Medicinal plant knowledge rant

GD Hippy froo froo wannabes just make me want to beat them bloody.

Y'all know I teach wild foods and medicines. I learned this from people who had to know it before modern medicine was honestly even invented, much less available here in the wild west of Texas 100+ years ago. I have stories of uses in my head from almost 200 years ago on the damn Trail of Tears. We HAD TO know this to survive.

I'm also the family hospice nurse. I would stay with family in the hospital as their patient advocate, then I would bring them home and care for them, and I would ease their passage into heaven. I have treated many cases of diabetic gangrene, various end stage cancers, wounds that would not heal.

And this GD hippy "big pharma" [censored] where they're wanting to leave modern medicine behind to go back to using plants, but not knowing what they are, what they actually do or why, and wanting to cure sh*t with the spiritual vibrations of plants and rocks and sht just makes me want to take a switch to them and beat until they come to their senses. You can EITHER peel willow stems, cut into 1" lengths, boil down gently for an hour, or soak for 3 weeks, and drink that liquid, OR YOU CAN TAKE A FKING ASPRIN.

Science is the careful observation, testing, and recording of the natural world. We find a plant that works. We observe then extract the useful compound from the plant while discarding the either useless, or counterproductive parts. That leaves us with the pure form that we can then properly dose for just enough to be effective without overdosing the patient. You can't tell me how much useful properties are in one leaf to the next, much less how much you need to use. But we now have these people who want to teach medicinal plants as though they are experts at it, when they can't tell me the active compounds that we are using. They can't tell me WHY you would feed a plug of tobacco to a horse or why you would sprinkle a little bit around and in the hole for a newly planted tree. These are people who swear by organic because it's "chemical free".

I teach to preserve knowledge. I am extremely careful to not teach the dangerous stuff that we had to know in order to save lives. And then I see these idiots wanting to use dangerous treatments that I know better than to use because "big pharma". Go to the damn doctor. Get it taken care of before it turns into gangrene or something worse. And stop acting like it's spiritual. You're not a shaman or a doctor. You're playing fairies in the woods.

End rant.... ish.

Kat........this post made my day!


I can't count to times I cracked up. Thank you.

When my mom cut willow limbs I always needed a couple aspirins after she was finished.

HAH! Okay! Thank you! Um... I'm just blowing off steam because they'll come to me wanting to have a cup of tea and pick my brain. There's exactly a snowball's chance in hell of me ever telling them a damn bit of what I know because I know for a fact they're going to hurt somebody with it.

But people buy this. Every day. People pay fairly large sums of money for this nonsense.

I'm preserving old knowledge.. Simply the stuff my family has done for generations. The knowledge that every weed and flower that you see out there has a use and a purpose and a story behind it. Sharing the passion for not just our knowledge, but gathering knowledge from other sources... for plants that we didn't know.

Dang. You were on the Trail of Tears? I would love to pick your brain on that.

My great great grandmother was. They're the oldest stories that I was taught.

Let's get together and sit around passing the bong back and forth and we can discuss all of these thoughts of yours.

That’s a while back. Wonder how much word of mouth stories change over that much time? Probably why science took over.
I remember my granddad using different cures for things. In summers when I would spend time with him if you got a cut or splinter he would use grease on it. If you got a bad splinter he would take the splinter out and put it in grease. Grease as in petroleum type. Not cooking type.

So are you an advocate of marijuana use? Many people have been “researching” its effects for long time.

Marijuana was in the pharmacopeia too. And the absurdity of THAT being illegal is another rant for another time. Proven for treatment of chronic pain, anxiety related disorders, PTSD, and diminished appetite. Used in combination with other medications it could be extremely powerful. BUT because Nixon wanted to hurt the Latino community, and because of the tobacco industry, we have yet another prohibition ruining hundreds of thousands of lives for no reason.

well ok

I understand. One of the most dangerous of all things is a college educated idiot.

Nixon, weed and Latinos are why it's illegal? Puff n pass...

"GD Hippy froo froo wannabes".

"And this GD hippy "big pharma" [censored]".

"We have these people who want to teach medicinal plants as though they are experts at it".

" these idiots wanting to use dangerous treatments that I know better than to use because "big pharma".


Not sure exactly whom this rant is aimed at, but seems like you've pretty much covered all the bases.

I wanna hear a story !

Yes, it's more complicated than that, but issues like this usually are. However, remember your history lessons and the Black and Latino civil rights movements of the 60s and 70s. Making weed illegal gave the cops an excuse to lock anybody up for possession whether or not they were doing anything "wrong". Add in your for profit prisons and Regan's BS war on drugs.

