Materia Medica

Tools For The Virtual Herbalist

I was looking back on a post I wrote several months ago about How To Create A Bad-Ass Herbal Scrapbook, and I thought that a few more resources might be handy – so I made you some 🙂

Firstly, I think the vocabulary of herbalism can be a little daunting at first. We use a lot of words to describe herbal actions and dosing patterns that aren’t really part of everyday conversation for most people. Enter: this little infographic to help you sort it all out. Pin it on your Pintrest or print out a copy of the PDF for your Materia Medica book.

Secondly, I’d like to give you an idea of some herbs to get to know. Here is a list of my top 10 most essential. For this list, I tried to include a little bit of everything – some immune, some digestive, some first-aid, some nervous system, etc. These are solid basics to have around at all times. Again, feel free to pin it or print the PDF for your notebook 🙂

What fascinates you most about herbal medicine? What are you most eager to learn?

xo,

dani O.

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All In The Family: Meet The Mints

By Dani Otteson Leave a Comment

For most people, the word “mint” conjures images of icy cool freshness. While the peppermint and spearmint of gum and toothpaste are extremely popular, Lamiaceae – the “Mint Family” – is a group of roughly 3,500 species of plants with square stalks, simple opposite leaves, and an aromatic quality. Many mints are common kitchen herbs, and a great number of them are have medicinal qualities.

I love learning about medicinal herbs within the context of their family group for several reasons. For one, knowing some of the key characteristics of common plant families can help you identify plants. My favorite resource for information on plant families is Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification by Thomas J. Elpel. This was the first herb book I ever purchased, and I still absolutely love it. Additionally, medicinal plants within a given family often have similar therapeutic uses.

Without further ado, below is a list of 7 familiar mint family plants and some medicinal uses for each 🙂 Enjoy!

1. Peppermint – Mentha piperita

Peppermint is well-known as a digestive remedy. Tea of peppermint helps dyspepsia, cramps, and nausea. Although the aroma of the herb is awakening and stimulating, it relaxes intestinal muscles, relieving digestive cramping. Peppermint also induces sweating, and is thus a popular and effective herb to use in a fever tea. Avoid during pregnancy.

2. Spearmint – Mentha spicata

Sweeter in flavor but similar in use, spearmint shares many of peppermint’s digestive uses. It is, however, preferred for nausea a related to headaches and migraines.

3. Lavender – Lavandula angustifolia

Though it may not look like a mint at first glance, lavender does have all of the characteristics of a Lamiaceae plant. Next time you see a lavender plant in person, feel the stem. You will notice four corners; a square stem. Though the leaves are thinner than many mints, they are still simple in structure and they grow opposite from each other. Lavender, like other mints, is very high in volatile, aromatic oils.

Lavender is bitter in taste, and in tea it becomes more bitter the longer it steeps. Bitter flavors help to stimulate bile production, and therefore digestion. Lavender is also calming and uplifting – it supports a sense of confidence, and reduces feelings of stress. Because it stimulates blood circulation to the head, it can be helpful for stress-related headaches. My favorite ways to use lavender are as part of a tea blend (a little goes a long way!) or as an essential oil. Lavender essential oil is well known for its healing power when applied to burns and skin irritations, but a drop may also be inhaled from a tissue or applied to the temples to help stress and headaches. Keep essential oil away from the eye area, and be aware that too much lavender has a stimulating – rather than calming – effect.

4. Sage – Salvia officinalis

Yet another aid for the digestive system, sage helps to calm the digestive system and expel gas from the intestines. Sage tea is one of my favorite helpers for inflammations of the mouth, throat, and tonsils. Use it as a mouthwash or gargle, and definitely drink it as tea. Sage also decreases milk production when weaning from breastfeeding. Avoid during pregnancy.

5. Lemon Balm – Melissa officinalis

First and foremost, I think of lemon balm as the “gladdening herb.” Lemon balm is a great help for blues and worries that come up because of major life changes (positive or negative). Also, if you are someone who doesn’t sleep well because you lie awake worrying that you won’t sleep, lemon balm is your friend. Tea and tincture are my favorite ways to take this herb. Great for grouchy kids (and adults) who need to relax. Lemon balm does affect the thyroid, so it should be avoided by those with hypothyroidism.

