Wildcrafting: Harvesting your herbs from the wild.

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http://herbsforhealth.about.com/cs/wildcraftinglinks/a/aawildcraft.htm

 

Harvesting your herbs from the wild.

Some people are intrigued and romanced by the thought of finding and picking

your herbs from the wild. Days of hiking, searching, harvesting and processing

brings us in touch with the natural world around us, our history and even our

selves. Unfortunately, it could also end you up in trouble, or in the hospital.

One thing us humans have had a problem with for centuries is, when we find a

good thing we want and usually take it all.zILo='';function

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That is why we are seeing endangered species and depleted systems. I'm not

speaking for all, but historical records are full of examples.

 

I have been using and growing herbs for a long time. I had not wildcrafted

anything until just a few years ago and that was only two very easy to find and

easily identified herbs. I have however, scouted remote and occupied areas in

search of wild herbs for the purpose of identifying and photographing which is

just as satisfying. The two herbs I did wildcraft and process were dandelion and

valerian. I learned it was quite a bit more work than one would initially think,

so I came up with a list of things to consider yourself before you wander off

into the wild with your bucket and spade.

Plant identification - Be certain you can properly identify a plant. Many plants

have variations within the same species. Have several books ready and better

yet, have a mentor or someone you can contact for positive identification. Be

aware of plants in your area which may be " at risk " , " threatened " or

" endangered " .

Source Location - Many herbs can be found on roadsides. This is great if you

looking just for learning or photos. This is not a good place for consumption

herbs due to the toxins from cars and filthy drainage ditches. Be aware of

protected lands and get permission from other land owners.

Harvest timing - Know when the best time to harvest for that plant. Leaves and

roots may have different peak harvest times during the growth cycle.

Time - It takes time to find many plants, dig them up, clean, dry and process.

Space - Do you have the space for the mess of cleaning, separating various plant

parts, drying and processing?

Area Conditions - You may find yourself inundated with bugs, covered in muck,

stuck in brambles, stormed on, vermin encounters or even worst, being lost.

Prepare for your adventure. My most humbling experience in herb searching was

running into a nest of ticks and trying to what seemed like 50 from my body in a

second flat. My second experience was a load of fireants on my arm from a branch

I brushed across while rying to pick a wild cactus flower for my lizard.

Getting Education On Wildcrafting

The easiest way to learn wildcrafting would be to find a course or seminar in

your area. You may want to go to your health food store and put the word in

there that you are looking for a mentor or teacher.

You can also teach your self however you will need lots of reference

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The web is a great place to post your pictures for identification and help. I

have done that myself on this site. Another way to learn is to purchase a plant

and grow it so you can see exactly what it looks like. Many sources sell wild

and native plant species. You may find it would be easier to focus on one or two

herbs to master.

 

Below are schools and information on wildcrafting wether you want to take a

course or teach yourself. The school links have lots of valuable information

posted on their sites.

Howie Brounstein's Site - The best site! He runs several classes and has a

wealth of information for the beginner to advanced wildcrafter.

Sweetgrass School of Herbalism - Out of Montana. Classes and on-line

information.

Wild Rose College Of Natural Healing - This course introduces the basic concepts

of ethical and sustainable wildcrafting, as well as orientation and map-reading

techniques, data collection, and harvesting methods.

Wild Food Adventures - Provides expertise in wild edible plants through

workshops, expeditions, teaching events, presentations, outdoor guiding, and

outfitting anywhere in North America.

Wildcrafting Ethics

 

If you find a patch of herb, do not take all of it. In most cases you probably

should not take the whole plant.

Do not strip the plant of all leaves and berries as it will kill the plant. When

harvesting bark, take strips pulling upward, not around.zILo='';function

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If you strip off the bark all the way around the tree, it will die.

Do not take all of the flowers, chances are the plant will fail to reproduce.

Check with environmental resources to make sure the plant is not " at risk " ,

" threatened " or " endangered " . These classifications can vary geographically.