Remember my mom was a civil rights lawyer during this time. I was raised on earfuls of this rant.

If we're don't kill it. It will kill me.

'Pick your brain' is the PC way of saying, "Teach me for free". Whip out your calendar and schedule some consultancy time. Get paid for your passion!

Nixon can be blamed for a lot, but Mary Jane was made illegal nationally in 1937, and in many states before that.

I'm going to be teaching classes for the Alamo chapter of Master Naturalists in August.

Asking for a friend.

Used in combination with other medications it could be extremely powerful.

Example?

Making a joke, but seriously, what do you mean? I know people who used pot with other illegal drugs, but where has your statement been proven. I worked for years with youth who had drug problems And trying to help them. Powerful in what way?

Cannabis was officially outlawed fo...he 1970 Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The 70s is when it went from "eh, sorta illegal" to throw your butt in prison.

"GD Froo Froo Hippie"


LMAO

This is starting to stray into the grey area where I start shutting up, but I'll try to explain.

This is anti-anxiety. It helps you calm down and relax. PTSD has always been a thing no matter whether we had a name for it or not, and people can be crippled by fear and anxiety. The brain is also a very delicate organ and can easily malfunction. When you would combine this with other anti-anxiety medications in proper amounts, a person could be returned to an active and useful life.
Also, for chronic pain sufferers, when you reduce inflammation and you reduce the fear of constant pain, you restore usefulness.

I'm not talking about people walking around stoned all the time, I'm talking about very very low doses just to help with anxiety. And once the brain has made the new connections and you have learned how to deal with the anxiety and stress, slowly reducing the dose to none. We are brains walking around in remote controlled meat suits. Everything we experience is interpreted through our senses. When we have malfunctions of anxiety or stress, that doesn't make the pain any less real and it needs to be managed.

round here naturalist means they be naked.......Is this a suns out buns out class?

I am also going to add to this that we already know that there are cannabinoid receptors in the brain and that our own body makes endocannabinoids involved in the regulation of appetite, immune system functions and pain management.
We also know that systems can be damaged or malfunction and not produce what they're supposed to produce... leading to increased pain, etc.

What's frustrating is to listen to both far sides of the argument... for and against... one side just wants to get high, and the other is against it because they're getting their morality in my legislation. When in truth, it's a tool that has a lot of utility when applied to the correct problems. But instead we want to prohibit a plant that god gave us and cause untold suffering because ... reasons.

They should impeach Nixon.

I can see that. My issue is how many humans cannot simply find and have a balance. It seems we have to always push the bounds/limits. Then the government/limits come into play. There is no responsibility and moderation just abuse. Always looking for a higher high. That is an issue with no good outcome.

Anyway. Interesting.

But why. Why are they self medicating like this. See there was The rat park study back in the 70s looking into the mechanisms of addiction and why animals would use drugs. In a lot of cases, there are fundamental underlying issues of mental disorders that need treatment, but aren't getting proper care. There is so much more to be learned about why some people feel the need to chase the higher high, and what is malfunctioning in their minds that we need to help them with. How many of our veterans' lives would be saved if they could only receive proper treatment after being broken by their experiences?

My sister is an Naturopathic Physician.

I get the broken by their experiences, especially our military.

I used to work in a treatment center that was for kids. It was very very expensive. Most of the kids had silver spoons and still got into the drug world. Then lost control. If you have the money/means you can get in deep and quick. There was no visible reason. Most would tell you, I just like to get stoned. I am not convinced there is an underlying reason. Many just don’t have the self discipline to balance usage. I know people who drink every day and go to work the next day and function fine. Functional alcoholism is pretty normal. Same with pot.
I do think this issue is not one that will be legislated away. Government gets involved when there is money to be made. Often making all situations far worse. Put in the self righteous agenda and you can see what we have created. The populace suffering.

Katt, please tell me that you are passing this abundance of knowledge on.

Government interference is an incredibly efficient way to waste large quantities of money and cause small problems to become large ones.

To anybody and everybody that will let me gnaw on their ears. I've been told that going on a plant walk was like trying to drink from a fire hose. Go for a walk anywhere there's stuff growing, and I just start talking about what I see growing, history, uses, how to cook it, etc. I regularly warn people to don't try to bring a notepad and write down what I say. Bring a recorder and a camera and just absorb as much as you can. I'm going way too fast and doing way too much of a brain dump for you to write anything.

I also hack your brain to help you remember by engaging as many senses as I can. Classroom learning from books is useless. Get outside, get the sense of movement, touch the leaves, taste what you can, smell what makes it different. The more senses you engage, the likelier you are to remember.

