blogearth

[blogearth]

English Ivy

While this evergreen climber is native to the damp woods of eastern, western, and southern Europe, it can be widely found in the forests of the Americas as well as right in the backyards of many suburban homes. Careful not to be mistaken for its poisonous counterpart native to the Americas, English Ivy (hedera felix) can be identified by its leathery, palmate shaped leaves. Younger leaves are slightly hairy and have 3-5 lobes each while more mature leave nearly unlobed, more leathery, and darker in color. The leaves alternate along the woody vine reaching about 10cm in length. Under allowing circumstances, English Ivy may flower or fruit bearing small, 5-petaled, greenish-white flowers or dark bluish-black berries in the spring. Steer clear of eating these berries, they are poisonous. While they’re extremely bitter and reduce the chances of ingestion to the point of real harm, it’s best to know to stay away from berries of any ivy plants. (A general rule of thumb when identifying edible or poisonous wild berries is to check for a waxy, shiny coating. In this case, the leathery, shiny leaves of the ivy plant say it all.)

The extract of the ivy leaf can be taken by itself or with water and can be easily purchased or, more complexly, produced. In order to produce a usable extract of ivy leaves, an extracting agent is necessary; for example, a 96% ethanol alcohol. First, gather and grind a quantity of dried ivy leaves. The powder can then be fermented by adding water and the extracting agent, and dried. Find a more detailed explanation of the extraction process here. A double-blind study done in 1993 found about 25 drops of ivy leaf extract administered twice per day to be just as effective as the drug ambroxol for treating symptoms of chronic bronchitis.

English Ivy is considered an invasive species in many parts of the Americas since its introduction from Europe, but can actually be used medicinally as an anti-inflammatory to treat respiratory disorders like asthma, bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Studies done in germany found that the presence of triterpene saponins, mainly hederacoside C and α-hederin, in ivy leaves exhibits relaxing and expelling effects on the muscles of the lungs inhibiting the process of internalizing β-adrenergic receptors. These triterpenes can also be found in various medications.

Today, ivy is a popular garden ornament as well as a sign of prestige and intelligence. But, it is also considered a parasitic weed in most places, able to grow up trees and urban buildings, deteriorating the walls of homes. But who really is the parasite when humans only take from the land to build and give nothing back? Is it ivy that is the problem, or humans for trying to derail the course of nature? Decomposition is a vital part of the life cycle.

[blogearth]

White Pine

Pine trees in general are easy to identify due to their long, thin, round needles. They grow in bunches of about 2-5 per bundle. A common and dangerous look alike are yew needles, which are flat instead of round. These are poisonous so be careful! White Pines are especially distinctive, growing to be about 150 feet tall with 5 needles per bundle and produce long slender cones with open scales. The bar is dark and furrowed and the straight, cylindrical trunk made it perfect for mast building for sailing ships.

Since I’m located in the northeastern United States and winter is hitting us full force right now, we’re going to be getting deep into evergreens for a while. Current feature: Pine trees; more specifically, the Eastern White Pine tree (Pinus Strobus). If you find yourself lost, alone, and without food, and happen to be anywhere these trees are native and abundant, you’re in luck. They are nutritious and edible in many different ways. Able to grow in numerous soils, white pines naturally span southern Canada, much of northern and eastern USA, and Europe.

White pines are extremely vitamin-C rich. Native Americans used to feed pine products to European sailors to fight off scurvy. Steep the blue-green needles in hot or cold water for 5-10 minutes for a natural, and yummier, version of the popular sickness warding powder, Emergen-C. The inner, soft, whitebark can be boiled and eaten plain in emergencies, or hung out to dry in strips, then pounded into flour to make the ultimate backcountry survival bread by adding salt, yeast, and water. If you find yourself in possession of a little oil or animal fat, cut the bark into past-like strips and fry them over the camp or stove fire to prepare them like potato chips! You can eat the inner bark raw, but it is so fibrous that it will probably cause stomach cramps. The seeds found within the cones can also be eaten. Pine nuts can be harvested in September or October and are rich in protein, healthy fats, and calories. You have probably seen them in grocery stores. The yellow pollen of the male cone can be used as a stew thickener and can be harvested when the cones flower. There is really no inedible part of the white pine except the outer bark. That cannot be eaten in any way, shape, or form. And again, be careful for its poisonous look alike, yew.

