Medicine plant of the Day

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@Pearl I obviously have too many photos to go through but I took a photo of what you are describing here in Texas. If I could find them I would post them.
Stinkhorn fungi. There are several different colors and there is one other one that well ...never mind. I'm not going to write about it. This is a fairly gross and disgusting looking photo of one, others don't look quite as bad. If we could just not let our thoughts lead us in that direction...would we even be able to discuss it here. no. I do not think so.
That's it, have only seen them when it's an unusually wet spring or summer. Are they actually a mushroom? Do they have any medicinal purposes?
 
I haven't seen it here. I don't know much about mushrooms, only a few medicinal or edibles. I see a lot of different species in woods around here but haven't studied them as a group. But i do know mushrooms are some of the most dangerous plants in the woods. And there's a lot of bad ones.
Surprised you don't have them there?!
 
Nature is filled with powerful antivirals. Just about anything in the mint family is antiviral. Best part, many are area specific. Some are better for upper respiratory, others for the lungs and bronchial tubes. And still others can address both.

Many times they can address other issues concurrently. Exp. can address a virus and dampen a cough or clear a stuffy head. Like poke sallet, powerful enough to kill the aids virus in mice but can ease arthritis pain at the same time.
 
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What are the weird little things that look like mushroom penises?? 4" tall pinkish, looks like penis???
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And look what I found today!! Unusual time of the year!!
 
Found this today, a surprise actually, usually don't see it until march. Then i started seeing dozens of them, also a surprise.

Chimaphila maculata aka Pipsissewa, Spotted Wintergreen and Striped Wintergreen

An amazing plant!!! Also very powerful. It flushes and tones our entire lymphatic system and glands. And if that wasn't enough... it flushes and tones our urinary tract, great for kidneys and the bladder. Get kidneys working perfectly. It'll even reduce a swollen prostate, under certain conditions. It’s not for topical use. It contains tannin's that will raise a blister on your skin.

A very beneficial plant but hard to find. It’s quirky, likes old timber in general but will show up in odd places. Will put up a single stalk and have one small flower. I only see it in early spring, disappears in a few short weeks.

Remembered another use... 100yrs ago here in the south horses and mules were the only power on a farm. During spring plowing over worked horses and mules would be fed crossvine (an adaptogen) and wintergreen.

Crossvine worked on their adrenal glands giving them energy (one of several things). The wintergreen flushed the toxins from the lymphatic system and toned the kidneys. The horses recovered quickly and would be ready for work the next morning.

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I have seen stripped Wintergreen here in Midlands of S.C.

What are stinkhorns? Stinkhorns are mushrooms that are found from the tropics to more temperate regions such as Wisconsin. They can suddenly appear in mulch, lawns, and areas with bare soil. These visually-shocking fungi get their common name from their characteristic, unpleasant odor. Although they are often unwanted additions to home gardens, stinkhorns do not cause plant dise stinkhorns ase. Because stinkhorns can grow on dead organic material, they actually are beneficial in that they contribute to the recycling of plant debris into nutrients that improve soil fertility and can be used by garden plants.
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/stinkhorns/
 
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Found this today, a surprise actually, usually don't see it until march. Then i started seeing dozens of them, also a surprise.

Chimaphila maculata aka Pipsissewa, Spotted Wintergreen and Striped Wintergreen

An amazing plant!!! Also very powerful. It flushes and tones our entire lymphatic system and glands. And if that wasn't enough... it flushes and tones our urinary tract, great for kidneys and the bladder. Get kidneys working perfectly. It'll even reduce a swollen prostate, under certain conditions. It’s not for topical use. It contains tannin's that will raise a blister on your skin.

A very beneficial plant but hard to find. It’s quirky, likes old timber in general but will show up in odd places. Will put up a single stalk and have one small flower. I only see it in early spring, disappears in a few short weeks.

Remembered another use... 100yrs ago here in the south horses and mules were the only power on a farm. During spring plowing over worked horses and mules would be fed crossvine (an adaptogen) and wintergreen.

Crossvine worked on their adrenal glands giving them energy (one of several things). The wintergreen flushed the toxins from the lymphatic system and toned the kidneys. The horses recovered quickly and would be ready for work the next morning.

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I've seen that around here
 
Interesting that yours looks just a little bit different, leaf shape is rounder and looks more veined.