Kate, I usually let anyone's rant go but I'd really like some clarifications.

I used Google for all my research and find nothing about Nixon imposing any laws. I see multiple references to the fear of Mexican immigrasnts but the timeline seems to be 1910-1937. FDR (Democrat) administration initiated a marijuana tax in 1937. This essentially made weed illegal. (taxes were not being paid on contrband weed) . There was a striking down of this in Nixon's administration by SCOTUS. Nixon did however sign into law The Controlled Substances Act passed by the 91st Congress (Democrat controlled). This did make weed a Schedule I drug .https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_cannabis_laws_in_the_United_States

Hearing that your momma was a lawyer did however enlighten me as this is a huge Dem support group so I now understand the demonization of Nixon.

More from the Web:

"The demonization of the cannabis plant was an extension of the demonization of the Mexican immigrants. In an effort to control and keep tabs on these new citizens, El Paso, TX borrowed a play from San Francisco’s playbook, which had outlawed opium decades earlier in an effort to control Chinese immigrants. The idea was to have an excuse to search, detain and deport Mexican immigrants.

That excuse became marijuana.

This method of controlling people by controlling their customs was quite successful, so much so that it became a national strategy for keeping certain populations under the watch and control of the government.

During hearings on marijuana law in the 1930’s, claims were made about marijuana’s ability to cause men of color to become violent and solicit sex from white women. This imagery became the backdrop for the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 which effectively banned its use and sales."
http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/how-did-marijuana-become-illegal-first-place

From another site: When Did Marijuana Become Illegal

"The short answer is 1937. On August 2 of that year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Marihuana Tax Act. It was the first federal cannabis law and banned the substance from October 1937. To be fair, weed had been rapidly hurtling towards prohibition for about a quarter of a century. The Marihuana Tax Act was the result of a campaign of lies and racism.

https://www.marijuanabreak.com/when-did-marijuana-become-illegal-in-the-u-s

I lived through the Civil Rights marches and era so won't need to reference any history books. I do, however need to set the record straight on weed and its illegality. Didn't want to turn this political but it was brought up before I joined the convo in several posts.

I do appreciate your knowledge of the use of naturally occuring remedies.

Raybob, I've always appreciated and valued your viewpoint whether or not I agree with you. You can argue with me all you want and I'm still going to enjoy myself. But that also won't stop me from saying you're full of it.

That's something I think has been lost in discourse lately. I don't have to agree with you to respect you or call you a friend.

Hi Kate, you are full of knowledge and wisdom. Your time as a hospice nurse was hard, but you helped many,many people and their families get through a very, very time. It takes love, mercy and compassion to do the work that you do, very few can do it effectively. Thank you. I lost my little sister to cancer in 1998 and volunteered at the Hospice Homeplace in Tyler for a while afterwards and saw the wonderful job that you nurses do.

I was the hospice nurse for my family only. My mama, daddy, aunts, uncles, cousins, and then sister. I can't do that for everyone. It takes far too much out of a person, but it is a blessing. And the time spent is worth every second. You have time to listen to as many stories as they can remember, sing old songs, and carry the torch of memories on into the future.

puff n pass, I am very well educated in United States history. being raised by earfuls of rants is not something I would even consider putting on a public forum trying to prove you are right about your belief...

Thank you for that.

'Merica freedom to say what you want

I heard in the 1800's while on cattle drives if someone came down with a case of violent diarrhea they would use Hackberries as suppositories for a natural cure. It's believed they learned it from watching the Comanche.

I never can tell when you're pulling my leg and when you're not. But no. Hackberry is also known as sugarberry and can be made into jellies and jams, but the more useful quality of it is as long term food reserves since the oils in the seed doesn't go rancid quickly. You would use it in a similar way to butternut and pignut hickory, grind in a large, standing mortar and pestle like the picture below. When you've ground it completely into a crushed paste, you pour boiling water in and skim off the fats.



This is one of our earliest confirmed foraged food found in prehistoric caves of Peking man.

I think there are lots of fairies around here.

Hey Katt, have you ever thought about writing a book?

Walk in the woods with Kattelyn G2G.....

You still never told an old family story !? I was looking forward to one ....

Okay. This would have been around 1918 near Eastland, Texas. A man had gone hunting with his 8 year old son and shot a possum. The boy went to pick it up by the tail but it wasn't dead yet. It swung around and chewed him up from elbow to shoulder. One thing about possum bites is they have a nasty tendency to get infected. So if the bite doesn't kill you, the infection will.

They come riding up on the house after dark and rides the horse all the way up onto the front porch begging for help from my grandma. She yells for my aunt Rene to get a big double handful of the lantana and throw it in a pot of boiling water and pull it off the fire. They washed the arm in the lantana water and covered the wounds in honey and wrapped tight in linen.



