Holt Wood Autumn

It is a busy time at home, redecorating, getting ready for Christmas, and the cold snap in UK makes it harder to do things outside except chop logs up for the wood burner. Still, Holt Wood has been looking stunning as the autumn progresses into winter. We have been able to collect lots of Spindle (Euonymous europaeus) seeds to pass on at a local Seed Swop event in Crediton run by the Food and Farming Group of Sustainable Crediton (you can see more about them at http://www.sustainablecrediton.org.uk/). The seeds are a wonderful pink and orange colour, the plant itself makes a small tree or shrub to about 20 feet ideal for growing in dappled shade. Traditional uses for the root, and possibly stem, bark include stimulating the digestion and liver disorders, although Spindle is not something used by herbalists nowadays.

Back in the UK

Back home in the UK and it is great to see the leaves turning, our own 'fall', with some sharp frosts to clear pests in the garden. I have great memories of the people and places from my stay at the Goldenseal Sanctuary in southern Ohio. Now thinking about ways to promote sustainable herbal medicine growing, and how Holt Wood can develop to support these ideas. Meantime have been fortunate to gain some support from the local Sustainable Crediton to arrange a talk about my experiences in USA.
See more about the local group at http://www.sustainablecrediton.org.uk/

“Endangered Plants and Herbal Medicine: The Potential for Sustainable Herbal Harvesting” 7.30-9.00 pm, Thursday 2nd December 2010 An illustrated talk with Anne Stobart, MNIMH, consultant medical herbalist. At Crediton Arts Centre, East St, Crediton, Devon, EX17 3AX Anne Stobart is a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists and a local consultant medical herbalist. She has recently visited the United States where she stayed at the Goldenseal Sanctuary in southern Ohio, run by United Plant Savers. Herbal medicine in the United Kingdom draws on a wide range of plants sourced from all over the world. Many remedies are native plants, like Hawthorn, and these are frequently imported although they could be readily harvested here. Some important remedies suffer from being extensively harvested in the wild such as Goldenseal, Ginseng, Echinacea and Black Cohosh. These plants are considered ‘at risk’ in the United States but could be cultivated in sustainable ways. Anne will talk about these and other herbs and the possibilities for sustainable harvesting and use. Her talk will include information about alternative projects in the United States as well as in Africa and here in Devon. There is no charge for this talk although donations will be welcome and a share of these will go to Treeaid, a charitable concern funding tree nurseries for medicine and other purposes in Africa. Refreshments will include herb tea. For further details contact Anne at 01363 777531 or at herbaid@herbaid.co.uk

United Plant Savers Conference

One of the tasks of the Interns at the Goldenseal Sanctuary in Ohio is to help get everything ready for a one day conference held by United Plant Savers in early October (or earlier in the year for the spring group of interns). So we have been cleaning up, weeding, fixing signs, setting up trash bins and road signs, putting chairs into outdoor classroom tents and lots more. The Sanctuary looked pretty impressive this fall (note I have been learning correct use of American words like 'fall', 'truck' and 'awesome'). Local Sanctuary steward Lee Wood, and family, have been clearing weeds and mowing trails for weeks to show off the Prairie, Buckeye Walk, Reclaim Trail, Heart Pond and other delights familiar to past interns and visitors. On this occasion some 50 people registered and with teachers, organisers and interns we made a total of 70 people for an opening circle. Our conference went well, some excellent workshops including natural fertility, looking after bees, green business development, herbal first aid, using elderberries, and sustainable ginseng cultivation. Guided walks along the Sanctuary trails were very popular. There were exhibitors too including stalls with herbal teas, medicinal plants, Indian herbal salves, and plant growers. United Plant Savers held a raffle with lots of wonderful donated prizes, I was very pleased to win a signed copy of the new book Invasive Plant Medicine: The Ecological Benefits and Healing Abilities of Invasives by Timothy Lee Scott (Healing Arts Press, 2010). Although focused on the US this book has lots of suggestions for plants like Japanese Knotweed, a familiar invader in UK. I am hoping this book will help me to get my head around the thorny issue of how to introduce useful non-native plants in a way that adds to sustainability rather than reducing biodiversity. After all this excitement I am now preparing for travel back home to UK, so sad to leave this vibrant place where I have learnt so much, and met such inspiring people.