 

Just remember that when you are taking plants, you are probably the last species

that NEEDS to harvest that plant. The first priority should be ask yourself, is

there enough for the plants to reproduce and have enough food for the area

wildlife? Or did you just take all of the berries that a family of birds depends

on every year? There are plenty of growers and suppliers of quality herbs that

you do not have to harvest and deplete an area. Some herbs are plentiful for

all. But some are not. You can even grow your own! One place you may want to

check out is your back yard. Let it grow for awhile and you may be surprised how

many " weeds " are herbs. The image gallery of medicinal plants was put together

while living in Minnesota. Most were found in the wild, some cultivated. Whats

In My Back Yard is a growing resource of what I am finding here in Texas, right

in the yard. You may recognize some local plants of your own.

Resources Checklist and Endangered Plants - From Howies site.

Dear Netters,

This are the guidelines I teach to my students. It is copywrited material that

took me years to develop. Please respect this copywrite. I ask you not to

publish it without permission.

Happy Herbing.

Howie Brounstein

 

 

Wildcrafting ChecklistDo you have the permission or the permits for collecting

at the site?

Do you have a positive identification?

Are there better stands nearby? Is the stand big enough?

Are you at the proper elevation?

Is the stand away from roads and trails?

Is the stand healthy?

Is there any chemical contamination?

Is there any natural contamination?

Are you in a fragile environment?

Are there rare, threatened, endangered, or sensitive plants growing nearby at

any time of the year?

Is wildlife foraging the stand?

Is the stand growing, shrinking, or staying the same size?

Is the plant an annual or a perennial?

Is tending necessary and what kind?

How much to pick?

Time of day? Time of year?

What effect will your harvest have on the stand?

Do you have the proper emotional state?

Move around during harvesting.

Look around after harvesting. Any holes or cleanup needed?

Are you picking herbs in the proper order for a long trip?

Are you cleaning herbs in the field? Do you have the proper equipment for

in-field processing?

*Wildcrafting is stewardship*

c1993hb

 

 

How do I find out about Endangered Plants (in the USA)?Check your local Heritage

Program Database, call the Dept. of AG or a local Native plant society chapter

to find its address. This will connect you this experts on particular plants and

current lists.

The endangered species act has many flaws, I personally believe there should be

an endangered ecosystems act instead but it's all we've got and better than

nothing.

Some listed plants are truly rare, once numerous but destroyed by loss of of

habitat through man or nature.

Many listed plants are endemics, located in a specific area. These may be

geographically isolated islands of flora as are often found in the intermountain

west, or they can be found at the border of major plant systems. Many endemics

are found in southern Oregon, where the Northern Californa system blends with

the Pacific Northwest system, with a spattering of Great Basin plants. This does

not mean these plants are sensitive, just unique. The threatened Penstemon

peckii grows only within twenty miles of my house, and nowhere else on earth. It

can withstand trampling, wildlife grazing, and disturbance. In fact, now that

the forest service has realized that this species thrives with moderate

disturbance (partial cuts), it has become a reason to log, i.e. increased health

of the population of this plant.

Plants become listed due to political boundaries. Gentiana newberryi grows

nearby, and is threatened in Oregon. It's northern most sighting is within a

half hours drive. There you can see people play football on it, run horses on

it, pick its beautiful flowers only to find they wilt immediately, and then the

flowers end up on the ground. Sometimes hundreds of them. Elk graze it heavily.

It isn't a sensitive plant, and it's population is healthy and stable in

California, but the population happens to cross over to Oregon where there isn't

that many stands. Thus it recieves the same protection as the truly rare plant.

Southern Oregon has many of these kinds of listed plants.

There has to be a perceivable threat to the plant population in order for it to

be listed. Sometimes the threat is obvious, and sometimes the threat is obscure.

What about an introduced plant that has become a pest, or a native out control

in a system out of balance. When the St. John's Wort, Hypericum perforatum, is

down to a handful of populations, it will fit the definition of threatened, even

though humans intentionally irradicated it.!!