Much like that of the douglas fir, the pitch of the white pine is a natural antiseptic that can be used to treat topical skin wounds. A terpenoid resin, it is made up of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, both made up of a series of C5H8 compounds called isoprene units. Often regarded as nature’s most common building blocks, it only makes sense that plants entirely made up of these building blocks are so naturally nourishing. Pitch is also the sticky substance trees produce to heal their own wounds so, if the shoe fits, right? (Note: When harvesting the white pine, or any plant, try to only take small amounts from a multitude of larger, mature plants to avoid total destruction.)

In modern society, its wood is thought of mainly for furniture, toys, boxes, and Christmas trees as opposed to its abundant food and medicinal purposes. While no one is necessarily expecting you to serve up a loaf of white pine bread with dinner, it’s worth appreciating what these trees can offer. With the ever-expanding depletion of our natural lands, it’s important to remember what we have learned, and what there is still left to learn, from our natural world.

[blogearth]

My b-day falls on edge of Leo and Virgo :)

Etched Apothecary Bottles

Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

Libra

Scorpio

Sagittarius

Capricorn

Aquarius

Pisces

[blogearth]

The Douglas Fir tree, characterized by its soft, blueish-green needles with two  distinctive white stripes on their underside and closed, elongated cone. These needles can be steeped in hot or cold water to provide a cleansing and relaxing tea all year round.

[blogearth]

Douglas Fir: Native to western North America and eastern Asia, it is characterized by it’s flat, soft needles, cone-bearing nature, and beguiling scent as the #1 Christmas Tree to hit the market. It is also a natural antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and diuretic that can be used to treat topical skin injuries and digestion problems.

[blogearth]

Douglas Fir

January 6th, about a week after the holiday these trees are most commonly used for, you can probably see them discarded in the gutters amongst the trash, or half-covered by freshly fallen snow; but they are hardly garbage. Douglas Firs (Pseudotsuga Menziesii), better known simply as “Christmas Trees” are in fact not related to the true firs, contrary to their name. Having a wide native range, they can be found wildly anywhere from Central California all the way up western North America into Alaska, as well as sites in eastern Asia. The bark is characterized as gray to reddish-brown with deep, thick grooves. The upper branches point upwards while the lower branches droop down and recurve. About 1 inch in length, the needles are flat and slightly pointed at the tip, with two white bands on the underside, ranging from yellow-green to blue-green in color. Douglas Firs have the potential to reach about 100 meters in height (~328 feet). Mature seed cones are approximately 3-4 inches in length and are shed in the fall.

The bark and needles of this lush, blue-ish evergreen have be used by several groups to treat seasonal colds, as a diuretic, and for kidney and bladder ailments. The edible and antiseptic resin obtained from the sap (pitch) was used to treat cuts, burns, and other skin irritants, ease sore throats and coughs, mend bones and as famine food.  While I would probably go for a newage cast to help heal a broken leg right now, the idea of casts came from the idea of the resin being slathered around the injured area and left to harden to provide extra support. The green bark and needles were used to improve digestion problems. Rich in natural oils, the seductive scent of the needles that landed the Douglas Fir it’s role as #1 Christmas Tree stimulates the organs of excretion resulting in a nice cleanse ridding the body of toxins just by smelling the things.

Now to get a little more technical: A study done by the University of Belgrade found monoterpene hydrocarbons to be the main constituents in the oils, among them things like bornyl acetate, camphene, α-pinene, santene, and limonene; all monoterpenes that have anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antiviral and antibacterial therapeutic properties, while some can be analgesic or stimulating with a tonic effect. That sounds just as good as any topical antibiotic ointment to me, and way better than any diuretic I’ve ever encountered… Bears will even collect the tips to “cleanse” themselves after a winter’s hibernation. Hot tip.

