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Kelly's avatar

Nature is the best medicine! I noticed Artemisia just made its way into my garden on its own since this whole COVID fiasco. Also first berries on my sea buckthorn and rose hips formed on my wild roses (vit.c), and loads of echinacea surround my home (dry it, make tea, immune enhancing). Nature gives us what we need if we notice 😉 Conspire with the awesome ally of nature. She's got our back. Chickweed makes a soothing balm. Dandelions, pine needles...I could go on and on. We all can benefit from befriending nature and the medicinal perks are included.🌿

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Frances Leader's avatar

Precisely! Nature abhors a vacuum has profound meaning when we observe that certain herbs will grow where they are most needed. This is something known by the wise but detested by the totalitarians.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4020364/

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Paul R's avatar

One of my favorite books is titled " Invasive Plant Medicine"

Check it out.

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Paul R's avatar

Oh yeah. I realized when you liked that my spell check had placed a different word, so I corrected it

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Kelly's avatar

Yes! Also it tells us things, protects us. I've noticed I sure have a lot of thorn bearing plants around my property.... raspberries, wild roses, goose berries, goji berries... I've read they signify boundaries. (Protective) Also the purslane seems especially around the periphery of the property.... I've read a symbolism of it is as protective from evil. I'll accept that!

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Frances Leader's avatar

Wow, what a lovely garden you must have there! I had periwinkle which wards off evil....

https://francesleader.substack.com/p/nature-abhors-a-vacuum?sd=pf

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Kelly's avatar

Good to know about Periwinkle! We have that too! I'm going to encourage that one more! :)

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Kelly's avatar

It is a healing place for me and my family. I do like to leave a few "wild" areas. More and more nowadays. There is a reason for this, I find. Birds really congregate here. Loads of nesting.....I feel it is a cushion in a way- the 'wildish garden". :) We have a red oak that we have pruned a bit over the years- planted as a bare root plant about 22 years ago.. I swear it feels like that tree is watching out over our property as a guardian. The places where we cut a limb here or there look like watchful eyes! Every time I am out there...I attempt to remember to intentionally exhale upon the plants- they give us oxygen and so much more- they need our CO2! Thanks for the link!

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Faith's avatar

Chickweed is great in salads!

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Kelly's avatar

Yes! Also purslane and violet leaves, lambs quarters, sorrel, plantain, amaranth...some of these cooked, or raw....just always best to thoroughly check out anything first to be safe. There are so many....edible flowers too. I'll bet many know this, but good to spread the word. So many are so much healthier than anything you can buy in the stores. It also enriches life, I find. 😊🌻 Nature's mood elevators. (Many go outside to weed, I come in with parts of meals...good price too!😉)

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Faith's avatar

Yes! And purslane seeds are prolific and high protein, also rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) fatty acid.

One of my favorites is filaree, (cranesbill or storksbill) a very widespread introduced weed--- very tasty, and Claytonia or miner's lettuce is great if you can find it.

However everyone should realize that some of the common edible greens are also very high in oxalic acid or calcium oxalate. It can cause intestinal damage, kidney damage or stones, and joint inflammation, among other serious health issues. Too much has even proven fatal. Plants to be extra cautious with include plantain, dock or sorrel, violet leaves, and malva/mallow/marshmallow.

Domesic plants seriously high in oxalate include spinach, beets, beet greens, and Swiss chard. Limit amounts or be sure to consume with a little calcium to tie up free oxalates (but this won't help if the plants have already-formed, sharp, cell puncturing Ca oxalate crystals!). And calcium itself is quite toxic and very often over-used. (And no, calcium does NOT prevent or treat osteoarthritis! There is SO MUCH nutritional misinformation blindly accepted as fact going around!) Except for growing children and lactating women, most people get too much calcium and it ends up where you don't want it: arteries, kidneys, brain, joints. Very few need extra calcium, but almost everyone needs extra vitamin D and vitamin K2 to keep calcium where it does belong: in bones and teeth!

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Kelly's avatar

Thank you for this extra valuable and important information!

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Paul R's avatar

I have chanca piedra wild in my garden, takes care of oxalates. U put it in my daily tea

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Faith's avatar

How does it "take care of oxalates"? Is it high in calcium? That will combine with oxalic acid and form very small and relatively harmless Ca oxalate crystals in your intestines, but that still doesn't help get rid of any pre-formed insoluble and vicious needle-like calcium oxalate crystals already present that slowly formed inside of the plant tissues for skewering the digestive tracts of their preditors!

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Paul R's avatar

It dissolves oxalate kidney stones and you pass it out without pain.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10095174/

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Me Mcc's avatar

I need a book that shows pictures of all of these and how to use them. Have any recommendations?

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Paul R's avatar

In Hawaii there's a book "Medicine At Your Feet" and I know there are similar books for other regions

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Kelly's avatar

Another resource that is excellent is Robin Harford- he has information- can check him out online. Awesome info!

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Me Mcc's avatar

Thank you

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Kelly's avatar

You're welcome. Good luck with your search.

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Kelly's avatar

There are so many I have gathered info from over the years- not necessarily one go-to source I can recommend, but the latest good book touching on this I had read was Marjory Wildcraft's: The Grow System, essential guide to modern self-sufficient living – from growing food to making medicine. It is really a good resource for a lot of things related, but I"m not the best one to ask which single book is best to learn all this. I've learned in bits and pieces over years- various sources. But, Marjory has excellent resources and a website. She often has links and articles on this topic in her news periodically sent out. Hope this helps!

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Me Mcc's avatar

Thank you. I'll look it up.

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Kelly's avatar

👍

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