… SO SHE STOLE AWAY WITH THE WEEDS
(for love of medicine of course!)
It became a habit.
She simply could not compost them.
She could not let the medicine go, and so she invited them all home.
(Plantago Major, above broadleaf plantain /Plantago Lanceolota below/ *My #1 first aide remedy ever! See pdf at end of article for extensive info on Plantago species as medicine.)
A comical scene it was community gardening with her; her farm partners would just smile and nod when she halted the forking and turning of beds, excitedly announcing “It’s medicine! Wait! It’s medicine! She wants to help us. Please don’t stab her and shovel her away!”. Then they would kindly support by digging out the roots and dropping her treasure into empty plastic pots, where she insisted they would certainly prosper and sustain.
People from the woods must find cement laden city folk an odd tribe. But she knew what she was doing anyways, and with an unseen absolute resolve. She was seizing her chance to nurture life in the best way she knew how. Pots.
(Yarrow, Achillea Millefolium, aka woundwort, stops bleeding and saved many a soldier injured in the field; yet can also restart a stagnant menstrual cycle; much more down below!)
(Purslane - succulent survival food; contains omegas; heart and bone health; anti-cancer; liver; digestive, much more!)
She had never had dirt of her own, yet the green world forgave her shortcomings time and again, and grew into a grand family of medicine waiting for the people in her life.
She could not let the medicine go, or hack it up with a hoe, so she asked if she could take it home…
…then she stole away with the weeds…
(Comfrey, repairs sprains, breaks, and grows healthy new skin on grisly wounds)
previous article:
REGENERATIVE HERBALISM
One day my client unpacks a worn slip of paper - an old weathered article written in blue ink - laying it among her gemstones, where she always makes an altar when she comes in. As i sit across from her, my eyes are drawn to the words. “Wow, that’s beautiful! Who wrote that?”
Purslane: https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-purslane
Loaded with antioxidants
Free radicals are unstable molecules in your body that cause cell damage. Antioxidants are special compounds found in plants and plant-based foods that fight against them. Purslane contains plenty of antioxidants, such as:
Vitamin A:It protects your eyes as well as improves your immune system. It's also critical to the health of your organs because it supports healthy cell division.
Beta-carotene: It turns into vitamin A in your body. Its ability to reduce the number of free radicals in your body can help reduce your risk of cancer.
Vitamin C:It keeps your collagen and blood vessels in good shape, and helps heal injuries.
Glutathione: It has anti-cancer properties. Purslane leaves contain more glutathione than spinach.
Melatonin: It not only helps improve your sleep but also reduces inflammation, helps manage your immune system, and is good for your blood pressure.
Betalain: Although more studies need to be done, the natural substance that gives purslane stems their reddish color appears to have antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal qualities.
Purslane is also an excellent source of:Vitamin C
Calcium
Iron
Choline
Magnesium
More on Yarrow:
Health Benefits of YarrowThe many health benefits of yarrow include the following:
Faster healing of wounds
Blood clotting
Maintaining periods
Reducing inflammation
Lowering high blood pressure
Regulating asthmatic symptoms
Reducing anxiety
Plantain pdf:
Good article Yolanda. For those of us with the possibiliies of harvesting edible "weeds" that grow wild and for some in sustainable abundance, I encourage you cultivate such and, as in the case with Yolanda, my sustainable comfrey crop allowed her to get cuttings to start her own crop and I am able to gift comfrey leaves to her if she so requires until her plants can be sustainably harvested. A win-win situation.
“Weed, weed, weed”, she cried, all the way home!