This is a common flower that's become invasive, but has native relatives. It is a topical medicine only, but is a topical antibacterial with analgesic and is proven to speed healing rates with cuts. It is also one of our mosquito repellents... again with topical analgesic properties. Of course, honey has been used as wound dressing since ancient times and is still used by modern medicine for wounds that will not heal.

I knew the boy as an 80 year old man, and you could see the scars from where it was a really bad attack. But it never got infected, he never lost use or feeling.

Thank you I looked forward to hearing more in the future . To hell with all these other yahoos !

Speaking of mosquito repellents, we have a few.



Old timers again like my folks used to take handfuls of beautyberry leaves (the plant above) and put them under the yokes of the oxen to keep the bugs off them. It was treated as an old wives tale for a long time before somebody actually decided to research whether it worked or not and found it's as if not more potent than deet. It keeps off fleas, ticks, chiggers, biting flies, gnats, and fire ants! We actually have something that works on fire ants!!! Problem being that the chemical is hard to replicate and while it grows wild all over east Texas especially, listen to how I said it was used. Handfuls of leaves under the yoke of the oxen. They're extremely dry leaves and it takes a lot to make a difference. To get any use out of it, you need to make a tincture. Get a BUNCH of the leaves and pulse them through a food processor to tear them up a bit. Now pack a jar with the torn up leaves like you would pack a washing machine... not too tight, you need stuff to be able to move around. Now fill up the jar with rubbing alcohol. Leave it on the counter and give it a shake or two whenever you're making your morning coffee. In about 3 weeks you'll have a deet alternative that doesn't melt your plastics.

Now remember the lantana from earlier? Mix that in and you have a deet alternative that will neutralize any bites you've already gotten.

Another one is the giant ragweed that makes us all miserable in the fall. It's one of the best tick repellents we've got.

Stuff grows like crazy around here. We call it french mulberry.

https://homesteadwishing.com/beautyberry-jelly-recipe/

Agree with NB keep the stories coming. Thank you for all you do for the sick and elderly!

Thanks for the stories Kat, Those are very interesting. What do you know about Ayurveda medicine?

You need to take that aggression out on some bread dough, if there is any aggression left conger up a new pie recipe to get our drool going.

I have a great deal of respect for historical Ãyurveda. But I don’t have a lot of patience with modern western interpretations of it. One of the most fascinating discussions I’ve ever had was with this tiny old great grandmother from India, swapping stories and being utterly shocked how she used similar plants on the other side of the world the same way we did! I could have chatted with her for months and never began to scratch the surface. Brilliant hyperactive tiny little woman. Sharp as a tack and zero patience for fools. That ayurveda I would have trusted with my life. What you see sold in stores, I wouldn’t trust with a splinter.

Even more dangerous is someone that thinks they have nothing else to learn.

Just came in on the wire

Pretty dang good read here on this thread. Thanks y’all

What native plant gets the smell of animal urine out of carpet?

Asking for a friend.

Pine straw when combusted

It's amazing to me our ancestors were able to figure this stuff. This mushroom is good to eat. This one will kill you. This one will lower a fever. This one will make you see things. There must have just been huge numbers of them that died experimenting. I guess death was so common back then and life so unpleasant you didn't have a whole lot to lose. Interesting lore indeed.

What about migraines?

Wonder if anyone has ever researched the benefits of rabbit tobacco? My mom always had some around the house but I never saw anyone smoking it or making a poltice with it.

Lots of "Hold my Grog" moments that ended badly

Sorry but this is over the top. Obviously a lot more important to you than the rest of us heathens.

Use kratom for migraines, also Restless Leg Syndrome, also for pain, also for getting off of opiates.

Does honey locust have any use besides injuring anybody that gets near it?

Got anything that is untraceable in an autopsy? Asking for a friend

Passionflower tea or tincture depending on the strength needed for opiates and restless leg and insomnia

Any good uses for pine needles?

Vitamin C hit in the early spring when they're young and green. Chew on them or make a tea with hot but not boiling water.

https://www.wildedible.com/pine-needle-tea-natural-vitamin-c

so youre sayin that if I rub a bunch of beauty berries around my junk the bugs will leave me alone?

Rub them on a teenagers palms to keep hair from growing there.

JayQ wants to know if that works for the herp.

RIP

Kat what are your thoughts about Nicole Apelian? I have read minimal amounts of her stuff and wondered what you thought of her research.

I had never heard of her before this. She looks interesting and I'll have to do more research before having an informed opinion.