Mother Bear Herbs

01/02/2022

Check out our 22' FREE Webinar Schedule!

The American Herbalists Guild is happy to offer monthly webinars that are free and open to the public as part of our mission of service and advancing the community spirit of herbal education.

For more information about webinars and to register please visit https://www.americanherbalistsguild.com/upcoming-webinars-0

(Note there are no webinars scheduled for October due to the annual Symposium.)

25/01/2022

If you’ve ever been interested in learning more about herbs, here is a great starter class via Zoom. Learn about plants in your pajamas!

Learn more about how native plants can benefit your health and wellbeing with Wildwood Institute.

In this lecture, we will examine the medicinal uses of three plants that are native to Wisconsin: Violet, Mullein, and Plantain. You will learn identification, harvesting tips, preparation advice, and a bit of lore and history!

Get to Know Your Native Plants: Violet, Mullein, and Plantain - Zoom Class

This class will be held virtually on Zoom on Thursday, February 3, 6-7:15 p.m.

To Join Zoom Class:
Email - [email protected]
or call - (608) 841-1337

Check your emailed receipt for Zoom information
*This program will not be recorded

27/09/2021

What’s your herbalist name?

29/08/2021

When it comes to dealing with stress, we can all benefit from the wise ways of Mother Nature. I find it incredibly beautiful that, amidst the impressive advancements of modern medicine, some of our most powerful gifts still come from the natural world. Let’s explore a few of nature's helpful herbal allies used for the stress most of us are all too familiar with.

As always, do your research and if you have medical questions - talk to a knowledgeable health care professional.

29/06/2021

Fresh Yarrow tincture

Look for yarrow growing in fields and meadows. Harvest only the wild white yarrow. And harvest on a sunny day, in the middle of the day if possible, so the yarrow is strongly scented. For tincture, the flowering tops are the best. (For salves, the larger, lower, basal leaves are preferred.)

I usually cut the top three or four inches of each yarrow plant, doing my best to allow the stalk to reflower by cutting just above a leaf node. I use the stalk, leaves, and flowers in my tincture.

Using scissors, I cut the yarrow stalks and flowers into pieces and fill a jar with them. Then I add 100 proof vodka right up to the top. Lid it tightly. Stick on a pretty label with at least the name of the plant and the date. And wait. The tincture is ready to use in six weeks.

I spray yarrow tincture on my ankles to repel ticks.
I spray it all over myself to repel mosquitoes.
I spray yarrow tincture on wounds and bug bites.
I spray it on my toothbrush and use it as a deodorant.
Yarrow tincture has many more uses. How will you use yours?
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14/06/2021

There's something so enchanting roaming the ranch and seeing the plants that naturally flourish. One of my favorite plants to see in abundance in the meadow is mullein, a plant beloved for its soft leaves and sturdy stalks.

Derived from the French word mou or molle, the name mullein speaks to the nature of its soft, velvety leaves. The gentle nature of its leaves lends to its common reputation as "cowboy's toilet paper." Besides these basic traits, this plant has an incredible array of therapeutic qualities.

Mullein can be found growing in so many places and can be used to address a multitude of maladies, predominantly for colds, dry coughs, and sore throats. Mullein flower is still used in Europe as a traditional herbal medicine to relieve sore throat associated with a dry cold and cough. It is a testament to this plant's esteemed medicinal character considering it was written about in "De Materia Medica" more than 2000 years ago by Dioscorides, a physician that was in the army of Nero, where it was noted for its wide use for respiratory problems.

Both the leaves and flowers were official in the U.S. formulary through 1936. They were regarded as demulcent and expectorants to help get rid of phlegm and soothe irritation—prominently used for bronchitis, sore throat, dry coughs, and hoarseness. The flowers are more sedative and bactericidal than the leaves, having a more sedative effect, resulting in a harmonious combination when the leaves and flowers are used together. A neutral type of expectorant, we refer to this combination as a relaxing expectorant.

Looking at its rich history of use to its present-day place in herbal medicine, there are many reasons this gift from Nature continues to be held in such high regard.

20/04/2021

Chickweed is a Joint Oiler

Those experiencing burning, hot, searing pain from arthritis, rheumatism, stiff neck, sore back, sore legs, gout, backache, and bursitis find relief, often in a few hours, with hot chickweed baths, soaks, and poultices.

Those with chronic rheumatic pain can use Wise Woman ways and 20-30 drops of the fresh plant tincture (taken in water several times a day for several months) to restore joint mobility and ease pain.

To heal, stretch, and restore elasticity and strength to your tendons and ligaments, eat fresh chickweed freely, and treat with poultices or hot chickweed oil packs.

Read more about chickweed in Healing Wise:
www.wisewomanbookshop.com/product-page/healing-wise

20/02/2021

Homemade Balsamic Vinegar

This easy vinegar is a delicious way to ingest natural vitamin C, trace minerals, and anti-infective, anti-oxidant resins. It may be made any day of the year, including in the middle of the winter.

Fill a jar to the very top with needles from your favorite pine tree.

In the Northeast, white pine is the tastiest. In the west, pinon pine tops the list. No pine is poisonous, so feel free to experiment with your local pines.

Pines have long, thin needles, not short, flat needles like poisonous yew. If you are uncertain about the pine you have in mind, make a small amount the first time. Some pines are too resinous to make tasty vinegars.

Then fill your jar with apple cider vinegar.

Put a plastic, glass, cork, or other non-metal lid on the jar.

Wait six weeks, then add to salads, soups, beans, anywhere you would use regular balsamic vinegar.

If you are particularly impatient you could start using your homemade balsamic vinegar in as little as two weeks.

The longer it sits, the better it gets.

17/01/2021

We all know that familiar feeling when we detect a cold or sore throat creeping in. So I’m sharing my tried and trusted herbal recipe for an echinacea apricot tincture to help keep you and your loved ones protected when the body could use a helping hand. This recipe uses echinacea, one of my most beloved and longtime trusted gifts from the green world. Called icahpehu in Lakota for “strike-down stem,” this beautiful purple coneflower can help strike down your chances of coming down with something when taken in the first 48 hours of symptoms! Rev up your immune system with this simple herbal recipe, safe for everyone over the age of one.

13/10/2020