Crafting Your Herbal Companion: A Journey Through Materia Medica and Plant Wisdom

Embark on an expedition into the verdant world of herbalism, as we weave together your personalized Materia Medica—an indispensable herbal companion. With my guidance, you'll learn to meticulously document the myriad aspects of medicinal plants, from their botanical intricacies to the profound experiences they bring to your life and practice. Picture a tapestry of vivid illustrations and detailed notes, each thread representing an herb's therapeutic potential, ready to be tailored to the unique weave of your community's needs. Whether through the charm of pen on paper or the swift click of a keystroke, your growing repository of herbal wisdom awaits.

In this episode's heart, we unravel the complex dance of herbal actions and their impact on our well-being. Imagine understanding the subtle cues of adaptogens in the symphony of stress relief or the gentle caress of anti-inflammatories on inflamed tissues. With every story shared—be it the resilience of Elderberry or the calming embrace of nervines—I'll guide you through the landscape of choosing the right botanical allies. But with great power comes great responsibility; we'll navigate the pivotal considerations of herbal practice, where safety and knowledge coalesce. From the delicate balance in serving different populations to the solidarity in supporting ethical suppliers, together we'll champion a practice that's as conscientious as it is curative.

Heart of Herbs Herbal School 
The Heart of Herbs Podcast with Demetria Clark! 🌿 Tune in for herbal wisdom & wellness tips!

Welcome to the Heart of Herbs Herbal School Podcast, www.heartofherbs.com where we explore the world of herbal remedies and natural health solutions. Before we dive into today's episode, If you want to enroll, use code PODCAST to save 20%.

The content provided in this podcast is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition. It is always recommended to consult with a qualified healthcare professional

Chapters

• 0:00 Understanding Materia Medica in Herbalism
• 16:04 Understanding Herbal Actions and Uses
• 23:28 Herbal Safety Considerations for Practitioners

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:37

Hi, this is Demetria Clark, the director of Heart of Verbs Verbal School, and you're listening to the Heart of Verbs Verbal School podcast. I'm really glad you're here. Thanks a lot for listening. We're still finding our way in doing this, so please, please, please, email me any suggestions or topic ideas or anything like that. You can find us on Facebook, at facebookcom slash heart of herbs, heart of herbscom or Instagram heart of herbs. So definitely connect with us if that's something that you'd like to do or you want us to talk about something specific. All right. So today we're going to be talking about Materia Medica, and I know in my over 25 years of teaching herbalism, the Materia Medica assignment is the one that seems to drive students' bananas the most. And I think it's the name, because once you explain exactly what it is and why you need so many, they're usually like oh, that makes a lot of sense. So, to answer the question, what is a Materia Medica? So a Materia Medica is a comprehensive collection of information. That does not mean it's the end-all, be-all information about medicinal substances. In this instance, we're going to be talking about plants and other natural remedies, herbs Some students add essential oils into their Materia Medica and flower essences. You can definitely do that or have something that connects with your Materia Medica. So if you're like I, really like using this herb in conjunction with this flower essence, you can add that information to your Materia Medica, but I'm getting ahead of myself. So typically it includes details such as the plant's botanical description, traditional uses, therapeutic properties, preparation methods and potential side effects. Materia Medica serve as a valuable reference for herbalists, practitioners and individuals interested in herbal medicine. This adds to the understanding and the application of a variety and various healing plan. So, as an herbalist, your Materia Medica or herbalism files are very important information on herbs and actions. It's really important to create your own files. No matter how many resources you have available, no matter how easy it is to cut and paste, no matter how easy it is to look something up, it's really important that you have your own individual files.