I see a pattern to this... Where mullein gets lots of rain it's leaves tend to be much bigger. And, the western mullein may be a subspecies? Don't know...
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Had to go to town so I did a little plant hunting. Found yellow root in bloom. Most plants get big, put on leaves before blooming. Yellowroot is similar to many trees, they reproduce as soon as they bud out. It's leaves are still tiny.

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Not really medicines, don't know anyone who uses them... But two of my favorite wild plants, Azaleas and Sweet Shrub... Not a lot of blooms from either species this spring, no explanation, we've had plenty of rain, cold at the right times... Funny how nature has it's rules but doesn't tell the rest of us what they are!!! 🤣 Wild plants never cease to surprise me. Just when i think i know a species well... it does something inexplicable.

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I just noticed my poke berry bush emerging. I had to dig it up to move it so I was worried I might have killed it. (We pay money for them here.)
I will mail you all the root you need, just DM me an POB. I doubt you can kill them, unless the tried real real hard to.
Fire broke out, burned every plant to the ground & killed a few small trees & the poke came back before the grass did.
 
Went to town, did a little plant hunting on the way back. Starting to call this road ‘old reliable’. Lots of meds growing wild. Stopped and checked on my boat (not really mine)… A few years ago I found this sail boat in the middle of a forest, 300miles from the ocean and miles from a paved road. First time I saw it I’d hiked in a mile off a dirt road. Now I know it’s much closer to another dirt road. That's where I went in today. Still makes me laugh… Who parks a sail boat in a forest? 🤣

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I found Bo Hog root, coming up nicely. Bo Hog Root aka hairy angelica aka Angelica venenosa.

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/bo-hog-root.1887/

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Found boneset growing too, aka Eupatorium perfoliatum. I harvested from this spot a few years ago.

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/boneset.9477/

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Mountain mint is growing nicely… Pycnanthemum sp, there are several species in the eastern US.

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/mountain-mint.6983/

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Next was Wild Quinine aka Parthenium integrifolium. For several years I’ve been harvesting seed from this spot and sowing them elsewhere. None of those have come up yet. Wild seed is funny that way, might be years before it germinates.

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/homemade-quinine-recipe.12710/

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I saw lots of Self Heal, Prunella vulgaris, a great medicine. I’ve used it many times. It’s very common here.

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Also saw Yarrow… achillea millefolium. Wonderful medicine every woman should know… great for treating battle wounds too. Ancient warriors used it, even Achilles during the trojan wars. They named it after him. For just as long, women have been using it to get pregnant.

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/yarrow.1922/

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A lastly, found some more Yaupon Holly. It usually doesn’t grow this far north. 60Miles to the south it’s common.

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/yaupon-holly.11903/

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Noticed medicinal plants everywhere yesterday... First up, one of the verbena's is blooming. It's closely related to blue vervain. They can be used interchangeably. They are fantastic for severe headaches and migraines. I take it for that. Also excellent for the rota and noro viruses.

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The mullein in my yard is doing nicely. The middle pic is Plantago major aka common plantain. I sowed this seed 15yrs ago. It came up this spring... (Seed from wild plants do strange things... like lay dormant for a decade or two!!! There is a sedge grass in my lower pastures whose seed can lay dormant over 100yrs. Good luck getting rid if it :mad:)

Bottom pic is eastern red cedar. Last year i saw it heal a staff infection on a cow's udder (along with garlic). A few times a year I put the fronds in the water tank of my chickens, keeps them healthy. It's also very good medicine for people.

The berries in the pic are blue, they look white. It's actually a white powder substance on the berries. The white powder is yeast that can be collected and used for baking. Might have to try strains from multiple trees before finding a good strain.

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I think I’ve seen something similar this week in the purple flower photos. @Peanut —The verbena.
I haven’t planted my mullein seed yet. My friend did so much yard work for me, I didn’t ask him to, he just did it. 💖 It looks so much nicer! He planted some of the perennials I bought too.
I bought some other medicinal herb seeds online from a place in Colorado.
I’m serious about having a flowery yard and would not mind standing up for my rights.
We came across a shrub in the flower fields that had scented leaves. It looked like a type of oak leaf. So much out there.
 
I think I’ve seen something similar this week in the purple flower photos. @Peanut —The verbena.
I haven’t planted my mullein seed yet. My friend did so much yard work for me, I didn’t ask him to, he just did it. 💖 It looks so much nicer! He planted some of the perennials I bought too.
I bought some other medicinal herb seeds online from a place in Colorado.
I’m serious about having a flowery yard and would not mind standing up for my rights.
We came across a shrub in the flower fields that had scented leaves. It looked like a type of oak leaf. So much out there.
There's a lot of verbena locally! I eat the flowers, good for sinus issues and the heart!
 
