Michele Collins, RH (AHG), MPH
Everywhere I look around me, it seems, nature is vividly, casually displaying her rich abundance of wares. What strikes me most is that the plants growing in such abundance are what most people think of as “weeds.” Plants that many people try to banish from their grassy yards, usually with chemicals. What fascinates me most are the plants that sprout up through cracks in the sidewalk or in uninhabited spaces or on the side of the road, without rich soil to sink their roots into.
These plants are survivors, resilient and proud. More importantly, they are choke full of medicinal value. Many are rich sources of vitamins and minerals and have powerful healing potential for a vast range of common diseases like diabetes, cancer, liver disease, just to mention a few. Plants like dandelion, burdock, red clover, chickweed, wild violet, couchgrass, kudzu, plantain.
Beyond their healing potential for humans, many of these plants also help heal the environment. Plants like clover improve soil quality and prevent erosion. Some plants, like dandelion, sunflower, geranium, mustard weed, and clover are able to remove metals and contaminants like lead, petroleum, and arsenic from the soil in which it grows. Dandelion is found growing in abandoned industrial sites with high concentrations of heavy metal. A very impressive green technology.
I have found a few quotes that pay homage to the intelligence and independence of this amazing beings. Here are some of my favorites:
But a weed is simply a plant that wants to grow where people want something else. In blaming nature, people mistake the culprit. Weeds are people’s idea, not nature’s. ~Author Unknown
A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows. Doug Larson
What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered. Ralph Waldo Emerson
I learn more about God from weeds than from roses; Resilience springing through the smallest chink of hope in the absolute of concrete…. ~Phillip Pulfrey, “Weeds,” Perspectives
Just to give a sense of how powerful these commonly found plants are, I am providing details below about three of my favorites. There are countless other plants that could be highlighted here. These three are offered to you as a small taste to show what plants are capable of.
Wild Carrot or Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus Carota) – Wild carot is a truly elegant flower, with a concentrated cluster of white lace florets with a small purple floral cluster dead center (although you can find her flowers without the purple center too). When you pull her up by the root your nose is pleasantly filled with the spicy aroma of carrots because she is, after all, the same species as the cultivated carrot that is planted and grown in vegetable gardens. When her seeds come out in the mid to later summer the flower head literally curls up like a small bowl, a perfect container. The seeds are excellent diuretics. She stimulates the kidneys and can help remove excess water weight, especially in the abdominal area. Herbalist Matthew Wood cites the seeds ability to regulate hormone levels. Herbalist Dr. John Christopher used her to stimulate the function of the pituitary gland.
The usage I am most familiar with (and use her for in my clinical practice), though, is for birth control (which supports both Matthew Wood’s and Dr. John Christopher’s use of her). Wild carrot has a long standing tradition of being used as contraception in Appalachia. She is taken at intervals after intercourse to prevent implantation, blocking the synthesis of progesterone, and thus disrupting egg’s ability to implant in the uterus. Although Nicolas Culpepper, the 17th century herbalist, cites wild carrot as being helpful for contraception and conception. Herbalist Robin Rose Bennett has thoroughly researched and experimented (conducting community trials to test it’s efficacy) with wild carrot’s contraception usage, writing up and publicizing her findings. I typically tincture the flower and seeds to use this plant for contraception and limit my usage of her for that alone. I have found this plant to be a safe and effective alternative to conventional birth control methods.
Dandelion (taraxacum officinale) – Dandelion root and leaf can be found practically anywhere in Spring. Both parts have tremendous medicinal value. In western herbal medicine, both the leaf and root are use, and in Chinese herbal medicine the flower, stem and leaves are used. The leaves of this plant, like many of the Spring greens, is also high in vitamins A, B, C, and G, as well as minerals like iron, magnesium, calcium, zinc, potassium, and silicon. The leaves are a great diuretic, meaning they flush excess water out of the body. Yet the beautiful thing is they actually replenish the body’s mineral content without depleting it in the process. The mineral content of the leaves will strengthen the tooth enamel. The root is well known for strengthening and improving liver functioning, helping the body to eliminate waste products form the blood. The root is also a bitter that stimulates digestive enzymes and aids digestion. The root is used in the treatment of cancer, particularly breast cancer, but also issues like mastitis where there is swelling and inflammation in the breast tissue. The whole plant is actually useful for this purpose. In Chinese medicine, the plant is used to dissipate and dissolve nodules.
WIld Violet – I included a picture of the wild violet that happily filled my front yard. Every time I encounter this unruly sea of purple, I smile. The purple variety is the one I see most commonly where I live, though this plant also has yellow, blue, or white flowers. The leaves and flowers are rich in vitamins A and C, as well as minerals like calcium and magnesium. You can sprinkle her on a salad using her beautiful flowers to enliven your meal or drink your vitamins in a soothing tea. One of the major medicinal uses of violet in both Chinese and western herbal medicine is cancer. In the west, the leaves are used, but in China the whole plant (leaves, root, and flower) are used. This plant softens and dissolves hard nodules, like tumors. It detoxifying effect and aids the body’s metabolic process such as the elimination of wastes. She is particularly useful for conditions that affect the breast tissue, such as mastitis (inflammation, swelling, and pain in breast tissue) or breast cancer. She helps stimulate the lymph system’s removal of bacteria and toxins. She is powerful and tasty. You can eat her leaves as you would spinach (somewhat similar consistency too).
Enjoy!!
