during the late fall and winter.

Thank you all,

see you next week.