The mullein in my yard is doing nicely. The middle pic is Plantago major aka common plantain. I sowed this seed 15yrs ago. It came up this spring... (Seed from wild plants do strange things... like lay dormant for a decade or two!!! There is a sedge grass in my lower pastures whose seed can lay dormant over 100yrs. Good luck getting rid if it :mad:)

Bottom pic is eastern red cedar. Last year i saw it heal a staff infection on a cow's udder (along with garlic). A few times a year I put the fronds in the water tank of my chickens, keeps them healthy. It's also very good medicine for people.

The berries in the pic are blue, they look white. It's actually a white powder substance on the berries. The white powder is yeast that can be collected and used for baking. Might have to try strains from multiple trees before finding a good strain.

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I didn’t know that about the powder on the berries. I did know that cedar is good for us. So interesting.
 
There's a lot of verbena locally! I eat the flowers, good for sinus issues and the heart!
Do you have a pix of which one you eat? There are lots of varieties. I might need to seed some secretly in other people’s gardens- I’m running out of room 😇
 
Do you have a pix of which one you eat? There are lots of varieties. I might need to seed some secretly in other people’s gardens- I’m running out of room 😇

Everyone needs to be growing medicines!! Instead, some fill their yard with useless plants. I never understood that logic. Especially when some of the best medicines are beautiful. Far more than what i see in the garden dept of the local stores. There's monarda, clematis, butterfly weed, the list is endless... Why not grow something to sooth the mind and heal the body?

I found a rare lily couple years ago. Completely wild, just out in the woods doing it's thing. Gorgeous bloom, I'd rather have one of these in my yard than 100 roses.

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@Peanut you would have had a hay day today. Not necessarily med plants but here are some pix. Oh yeah lots of OR grape - didn’t take any today. Maybe next weekend.

Okay... i put my soap box away. 😁 Names please! What are those plants?

Do you mean oregon grape the shrub? If so, it contains berberine. So do golden seal, barberry and yellowroot. I've heard its superior to goldenseal. Both are harsh compared to yellowroot. They are more like the 'bull in the china shop' approach. Yellowroot is much gentler.

I'm sure it's the mix of other chemicals in ogrpe an gseal that cause this effect. Every plant is different. That's the mistake of big pharma. They isolate what they see as the 'active chemical' in a plant, synthesize it, then make a medicine. They never realize or care than all the chemicals in a plant are important. Darn, tripped over my soap box again... :)
 
Okay... i put my soap box away. 😁 Names please! What are those plants?

Do you mean oregon grape the shrub? If so, it contains berberine. So do golden seal, barberry and yellowroot. I've heard its superior to goldenseal. Both are harsh compared to yellowroot. They are more like the 'bull in the china shop' approach. Yellowroot is much gentler.

I'm sure it's the mix of other chemicals in ogrpe an gseal that cause this effect. Every plant is different. That's the mistake of big pharma. They isolate what they see as the 'active chemical' in a plant, synthesize it, then make a medicine. They never realize or care than all the chemicals in a plant are important. Darn, tripped over my soap box again... :)
So the first one is Dutchman's Britches - real name Dicentra Cucullaria. Supposedly Natives used it to cure syphilis. It's also known as staggerweed by ranchers since it causes psychoactive effects when consumed by livestock.
The second one l am still trying to identify.
Third is Woolen Britches or Boraginaceae Hydrophyllum. I don't know anything about it yet. When we are hiking, l take pix of plants that catch my eye. When we get back in service, l look them up and do my homework. Sometimes things are toxic, sometimes helpful etc. but it helps me learn.

On the OR grape - yes low growing "shrub." It's actually usually just a few leaves in this area but in the western side of OR it becomes more of a shrub. I know a year or so ago, l learned quite a bit more about it and thought it would be a good one for me to have on hand (l don't typically keep plant meds especially in tincture form for the heck of it). One of the reasons l didn't pick any yesterday (tincture the root) is because l didn't remember exactly the particulars and l wanted to brush up and know exactly prior to doing anything. l have a pretty healthy respect for plant meds & l agree it's often the combination of things within the plant that render it effective.
 
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