Bark, roots and seeds

We have been collecting plants for replanting to extend populations, like goldenseal, and during the last week sustainably harvesting other plants for making herbal medicines, gathering bark, roots and seeds. In some cases we can benefit from plants before they die from other causes. Here in the United States, the Dutch Elm disease has been attacking elm trees including Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra). Paul Strauss showed us, on the trail through the forest, how to spot trees that may be in trouble - if the tree is going to die within a few years then it may be considered for medicinal use. The inner bark of this tree is an important soothing and nutritious medicine useful for gastro-intestinal and skin conditions. We marked one such tree on a walk last week and went back to harvest it this week with Paul. Felling trees within the forest is no easy task because they will often 'hang' on trees close by, but Paul deftly worked with his chainsaw to bring this Slippery Elm down. Once on the ground, the tree was chopped into sections about 5 foot long and we carried them out of the woods to a waiting pickup truck. Back at the Plant Sanctuary barn we learned how to use draw knives to shred off the rough outer scales and to reach the whitish inner bark above the yellow heartwood. The shreds of bark can be further pulled into thinnish strings and these dry readily in the sun. Our Slippery Elm will be shared out with the land owner and much appreciated. At the moment there is no obvious substitute for this useful remedy.

Another plant which is on the United Plant Savers 'At Risk' list is the Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) . In the Sanctuary there is a large field area which was seeded some 16 years ago with a variety of prairie plants. At this time of year, in September, the prairie area is a sea of yellow, white and purple including native grasses which contribute to the soil fertility. Here there is a large stand of Purple Coneflower, its roots are widely in demand for its immune system stimulating properties. We were able to dig up a small number of roots around the edges to make Echinacea tincture. The seeds were scattered back on the ground although they too can be used medicinally. The roots are quite small with purplish buds but when cut they produce a characteristic tingling and numbing taste on the tongue, indicating active constituents. Our prized roots were washed and chopped up with added alcohol (50%) without any delay. We have a growing number of jars and containers of all sizes which sit on top of the refrigerator in the Yurt, our roundhouse cooking and meeting place. We have been back to the Prairie a few times now, usually collecting seed for replanting in other schemes. This area is rich in beautiful and useful plants from Indian Hemp (for rope making) to False Wild Indigo (makes a good babies rattle from seed pod) to Boneset (gathered by every family and dried for winter complaints) to Maximilian and Downy Sunflowers (roots of all sunflowers edible) and more. These wonderful plants are tall and a path needs to be cut through the prairie to appreciate them with ease. Establishing a prairie like this apparently takes a few years of cutting at specific times of year and then it is almost self-maintaining so long as occasional invasives are spotted and removed. Almost everywhere I have been in the area I see freshly mown grass areas from roadside to well beyond every house - it would be wonderful if everyone could set aside part of their huge lawns to have a Prairie Patch (or even a Prairie Maze!) and appreciate the wild plants.