6. Catnip – Nepeta cataria

It’s not just cat drugs, folks! Catnip is a very useful nervine sedative. This means that it helps you reach a state of relaxation and fall asleep. Catnip, lemon balm, and lavender would make an awesome sleep tea blend. Catnip also helps menstrual cramps and stomach upset.

7. Rosemary – Rosmarinus officinalis

Rosemary, like its relatives, is helpful for digestion. It also helps to stimulate circulation and brain activity. Rosemary’s stimulating effects make it a good fit for supporting memory and cognitive function: As Ophelia says in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “Rosemary, for remembrance.” Rosemary is one of the ingredients in my mental clarity tea blend, Where Is My Mind?, and essential oil of rosemary is also helpful during study time; just inhale a drop from a tissue.

Did any of these surprise you? What are your favorite mints?

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Materia Medica 101: How To Create A Bad-Ass Herbal Scrapbook

By Dani Otteson 1 Comment

I totally geek out about learning herbs. It’s one of my favorite things of all time – right up there with sprinkles and Bette Davis movies. There are so many valuable ways to learn – all of them important to a well-rounded herbal education. Plant walks, making medicine, and studying independently from solid resources are some of the many ways I love to increase my knowledge. Through it all, if I had to pick my most treasured herbal learning tool, hands-down it would be my Materia Medica notebook. It’s seen me through years of herbal study; an amazing resource that is ever-growing and all my own – and it’s so dear to my heart.

What is Materia Medica?

“Materia Medica” literally means “Healing Materials,” and the term dates back to Dioscorides in the 1st Century AD. Dioscorides wrote five volumes entitled De Materia Medica, which included the uses and effects of hundreds of therapeutic plants, as well as mineral and animal products. The term has largely been replaced in western medicine with “pharmacology.” However, among herbalists, it’s a popular term for the way that we teach and learn individual herbs. The term Materia Medica is used in many other healing modalities as well, including aromatherapy and homeopathy.

The Materia Medica Notebook

So what is my Materia Medica notebook? Essentially, it is my own personal herbal – a collection of plant monographs. It has pages dedicated to individual plants, with my detailed notes and pictures – notes from different resources and experiences, recipes, stories, pictures that I’ve sought out (some online, some I’ve taken or drawn myself) – and they’re organized in a way that makes sense for me.

My Materia Medica notebook is bad-ass BEAST. It’s currently a 4 inch binder (I started with a 1 inch!) with notes for different plants in separate page covers. There are categories of information that are typical within the Materia Medica style, so I designed page templates with those categories in mind and added a few of my own. I generally hand-write my notes, because I feel it helps me retain information at greater depth – plus, my own handwriting makes it more personal and unique. My Materia Medica has been organized in several different ways over the years, most notably:
1. Alphabetically by Latin name, and
2. By body system
(I think I like it best by Latin name, but body systems is also an easy way to look at things when you’re just starting to learn herbs).

Want To Make Your Own?

Have I talked you into it?! Are you totally pumped?! If so, I’ve got you covered – Get ready to become an herbal bad-ass with a beast of a notebook. Of course, you can design your own Materia Medica pages, but I’ve created some printables for your downloading pleasure.

Click here for the Herbal Materia Medica Template

Use these to take notes! I’ll be posting a lot about individual herbs, and this is a great way to compile your info and dig more deeply into your curiosity. While you’re at it, check out this list of great resources for herbal wisdom to incorporate as you learn. (There is a lot of info out there on the interwebs – Google searching is not the most reliable way to find reputable information).

I’m super excited to create more posts to help you in your quest for herbal knowledge. How do you prefer to learn about herbs? Have you studied Materia Medica? How do you envision your future bad-ass botanical beast-of-a-book? (I can’t control my love for alliteration.)

xoxo, dani O.

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Tools For The Virtual Herbalist