Dr. Jennifer Williamson, ND Phytolacca decandra This beautiful picture was taken in the Buffalo area at the home of my wonderful midwife/friend Khristeena Kingsley. But as gorgeous as this plant is, it is one of the most toxic medicinal herbs. It is really one which you should only use as needed, in drop doses and […]
Dr. Jennifer Williamson, ND I have been waiting a week to see the flower buds bloom on my Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola), but today I realized that like other plants, the flowers only open at certain times of day. And getting to see them was important for identification. The plant recognition apps were claiming that
Dr. Jennifer Williamson, ND Eastern Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus) is a member of the Asteraceae family, which unfortunately for identification purposes, contains a lot of flowers that look like daisies. But, once you get into identification a bit more, you start to notice differences more easily. Although this one looks like a common daisy, it
Dr. Jennifer Williamson, ND I’m not a botanist by any means, so sometimes I run across an herb and I am stumped if it’s one thing or another. This is one of those times, so I’d like to share my newly acquired knowledge. This plant could be Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), but it could also
Dr. Jennifer Williamson, ND My mountain is full of wild raspberries. They are everywhere, which makes the walks we take more tolerable for the husband. But Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) is used medicinally for its leaves, not the fruit. The main claim to fame for raspberry leaves is as a pregnancy tonic. The leaves can
Dr. Jennifer Williamson, ND Some of the plants I have been writing about I know from learning about them through naturopathic medical school. Sometimes I can recognize them, other times I take the picture and find it in various databases. The rest of the plants I may recognize by sight, but am not familiar with
Dr. Jennifer Williamson, ND Common mallow, Dwarf mallow or Cheeseweed (Malva neglecta) is one of those plants that is really easy to find, even in the city. And as the name implies, it is found most easily in neglected areas. The leaves and flowers are both edible and medicinal. It is related to the other
Have you ever sat on a lawn and observed the variety of plants within? There is definitely a lot more than just grass and the sign of a toxic lawn is one that doesn’t contain anything but grass. This little cutey can be found in almost every yard, but is often overlooked. Meet All-Heal or
Dr. Jennifer Williamson, ND What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson This plant is Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum), which is considered an invasive species, which is one step up from just a weed. It was brought to America in the 1800s as an ornamental plant for
Dr. Jennifer Williamson, ND Yellow Dock or Curly Dock (Rumex crispus) is harvested for it’s roots or mucilaginous new leaves in its leaf sheath. I haven’t seen many of these on my walks and I’ll be sure to leave them, because harvesting a plant for its root obviously destroys it. Not that I’ve been harvesting