Night at the Museum: Conference report

The Smithsonian Botanical Symposium took place on Saturday 25th September 2010 at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. This event was entitled 'Food for Thought: 21st Century Perspectives on Ethnobotany' and included a range of speakers talking about their research spanning the botanical and other effects of crop domestication to the management practices of humans in a variety of cultures and contexts. For me this was a great opportunity, as a clinical herbal practitioner just lucky to be in the United States at this time, to hear about other aspects of ethnobotany today. And I thoroughly enjoyed meeting a good number of expert botanists who care deeply about the future of both people and plants on this planet.
The event commenced with introductions and the award of the José Quatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany to Beryl Simpson of the University of Texas. We also heard about the Encyclopaedia of Life project (http://www.eol.org/). This project, EOL, aims to generate a million species pages over coming years and to provide educational materials for biodiversity. Also mentioned was the initiative of "Recovering Voices: Partnerships on Endangered Languages and Knowledge Systems," which is a recent multidisciplinary initiative of the Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the Center for Folk Life and Cultural Heritage. Recovering Voices to encourage collaborative research in the documentation and prevention of language endangerrment and loss of knowledge
Then Kenneth Olsen (Washington University in St Louis) described work on genetic signatures in a number of crops with a focus on coconut (Cocos nucifera) and rice (Oryza sativa) and past links to oceanic trade routes. This analysis has enabled identification of likely connections between introduced crop varieties on both sides of the Pacific and Indian Oceans as well as clarification of the source of contaminating wild crops in the United States such as 'weedy rice' which is difficult to dehusk and makes rice appear blemished. It was evident from his talk that the 'weedy rice' has been encouraged by modern methods, in older systems of hand planting the unwanted plant would have been selected out. Alison Miller (St Louis University) discussed clonal propagation of perennial crops and profiled the cases of Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) and Pecan (Carya illinoiensis). She noted significant aspects of perennial crops such as their likelihood of contributing to ecosystems, longer growing periods, deeper roots and less intense cultivation requirements. In each case, she discussed possible effects of decreased fertility and genetic narrowing arising from clonal propagation. Eve Emshwiller (University of Wisconsin) discussed another clonal crop, Oca (Oxalis tuberosa), grown in the central Andes region. In her presentation she emphasised the importance of talking to the people, alongside chromosomal analysis, which provided information on different purposes for varieties. As this crop is also clonally propagated, it cannot be preserved and she stressed the importance of living collections of plants. As we broke for lunch I became aware of the hubbub in the Museum as hundreds of excited children and their parents approached a wide range of stalls and activities linked to the centenary celebrations of the Natural History collections. Our group was fortunate to nip upstairs into a quiet staff area for a welcome lunch box and a table about the Appalachian Center for Ethnobotanical Studies, interesting information provided by Mimi Hernandez of the Frostburg State University in Maryland.
The first afternoon speaker was Cameron McNell (New York City University) who talked about the many and ritual uses of Chocolate (Theobroma cacao). Sources for understanding how Chocolate may have been used include burial deposits where containers show remains alongside other foods. Both Maize and Chocolate appear to have been highly significant items, and had cultural associations. Maize had sky, bird and make associations whereas Chocolate had earth, crocodile and female associations. However modern communities have far less access to this plant due to its cost and availability. Julie Velasquez Rank (University of Georgia) discussed culture and ethnobotany in Panama and the United States flagging up research methodologies. She also raised the question of why there was is much more emphasis on international ethnobotanical investigation and so little research in the US context, noting interest in primitive skills such as 'Back to the Land' gatherings and other developments in regional traditions alongside popular interest in food. Our last 2 speakers provided something of a change from the botanical and anthropological crop themes, both pointing out that they were not really botanists! Torben Rick (Smithsonian Institution, Department of Anthropology) described his work on the use of kelp by Native Americans, highlighting the lack of data for marine sources and relative absence of knowledge about this important aspect of human interaction with marine eco-systems. Finally, Ruth Defries (Columbia University) reviewed the larger picture of the planetary supply of food and the consequences of human interventions. She emphasised the variety of human interventions, the interlocking metabolic processes of the earth, and the challenge of moving towards increased food production methods which do not undermine planetary systems.
Our meeting ended around 5.45 and we were then able to view the new botanical illustration exhibition which showcases plants at risk or endangered. ('Losing Paradise: Endangered Plants Here and Around the World' runs till December 12, 2010 at the Museum of Natural History). I was moved by the exquisite detail of these works by varied botanical artists, and would recommend a visit just to see them. Our day rounded off with a memorable meal seated at temporary tables set up in the Rotunda, overlooked by the resident African bull elephant (stuffed of course!). Throughout the day I felt very fortunate to meet a number of enthusiastic botanists and others and was pleased to find that there was much common ground between botany, ethnobotany and anthropology. This Symposium will have contributed to bridging the divides between these areas and may also provide added impetus for national and local initiatives concerned with biodiversity and sustainability.

