MIND-BODY-SPIRIT
HERB CORNER
BY CANDISE JORDAN Making Friends with Invasives: 5 Abundant Plants for Food and Medicine
Psychedelic Plant Medicine... ...continued from page 33
Taniesha Garrison, Ed.M., is the founder of The Healer Within Col - lective, where she guides others in remembering their innate whole- ness through energy work and reflective practice. A healer, teacher, and coach, she created The Healer Within Spiral to illuminate the cyclical nature of personal and spiritual transformation. Holding a master’s degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, she bridges intellect and intuition to help others heal, grow, and lead from within. www.thehealerwithincollective.com
used as a horse radish substitute. Like many other Mustard family plants, Garlic mustard is nutrient dense, loaded with Vitamins A , C, E, minerals, essential fatty acids, cancer fighting antioxidants, and detoxifying glucosinolates. Medici - nally it is used as an antiseptic, spring tonic, and decongestant treat- ing skin inflammation, respiratory issues, stimulating blood circula - tion and aiding digestion.
I’d been rebuilding after the loss could no longer stand, not with that shame mixed into its mortar. Still other medicines function as mirrors, reflecting back what’s already present rather than introducing anything new. A teacher’s lesson often arrives packaged inside a narrative image originating from outside a person’s immediate consciousness, carrying its own meaning. A mirror’s images work differently, turning a half-noticed or half-acknowledged pattern into something a person can no longer look past. People who sit with plant medicines as mirrors often describe the same quality: nothing unfamiliar arrives, only a clearer, harder-to-ig - nore view of a pattern already running beneath the surface. Mushrooms were that mirror for me, during a spiritual bath cer - emony on my birthday. What surfaced was a pattern I had already acknowledged in name, through years of healing work, but hadn’t fully released. I was still holding tightly to someone I had lost, afraid that loosening my grip on what I’d hoped our relationship would look like meant losing them twice. The mirror’s gift was the space to finally sit with what I hadn’t let myself look at on my own. The freeing truth across these medicines is that the substance is only part of the story. Each plant hands over raw material, and what a per- son builds with it is the real work. That work unfolds in the ordinary hours and weeks that follow, when someone decides whether to live differently or let the transformation fade into old grooves of habit. That, in the end, is the whole practice: meeting what the plants reveal and choosing to become the medicine.
Centuries of humans disturbing and mismanaging the land have led to the decimation of many native plant populations, making condi- tions perfect for their nonnative counterparts. These nonnative plants are then villainized and unfairly labeled “invasive”, “noxious” and “weeds”. Despite being brought here for their beauty, erosion control, and value as food and medicine, they are now unappreciated, hated and sprayed with harmful chemicals. Even though they are treated with disdain, they continue to clean up our mess by purifying the air, filtering pollutants and absorbing par - ticulate matter. Many of these copious plants also act as phytoremedi - ators cleaning heavy metals from the soil, and nitrogen fixers naturally fertilizing the soil. Sure, their populations may have gotten a bit out of hand, but that’s where we come in. We often view ourselves as separate from nature, but we are a part of nature. Just like beavers are considered keystone species because of their role in ecosystems (building dams, regulating water flow, creating wetlands, enhancing biodiversity), we are key - stone species as well. We have a significant impact on ecosystems that can be both bene - ficial and detrimental. So as keystone species we can help bring these populations back into balance — not by spraying them, but by eating, making herbal remedies, and many other traditional ways of connect- ing with them. Here are five abundant plants for food and medicine you can harvest this fall:
2. Rose Hips ( Multiflora rosa ) was brought to North America from Japan in 1866 as a rootstock for cultivated roses. It was later promoted for soil erosion and living fences for livestock thanks to the thorns. It can be found in a variety of hab- itats including fields, roadsides, streams and forest edges. Multiflora roses can be used in all the
Konstanza Morning Star Certified Medium & Shaman Author of Medium: A Step-by-Step Guide to Communicating with the Spirit World
ways any other roses are used. In the late spring/early summer, flower petals can be used as a garnish, made into tea, and even infused into water to flavor dishes. In fall/winter the rosehips can be eaten raw (just be sure to avoid the hairy seeds), made into tea, fruit leather, pies, jam, and more. Pro tip: they are sweeter after a frost. Rosehips are full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory com - pounds. They are used to ease joint pain from osteoarthritis and boost immune function. Both rose petals and rose hips are commonly found in anti-aging skin health products. The astringent flower petals reduce pore size and wrinkles while the rose hip seed oil reduces scarring, dark spots, moisturizes dry skin and soothes skin irritation.
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1. Garlic Mustard ( Alliaria petio - late) was brought to North America in the mid-1800s by European settlers to use for food, medicine and erosion control. It can be found in forest un- derstories and trail edges. It’s one of the first plants on the scene in the spring, dies back during summer, and tender young greens re- appear in early fall. When the leaves are crushed it emits a garlicky smell
3. Japanese Barberry ( Berberis thunbergii ) was brought to the US from Japan in 1875 for its ornamental value. This beautiful barberry was meant to re- place the European barberry ( Berberis vulgaris ), which carried a crop disease called black stem grain rust. It can be found in forests, woodlands, fields, and roadsides both in shade and full sun.
although the plants are not related. It’s in the mustard family so it has a slightly spicy kick mixed with a pungent garlic flavor. The leaves make an excellent pesto, and can be eaten raw or cooked. All parts of the Garlic Mustard plant are edible, including the roots that can be
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34—PATHWAYS—Fall 26
PATHWAYS—Fall 26—35
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