The “Spirit Plant”, Ling Zhi, is more affectionately known in Western culture as the ‘Reishi mushroom’. This mushroom of immortality was held in the highest regard by the first emperor in the line of rulers in ancient China, Emperor Yan, who founded the agricultural tools and practices for farming. Its latin name is Ganoderma lucidum, originally meaning “shiny, brilliant skin”.…
Agrimony, from the Greek ‘Argemone’, was originally known as the ‘herb that could heal the eyes’. Known by Roman naturalist, Pliny the Elder, as “an herb of princely authorité”, Agrimony has been used in folklore (though known as ‘Cocklebur’, then) for ailments of the body and protection of the mind, body and spirit. In Complete Herbal (1653), Nicholas Culpeper noted…
Native to parts of Asia, the Middle East and India, Licorice Root has a long reputation both as a medicine and food additive. Despite its name, Licorice is not typically used to flavor “licorice candies” in today’s society. This “Sweet Root” has been used as an expectorant to remove phlegm from the system, while its demulcent effects form a protective…
Yellow (curly) dock is a prominent weed found native to Western Asia and parts of Europe. It has been used extensively in Native American cultures as a poultice for burns, rashes, boils and other inflammations, as a steeped drink to purify the blood and push toxins out of the system, specifically before healing or spiritual ritual. Early European sailors used…
“It was then that I noticed the hibiscus tree. Its magenta flowers were in bloom, brilliant and full with fertile golden centers. The tree was incongruous with its surroundings- the dirt, the man weathered from the sun and life.” -Alex Brunkhorst, The Gilded Life of Matilda Duplaine The Rose of Sharon, most commonly known as the Hibiscus plant, is…