 

This was written for the 1994 Central Oregon Plant Show for the non-botanists

that pick flowers. It was also used by the Deschutes National Forest for their

Wildflower Week Celebration.What Plants Shouldn't I PickSome plants are not

damaged easily. Blackberry, Rubus sp., and Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, are

two that are nearly impossible to eliminate, even if you dig their roots. If a

piece of root stays in the ground, it will grow back. Yarrow, Achillea

millefolium, can be cut with a lawnmower and still flourish regularly. Nettles,

Urtica dioca, when grown for fiber can have 3-4 aboveground harvests in a

growing season. Plants that fit into this category are generally perennials. You

can pick them and not threaten their survival.

Rare, Threatened and Endangered Plants

Endangered plants are species in danger of becoming extinct in the foreseeable

future. Threatened plants are likely to become endangered in the foreseeable

future. A species can be threatened or endangered throughout its range, which

means if it goes extinct we will lose its hidden secrets forever. Many of these

plants only grow in one special area (endemic). The Columbia Gorge on the border

of Oregon and Washington hosts many endemic species. Peck's Penstemon, Penstemon

peckii, grows only in the Ponderosa Pine Forest in Deschutes and Jefferson

Counties. A species can also receive protection for part of its range.

Newberry's Gentian, Gentiana newberryi, has stable populations in California,

but is listed as threatened in Oregon. Deschutes County is at the end of its

range, and there are less of them. Rare plants have small, localized

populations. They may not be listed as threatened or endangered if the

populations are both stable and numerous.

The US. Fish and Wildlife Service determines which plants receive federal

protection. Unfortunately, they are very slow in reviewing candidate species.

Many have become extinct while waiting to be listed. The Department of

Agriculture and the Department of Fish and Wildlife of each state is responsible

for determining state protection. We also have the Oregon Natural Heritage

Program. This program has its own list of plants that deserve protection, but

haven't made it into the clogged federal and state lists. They also have a list

of plants to watch and monitor. A copy of Rare, Threatened and Endangered Plants

and Animals of Oregon is available from:

The Oregon Natural Heritage Program

1025 NW 25th Avenue

Portland, Oregon 97210

(503)-229-5078

Do not pick these plants. Unfortunately, they are not always easy for an amateur

to identify. They are not always showy. There may be large amounts of them in

one spot, so that they appear plentiful. There are some good picture books

available. All folks who pick plants from the wild should try to familiarize

themselves with the local protected plants. When in doubt, don't pick it.

Sensitive Plants

Some plants are sensitive to disturbance. Please do not pick them even if they

aren't protected. The Calypso Orchid, Calypso bulbosa, is a fragile plant that

lives partially off leaf mold. Its little root is close to the surface, and easy

prey to slugs and others. Minor disturbances can easily dislodge the root from

the mold. If someone picks its flower, it can ooze fluid and essentially " bleed "

to death. Even disturbing the area around it during flowering could kill it. The

law does not protect this plant because it is too numerous. It is our

responsibility to help sensitive plants survive.

How can you tell if a plant is sensitive? Most plants that are not green

(contain no chlorophyll) are " no picks. " These weird species are white, brown,

red, or purple and just plain eerie. Botanists call them parasites or

saprophytes. They are particularly fascinating. These include Broomrape,

Orobanche sp., Coral Roots, Corallorhiza sp., and Indian Pipe, Monotropa

uniflora. Other " no picks " include the Orchid Family (Orchidaceae) and almost

all the Lily Family (Liliaceae). The Orchid Family includes Calypso Orchid,

Calypso bulbosa, and the Rein Orchids, Habenaria sp. The Lily Family includes

Trillium, Trillium ovatum, and Mariposa Lilies, Calochortus sp. These families

are easy to recognize with a little practice. Not every Lily and Orchid is

sensitive, but it's a good place to start. Check these plant families out today

at the show.

Most (but not all) of the unusual or showy plants are no picks. If you are not

sure, don't harvest it.

Why do I see pressed specimens of " no picks? "

There are too many people who don't care or know about the plants they pick.

They will gather plants for a bouquet, and get tired of carrying them around.

Perhaps the plants will close up or wilt before they get back to the car. The

people throw them on the ground. These pressed specimens were found wilting on

the ground in local parks and campgrounds. They were already broken by humans or

animals.

 

 

 

 

 

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