What’s up Dock? Yellow dock, Rumex crispus, is a common weed, found growing around wet places nearly worldwide. Native to Europe and north Asia, this herb is now considered an invasive alien in many places, including San Diego. It is being removed from some canyons here in an effort to reestablish the plant populations to […]
Primitive people and wild animals have been using plants for medicine since before our recorded history. They enjoy a natural alliance with the plants and are guided by an instinctual wisdom in their use of them. Modern people, having, to some degree, lost this connection, have come to rely on an intellectual understanding of herbs, […]
San Diego encompasses coastal valleys, mountains and desert. This geographic diversity and a temperate climate provide life zones favorable to a variety of native plants. The native San Diegans, several local tribes, had a sacred relationship with their medicine plants. They used them with ritual and prayer. White Sage One native plant used by native […]
A Simpler Way It normally takes a good bit of material from mild medicinal plants to trigger healing reactions in the body. If one is working only with the plants for their chemical compounds, one ounce (about a handful) of mild herbs steeped in a tea is standard. This chemical model breaks down, however, when […]
When I quit drinking alcohol several years ago, I was very worried that I would never be able to relax anymore. Alcohol had long been my crutch for increasing my energy levels and allowing me to tone down my mood after a long day of work. Toward the end of my drinking years, I started […]
Most of my friends and family hug each other when we meet and when we part. I encourage hugging with our students as well. When we meet someone new, they often extend their hand to invite a handshake. The handshake is thought by some to have originated as a gesture of peace by demonstrating that […]
There aren’t many of us that can claim San Diego as our native home. We have come from everywhere on the planet to create the melting pot population we find here. Our plant population is also a mix of natives and plants brought by settlers from their native homes. Voyage to the New World When […]
A depression study report shows that depression is affecting millions of Americans. And it is on the rise among all age groups. According to the report, diagnoses of major depressive disorder have risen 33 percent since 2013. In fact, this mental health condition now affects an estimated 9 million commercially insured Americans. In addition, teen depression rates are […]
As we enter a new millennium, it may be helpful to look back to assess what we’ve learned collectively about medicinal plants that could prove helpful in our future. And, while many other things are changing in this technological age, the plants remain. One medicinal plant has survived the modern attacks on herbs and has […]