Speaker 1: 3:24

I have loved reading Materia Medica books since I was able to read. I found some in the library when I was really little and, additionally, the thing that first drew me to them was their beautiful illustrations, because these were really old books back in the old book section the old book section, which is literally almost what I think they called it at the library. I went to these books with their illustrations and use of Latin names and words that I couldn't understand because they were using like woad for wood and other things like that they inspired and taught me so much. Like that they inspired and taught me so much. But my own files, just as yours, will will show you where the true gold lies in this information, like where it lives in your files and in your information. And the reason why I say it like this is because the person whose materia medica you're reading practices a certain way, has been taught a certain way, is from a distinct era or community or tradition, and you may not be the same as them and you may not be working with the same kind of people that they are working with. So your files become a very individualized, personalized and private collection of information that you have that assist people in your community, that assist people that you work with. So it's really really important to have this individuality in your files. You can say certain things that you're not going to see in the books and make certain connections that you're not going to see in the books. So enough about that. I know it kind of went on a little bit, but these kinds of files are really important.

Speaker 1: 5:21

When you keep these types of files of the different herbs that you use, you record your uses, how you use them, how you suggest to them, your clients' experiences, so their thoughts and their feelings about how it worked for them, how maybe they didn't like it, maybe it gave them a dry mouth or they didn't like it, maybe it gave them a dry mouth or they didn't like the way it worked with the way that they live or their diet, and you can record that information. And by recording that information, you're adding to your file and so you can put that in your file. You can then create connections and protocols based on your client' experiences so you may be able to make discoveries that assist your clients or types of clients. Some people from different backgrounds, who eat a different kind of diet or have different requirements for you know food, nutrition or have different access to things, may react to things differently, and so you can really customize your work by keeping accurate and detailed Materia Medica files, so they come in many different formats.

Speaker 1: 6:33

So many students will, in my experience and so you may be thinking this too like well, how do I keep all this information. How do I do this? How do I do this? How do I do that? You can do it in a notebook. You can handwrite everything. You can have one small notebook per herb, or you can have recipe cards. You know the index cards. You can make databases on your computer. You can have a spreadsheet. You can have a really long text file that you add to.

Speaker 1: 7:06

I have done all of those different kinds of things in my years and years of adding to my Materia Medica. I find that I like having like a really large Word document that's like alphabetical order, and then I can search in my Word document. I can leave it open and add stuff as needed. That's what really works for me, and I can add, you know, pictures to it very easily. There's lots of ways that you can do it. It's really important, though, that you also have some kind of illustration, so you're going to want to have pictures of the plant. You're going to want to have some way to identify it. Materia medicas have existed for a very, very, very long time, so you can find fully intact scans of over 200-year-old Materia Medicas at the website archiveorg.

Speaker 1: 8:13

So what do you include in a Materia Medica? Well, you're going to want to include the herb. This is the name of the herb. You're going to want to list the Latin binomial and common name, so the scientific name. And is the name of the herb. You're going to want to list the Latin binomial and common name, so the scientific name and the common name, or the Latin name and the common name. You're going to see it listed many different ways. I use those two terms back and forth.

Speaker 1: 8:34

The full names are essential for a good materia medica file. For example, burdock arcentium lapa. Common name is great burdock, gobu goboshu, lapa, beggar's button, thorny burr and happy major. You can see how easy it would be to have confusion with just using a common name. So some plants have similar names and they are completely different, and there's different types of burdock too. So you want to make sure you use the common and the scientific or the Latin names. You can easily see this if you run to like a plant store or a big box store that has a plant section and look at the varieties of plants like lavender or echinacea that they sell and you'll be like, wait, they don't sell echinacea at a big box store. Yes, they do. It's also called coneflower. Sorry, I lost that for a second, because I always call echinacea this type, echinacea that type, echinacea that type. Oh, that's really funny. So, coneflower, there'll be yellow coneflower, white coneflower, purple coneflower, you know. And so they all have different names and they're all different types of plants. They're all part of the echinacea family but they are different.

