Herbal insights for over two decades.
Western Wildflowers and Herbs: The Herbaria
Personal observations, evidence-based research and historical insights about Mountain West wildflowers and herbs.
About The Herberia
Nature has a sublime sense of balance that captivates many people, from the less-is-more beauty of the desert to the oasis-like ecosystem in water-carved canyons to the nurturing richness of the mixed conifer forest. The plants and trees that thrive in each of these landscapes are a large part of the attractive atmosphere. They're a lively bunch with daily dramas taking place between them and their pollinators.
I personally find the connection among plants with their pollinators as fascinating as I do their eagerness to supply humanity with its medicinal needs. The flora do both with admirable detail, and the latter in curious ways sometimes still unsolvable to those they succor. This is what I write about for your enjoyment.
The Herbaria is an independent project, with all monographs and photos copyrighted by Christine Maxa and featured on The Herbarian1 Substack page.
Visit Christine's Substack page to read this and other articles on Plantain!
. . . Plantain’s use can be found in the back o’ beyond of recorded herbal history. Some 2,000 years before Pliny and Dioscorides memorialized Plantain in their ever-referenced herbal tomes written during the time of Nero, pollen cores (a sample containing dirt and pollen) reveal that Plantain appeared in the Nordic countries about the time the Norse started farming 4,000 years ago.
The Vikings, like every other culture on the planet, used Plantain to heal wounds. The 11th century Dane herbalist Henricus Harpestreng declared that Plantain could not only heal anything torn apart, but it could heal every organ in the body. He would know. For the couple of centuries up to and during Harpestreng’s time, no one who lived above Europe’s 50thparallel ever left home without their trusty seax, the single-edged knife said to inspire the Saxons’ name. And they weren’t afraid to use it.. . . .
About Christine Maxa
Christine is an internationally awarded writer and has authored 8 books on Arizona, two of which are devoted to wildflowers: Arizona’s Best Wildflower Hikes: The Desert and Arizona’s Best Wildflower Hikes: The High Country. Her articles have appeared in state, national and international magazines. She was the remote content editor for the value-based health care platform Equality Health for three years and wrote health articles for daily newspapers for four years. She’s been researching and gathering herbs for over three decades.
