Every spring I decide that I’m going to try some of the wild edibles or wild medicinals that I read about… I rarely follow through. After a cough that lingered for three weeks, though, I’m seriously considering trying to make up some Coltsfoot cough syrup and drops for next winter! The instructions are simple and straightforward and the information from all sources seems consistent… Not so for all herbs!
Google “Spring Beauty” and the top ten sites are botanical in nature. Google “Blue Cohosh” and you’ll have to look carefully to find a botanical site. Most listings are about the use of this plant for medicinal purposes… And let me tell you: I wouldn’t dare use it, based on what I read. The Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs uses an exclamation point inside a triangle as a symbol that means Caution. The symbol appears with the listing for Blue Cohosh.
Blue Cohosh has been used for a variety of female conditions, which is undoubtedly why it is also sometimes known as Squawroot or Papoose Root. Advice on the Internet is contradictory. Here’s a site that says you can use it during pregnancy:
It may be used at any time during pregnancy if there is a threat of miscarriage. Similarly, because of its anti-spasmodic action, it will ease false labour pains and dysmenorrhoea. However, when labor does ensue, the use of Blue Cohosh just before birth will help ensure an easy delivery. In all these cases it is a safe herb to use. (source)
And here’s one that says you should not use it during pregnancy:
Native Americans used Blue Cohosh to induce labor. It should not be used in pregnancy prior to the ninth month. (source)
Medicinal uses aside, Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) is a very interesting plant to watch at this time of year. When it first pushes through the leaf litter, it is so dark purple it blends in with the shadows; you might walk right past it and not even notice. For example, I was so delighted to find this little plant on my walk today, thinking it was sort of a loner on the side of the trail. When I finished snapping a few shots, I discovered a huge patch of them on the other side of the trail. They’re easy to miss!
As the leaves unfurl the dark purple gives way to a lovely bluish-green as shown below in a photo by Jeremy Martin:
In a month, they’ll look like this:
By July the berries will have set, and by autumn they will turn blue:
(Photo on right by Jeff Tome.)
To photograph this flower now, you will need to get down on your knees. By the end of its season, it could be one to three feet tall. It likes “rich” woods in the eastern and central parts of North America.
Do you use wild herbs? Tell us about it!
You are inspiring me to get out more and start looking for spring flowers. Loves seeing your Morning Cloak butterfly. I’ve been seeing them in my back yard.
I also took a peek at your new book from Blurb. Isn’t blurb just the best thing! Your book looks awesome.
I haven’t seen these–I guess I didn’t know to look, especially, carefully.
I’m glad you’re out and finding spring!
Yup, uh huh, I sure do use herbs, I wouldn’t use pharmaceuticals if you paid me a million dollars. Or a billion dollars. I’ve found you have to be really careful of what you read and who is behind what is being written because pharmaceutical companies don’t want us using herbs since they don’t make any money on them except when they “Standardize” them, as if the Maker didn’t make them perfect to begin with. I use the School of Natural Healing and A Modern Herbal along with some old Native American / Iroquois botany books as some of my sources. You’ve hit upon a topic I could go on and on about, but I’ll stop here!
Another plant I’ve viewed with interest through your eyes and lens. Thanks!
Aha! I didn’t recognize your first two photos of Blue Cohosh, but the third one, with the leaves all unfurled and green, I said hey! I know that plant! Great informative post. I don’t use wild plants for medicinal reasons (I’d be worried of doing something wrong and getting a bad result, I think), but there’s some interesting uses for some of these common species.
I don’t use wild herbs, but quite enjoyed reading this post! The Blue Cohosh is a very pretty flower, and you did it proud.
Do you include eating many leeks this time of the year herbs? Also was eating a few toothwort roots!