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Northeast School of Botanical Medicine

Northeast School of Botanical Medicine

Northeast School of Botanical Medicine

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SCHOOL | 7SONG | | Blog

Chaga

October 22, 2017 by 7Song

Sulphur Shelf, Chicken-of-the-Woods
St. Johns Wort

Additional Information:

Scientific Name: Inonotus obliquus

Common Name: Chaga

Family: Chaga

Common Name: Hymenochaetaceae

Locale:

Specific Region: Adirondacks, NY

Description: Growing on Black Birch (Betula lenta). Photo ©2017 7Song. All rights reserved.

Date: August 3, 2003

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No Widgets

"Secondary" needs some widgets.

This meme has not been approved by FDA

This meme has not been approved by FDA

Ginkgo Day Today was the day that the Ginkgo leave

Ginkgo Day
Today was the day that the Ginkgo leaves started to fall. Stephen Brown of Great Cape Herbs gave me this tree about 17 years ago. I was able to gather the most leaves yet this year.
Fortunately, Amanda and Taylor were coming over and helped me gather the leaves that had already fallen as well as those from the tree as I gently nudged it.
Ginkgo is a bit complicated to prepare as medicine. I first dry all of the leaves. I then tincture half of the leaves at 1:5 in 50% ethanol. In about 1 month, I will press the tincture out, and then add the second half of the leaves and use the recently pressed out menstruum (liquid). This is called a double maceration. The reason I do it this way is to increase the potency of the tincture (I find single macerated Ginkgo leaves somewhat weak).
There are many uses for this tincture. One of the primary usages is to increase peripheral cerebral circulation. I use this after an individual has had an accident or infection that has impaired their cognitive function.
Since this plant may impede platelet aggregating factor (PAF), I am cautious when using it when folks are taking blood thinners or if they have clotting disorders.
More on Ginkgo later. ~7Song, Ithaca, NY. November 12, 2021

A Sentimental Good-Bye One of the most difficult p

A Sentimental Good-Bye
One of the most difficult parts of the year is saying goodbye to the students in the Community Herbalism Intensive. We have spent a lot of time together over the past 6 months. I appreciate each of you, Tahila, Taylor, Coral, Lulú, Emma, Annie, Ozzy, Melissa, kTreez, Matteo, and Amanda. And I look forward to seeing how each of you carries herbal medicine forward.
I was very surprised and delighted by the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine T-shirts that was presented to me (and that each of you is wearing). They are lovely and one more reason to miss you all.
Stay in touch and thank you for being here. ~7Song

A Bit of Braggadocio Today was the last day of th

A Bit of Braggadocio
Today was the last day of the 2021 Weekend Herbal Program. I am sad to see this group of engaged people leave, but I look forward to seeing what they bring to the world.
The students gave presentations, and one discussed how she is thankful to be learning about herbal medicine.
This is the first time that I have found myself only 2 places beneath ‘the universe.’
(Google was #2, as it helped her find this school). I was also glad to be near the apprentices, Tahila, Taylor, and Amanda, who bring much to this program.
Thank you for this, Marjan,
~7Song

Tulsi night It is time tonight to make a few Tulsi

Tulsi night
It is time tonight to make a few Tulsi medicines (Ocimum tenuiflorum, Lamiaceae [though there is some discrepancy on what this species really is]).

First, two big thank you’s.
A very big thank you to Sean Dembrowsky of Edible Acres for his open-ended generosity. I was able to gather enough Tulsi from his amazing permaculture landscape to hopefully supply the Ithaca Free Clinic until next year’s harvest. Also, to Amanda Abdou for helping me gather the plants
Next, another big thank you to the Community Herbalism Intensive students for all their help with preparing the plants by stripping the leaves and flower tops from the stems. It was very helpful, so thank you all again.

More Tulsi notes to follow, but first a tease
3 reasons you may want to consider Tulsi as a personal medicine
1) Every time you hear a balloon pop or a chair squeak, you jump 15 feet into the air.
2) You cannot fall asleep due to the many incoherent and chaotic thoughts and images playing out in your mind.
3) You feel like your sensorium is turned on fully all of the time.

Friends One of the things that becomes ever more a

Friends
One of the things that becomes ever more apparent to me is the value of friendship. Perhaps due to this damned pandemic, or the years moving past me like Dandelion fluff on a windy day, I find that it is the people in my life that bring me the greatest solace. Whether it is the weight of melancholy or confusion from too many bad choices, knowing that there are folks I can reach out to (even if I don’t) lifts the load and helps me to press on.
Lately, I have been writing more in this forlorn vein, but I want to say that I also feel very fortunate. There are people I care about who care about me. I have the finances to eat well, and live and sleep sheltered. And one of my greatest interests is how I support myself (I’m looking at you 25,000 species of plants).
But I often feel the desire to share life’s downsides as well. They seem universal. Just as I like to share my enthusiasm for plants and herbal medicine, I also feel spurred on to bring in some of the gloom and listen back to my fellow humans and their feelings.
You likely know this, but I work as a clinical herbalist at the Ithaca Free Clinic. We do telehealth if you are ever looking for plant medicine suggestions. All consultations are free (though we do not ship medicines).
I hope each of you finds a danceable tune this evening and moves your body in whatever way brings you pleasure. ~7Song

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