Working in the UPS Plant Santuary in Ohio

Everyone is really respectful of plants here - weeds can be used for tea, making medicines, compost and nothing is needlessly removed. But there are invasive plants on the Sanctuary - especially Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora). This week we got out the tools - loppers, secateurs, mattocks - for some serious work on pulling out these plants choking up young trees around the edge of the wood. Prickly work, and tough steering around occasional stems of Poison Ivy (Rhus radicans) which can cause a horrible rash, but great to see young trees bouncing up free of twining stems of Honeysuckle. We piled up the pickings to be taken down to a bonfire since they have to be destroyed and the compost bin will not do this sufficiently. This work will continue for some days. One other job is to make sure the woodland trails are clear for walking and have signs which are readily visible. The signs are made from old slate tile with white paint and include the common name, Latin name and family of key plants. Holes are drilled in the slate so that it can be hung round a tree with wire or screwed to a wooden post. Sometimes the slate cracks because the tree grows and stretches the hanging wire, or a fault splits it, and the sign needs to be replaced. Foliage around the signs needs to be cleared away to ensure visibility. Plants along the trail are clipped back too if they are obscuring the path or the signs.

Last week we collected Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) plants for distribution to members of the United Plant Savers group. This is an incredible plant. It could easily be missed in a woodland, with low growing roundish hand-like leaves. The root is briliant yellow and bitter-tasting. It contains important alkaloids, such as berberine and hydrastine, and is traditionally used to treat inflamed mucous membranes and infections. It has been over-harvested in the wild, and so is a plant 'at risk' in its natural habitat. The dissemination of roots to members is part of an attempt to develop more sustainable cultivation. We were digging up the rhizomes and roots remaining after some trials with roots planted over 10 years ago. The roots were stored for a few days in cool damp conditions while we assembled peat, bags and boxes for mailing out to over 250 people. The boxes included instructions so each little root and bud could face a new future in rich, damp shady conditions all over the US.

Pawpaws are great

Phew! A tornado whipped through Ohio on Thursday with at least 7 touchdowns in the state, several in nearby Athens. Some buildings were flattened and damage to a school caused a fire, so that teaching was cancelled on Friday. Many shops were closed because power supplies were disrupted too. Although we had rain, and a severe weather warning, at the Plant Sanctuary and an amazing evening sky, there was no sign of the tornado near us, thankfully, and this appears to have been an unusual event.

This weekend sees the Paw Paw Festival, a substantial happening based on grassland by a lake near Athens. Many visitors come over a 3 day period to hear all about the Paw Paw, state fruit, and for music, crafts, plant sales, kid's rides, community groups, entertainment, workshops and more. The Paw Paw (Asimina triloba) is a widely found under-storey tree with a slightly oblong shaped pear-like fruit that tastes something between mango and custard. Some people camp for the whole weekend. If you volunteer to help in the Paw Paw Festival for 4 hours then entry is free - so that is how I became a Parking Helper, directing cars with my distinctive balloon headwear. There is a lot to see and I enjoyed finding the Herbal Sage Tea Company and other herby soap and cosmetic stalls. Fascinating talks about growing paw paw, brewing mead and ale, the use of elderberries, community farming, dyeing and spinning wool and more all competed with loud live music and delicious food suppliers, from lemon smoothies to chicken wings and paw paw chocolate brownies - yum! The afternoon was rounded off with a paw paw eating contest.