there are currently over 20,000 emails in my inbox. and that's only the unread emails. yup. i'm a digital hoarder with a bad habit of signing up for every email list i encounter. i've got some cleaning up, unsubscribing, and downsizing to do, but i always worry i'll miss out on gems like the one i that caught my attention in my inbox a few weeks back. a free medicinal plant walk. yes!!
discovering various culinary and functional uses of plants growing in southern california has been one of my favorite things about living in socal. when you're able to identify plants and their uses, an ordinary walk turns from black and white to that moment in the wizard of oz when everything turned to technicolor. you just can't see the world the same anymore. this was my first walk specific to medicinal uses of plants and even though it was a cold and rainy morning and i could feel a sore throat and cold coming on, i was up at 6am and ready to fill my brain with all sorts of new plant knowledge and new diy's for my to-do list.
ms. kirby derby picked me up since i drove us to ventura to craftcation a few weeks ago (but i know it's just because she can't handle my sweet melissa time driving ;) ). as we drove out to calabasas the weather began to clear and it warmed up quickly when we arrived. the sky still held a few heavy dark clouds in the background, but the blue sky peeked through the clouds and the ground was dry. a dreamy california morning.
the plant walk was organized by the santa monica mountains national recreation area and led by jim adams, phd, professor at the usc school of pharmacy. jim was trained for 14 years in traditional chumash healing by cecilia garcia and after her passing is now the healer to the chumach people in san fernando.
i appreciated the reverence and sacredness in the way jim shared the traditional knowledge of the chumach people and was fascinated with the way he wove together folklore stories, prayer, ritual, and traditional healing along with his scientific research and data in the safety and efficacy of traditional medicinal uses of native plants. he placed significant emphasis on being stewards of the earth, taking only what is need, and respect for the entire symbiotic nature of plant and animal life.
white sage (salvia apiana - or we'wey (pronounced waykway, chumach) is a plant we are fortunate enough to find growing throughout most of southern california. the chumash believe that god has given them the plant to be caretakers of and to share with others. it must not be wasted. one should only take just what is needed. those giant sage bundles you may find being sold are not recommended. jim emphasized that one leaf is enough and we must not be greedy. he instructed to unwrap large sage bundles and to use only one sage leaf when performing a ritual cleansing or blessings. as i've been taught before on previous plants walks, you can take one sage leaf (fresh or dry) and put in your water bottle. continue to refill the water bottle throughout the day and each day change out to a new sage leaf. sage is potent and one leaf is the perfect amount for a light infusion to keep you, "calm, rational, and productive". it contains monoterpenoids that in these very small doses assist in relieving pain and anxiety. for severe times of grief such as death of a family member or intense anxiety, he recommended a white sage tea with strict and specific instructions. simply put one leaf of white sage in 1/2 c. of warm water. heat the water just until it begins to boil. remove from heat, cool, and drink with no sweetener. this is used only at night and only for no more than 4 consecutive nights and must not be used with other drugs such as valium or alcohol. in his book, co-authored with cecilia garcia, healing with medicinal plants of the west, he details more uses of white sage and states, "perhaps prayer, fasting and drinking white sage preparations, in moderation, could help our spirits."
purple sage (salvia dorrii) and black sage (salvia mellifera) are different from the european sage most of us have growing in our gardens. this grows all over southern california and can be used as a pain replacement for aspirin and other NSAIDS without any harmful side effects. when someone asked what the side effects were of this, jim responded, "the side effect is your pain is gone and you'll feel better." for the purple/black sage he recommended to grab a nice armful of clippings of the branches and leaves and put this stack in 2-3 quarts of sea water. no sea water? tap water will work just fine. place in the sun for 3-4 hours to make a sun tea and then soak your feet in it for 15-20 minutes. if you have pain in your neck, you soak your feet. pain in your hands, you soak your feet. pain in your back, you soak your feet. he stressed the importance of treating pain in the skin where we sense our pain as opposed to the brain stem. many medicines such as aspirin, aleve, ibuprofen, etc. treat at the brain stem and have harmful side effects such as ulcers, blood clotting, strokes, and kill the kidneys.
we went on to learn about how to make a recipe for a california sagebrush (artemisia californica) liniment for pain that works similar to morphine for pain, yet without any harmful side effects such as oxycodone. he stated this has even cured some with fibromyalgia and is used for arthritis pain. unfortunately, no liniment arthritis cure claims, but pain relief, yes. i'll be making this recipe over the weekend to share next week.
then, we stumbled onto the calfornia jimson weed (datura wrightii). i had learned of this plant before and commonly know it as the peanut butter plant because the scent resembles peanut butter. definitely not recommended for eating due to its toxic hallucinogenic nature. however, the chumach do use this during four significant times in life (accepting responsibility to become an adult, marriage, having a child, and death) in sacred ceremony as a way of speaking to god. aside from this, jim did teach us safe medicinal ways to use datura in similar ways to the sage tea mentioned above. it requires a bit more time and finesse. for now, i'll stick to the purple sage.
anxious much? stressing over an upcoming date, job interview, test? one of the most alluring medicinal beverages to aid with short term stress is made by steeping one very small piece of hummingbird sage (salvia spathacea) for a couple minutes in hot chocolate made with water. jim is partial to ibarra mexican hot chocolate, but you can use your favorite. seriously, any medicine that includes chocolate as a primary ingredient is something i can get behind.
jim leads medicinal plant walks in southern california and you can learn more at his website or purchase his book, healing with medicinal plants of the west. now.. if i can only get my hands on a few leaves of hummingbird sage and chocolate. nom nom!!