As mentioned before, Douglas Firs are most commonly used as Christmas Trees, but are also commercially cultivated for their high wood yield and essential oils. You can see them in coffee tables, floors; they are used to build houses and outdoor furniture; or even right in your backyard as a landscaping asset. The oils are extracted and bottled, used for massage therapy or infused into soaps sold in stores everywhere. And those same monoterpene hydrocarbons naturally found in the needles are also found in household wood cleaning supplies to disinfect, polish, and replenish while also leaving behind a lemony-fresh scent.

So the next time you take a walk through your backyard look up and enjoy the smell. Or next year when you take down your Christmas Tree, why not make some Douglas Fir needle infused tea before exposing of all the natural gifts you didn’t find under the tree.

[blogearth]

Ginseng (panax ginseng): native to the cooler climates of Eastern Asia and North American. Bright red, berrying flower with lush, green leaves. Root resembles a dead body. Used in traditional Chinese medicine to increase yang.

[blogearth]

Bupleurum (B. chinense): native to eastern Asia. Long, thin leaves with a bright yellow/green flower. Used in traditional chinese medicine to treat cancer, epilepsy, hepatitis and HIV. 

[blogearth]

EarthRx

I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 13 years old. Epilepsy is basically when the nerve endings in the brain short circuit caused by excessive and abnormal nerve cell activity, and resulting in a total loss of muscle control. (This includes the bladder...)

An entirely embarrassing experience having your first seizure in the middle school library, hoping you didn't actually pee your pants like everyone's been saying, I visited a long list of traditional western neurologists to try and find a cure; or rather, a treatment. Manufactured pharmaceuticals are inherently toxic and harmful to the body. Some of the chemicals being pumped through my veins actually started to poison me, inhibiting my physical capabilities and causing even more severe excessive and abnormal brain activity. My mother happened to remember reading a book entitled Spontaneous Healing by Andrew Weil, M.D. That was the day we decided to take a more holistic approach.

A Yale M.D. who studied holistic healing for several years under the shamans of Peru, my new doctor prescribed me a combination of traditional Chinese herbs and essential vitamins. This list included Bupleurum root, Ginseng, Ginger root, and Jujube (all dried and crushed into pills) to clear my liver and calm my spirit, along with Vitamin E, Vitamin D, and Fish Oil to balance my brain and body chemistry. While I'm no longer solely on this combination, I use some of the herbs to supplement western medicine. It calms the negative effects of the artificial chemicals, like weight gain and insomnia, and enhances their positive ones, like preventing seizures. Not only can the Earth help us, but we can help the Earth. That's what I aim to do here: to bring light to all of the natural wonders we often overlook, be them right in our backyards or in lands currently being destroyed for economic purposes.

(I promise my drawings will get better, I've just never seen any of these plants in person!)

A little while ago I got into an argument with a friend over whether organically grown foods were healthier than chemically modified or manufactured ones. Organically grown foods take in more nutrients as they grow due to the nature of their upbringing as well as not being contaminated with harmful chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, or preservatives. Genetically modified organism (GMOs) are just that: the DNA of the plant has been altered in order to ensure successful growth at a certain rate, sprayed with herbicides to ward off critters, then exposed to water supplies, which runs throughout the world, and livestock, who consume the chemicals and run it through their bodies, which we then butcher for breakfast.

The answer here seems obvious, but his point was that natural poisons could be just as harmful as artificial poisons, and natural remedies were less potent than western medicine. I disagreed, arguing that the body was built to heal itself and has been doing so with the help of natural ingredients long before chemical treatments. After a heated debate over a few glasses of wine, we called it a draw, but my passion and curiosity for the subject did not end there.

In Spontaneous Healing, Andrew Weil, M.D. said that, "four years at Harvard Medical School and one of internship did not get to the root of disease process and promote healing but rather suppressed those processes or merely counteracted the symptoms of the disease."

A college degree in English with a focus on environmental studies, mild personal experience with holistic healing, and a pre-existing love for the outdoors compelled me to go out and find the roots of not only western medicine, but of fashion, art, design, sociological interaction, and every other inexplicable phenomena occurring each day.

Revisit this blog to see a type of field guide for plant and animal purposes you may have never thought of, how they work, where to find them, and how they have affected the evolution of the human race.