Speaker 1: 10:07

So then you're going to want to detail the parts used. So what parts do you use in your formulas or in your, you know, in your teas? And some people use as much of the plant as possible and other people only use, like, certain parts of the plants for certain remedies. Some people use the whole plant in remedies. Some people use, you know, just the flower. So you're going to want to detail that, because if someone else is looking at your Materia Medica, it should be like a brainless thing for them to deal with, right? You're there just for the goat. Use Echinacea root, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. They know exactly what to use. So you're going to want to detail if it's the flowers, the roots, the seeds, the leaves, the stem. You're going to want to let people know. You can take pictures or make drawings of the plant's parts that you use for your records If you only use one part of a plant in a certain formula for digestion, for example, then you're going to want to note that.

Speaker 1: 11:21

Or if you use the whole plant for a formula for pain, right, you're going to want to note that. You're going to want to make it really clear because, although we think we're always going to remember how we made something, so students will always be like oh yeah, I put this t-shirt together. It's really really great. I didn't follow my instructions on the labeling. It's like you know what? I'm going to always remember this no big deal. It's only get a few plants and they're like I don't remember what it is.

Speaker 1: 11:50

Everyone has one of those moments. You get busy, you're getting ready, oh, I just need to get this done. Blah, blah, blah. Right, my favorite words Blah, blah, blah. But the reality is is you're going to goof up, you're going to screw up. So, really, document as much as you can so you don't have as many screw-ups and you don't have as many opportunities or times to say I just screwed this up, I don't know what's in it, I can't use it now. So it's really important that you label as much as possible and you add that information to your Materia Medica.

Speaker 1: 12:27

Okay, another thing you're going to want to have in your Materia Medica, if you harvest the plants yourself, is the habitat. This is where you're going to list the growing conditions or the kind of habitat area in which it was harvested from. You can also list when to harvest and where to find this herb. So, did you find it in a field, a swamp, off your favorite trail? You can also use this note to mention the other herbs that you found in the same area. You can drop pins on your map, like in a map app, so you know where you can find it later. If you did grow it in your own garden, you can note the growing conditions partial shade, full shade, stuff like that. That's really important.

Speaker 1: 13:11

So the point of a Materia Medica, in my mind, is to not just have your wins and losses right when it comes to an herb. It's how to replicate formulas, how to make sure you have the right information, how to make sure that if you find something grown in a certain condition works really, really well for you, you can replicate that for clients and you can learn from it. You can look at your Materia Medica that you wrote two years before in a new perspective and update it with new information, and so it's an ever-growing and evolving plant file that changes as you, your practice and your clients change. So what does the herb look like? So in this part of your Materia Medica file, you may want to use a picture or draw a picture of a plant. Don't worry about your artistic ability. Sometimes people get well, I can't draw anything. It's amazing what you can figure out and use later with a rough sketch. What it is going to do is going to help you with an idea or to capture the feeling of the plant.

Speaker 1: 14:15

You can take photographs, some pictures submit. Some students will submit pictures to us, others will paint or draw their pictures and I'm like, oh my gosh, we have, like, so many fine artists in our program. But it's also really funny because some people will say I never really had any artistic ability until I started doing this and I started relaxing and just drawing the plant as I saw it, and then I was like, oh my gosh, I'm not bad at this. I never thought I could draw before, so maybe you'll learn something about yourself too.

Speaker 1: 14:44

You'll also want to write a botanical description. So the flower color, the shape, the leaf shapes, the textures, the colors, the stem shape, the shape, the leaf shapes, the textures, the colors, the stem shape and the texture. Sometimes you need more than a picture. If the leaf is fuzzy and you can get that in the picture, that's great. But you may not be able to get in the picture that the leaf's also sticky. That's where your descriptions come in.

Speaker 1: 15:08

Have fun with your Materia Medica. This is your file, so mine. When mine are handwritten, they're full of doodles and underlining and like all kinds of stuff, like it's just like a crazy artistic mess, and then when they're typed into the computer they're a little bit more dry and more, you know, black text on white background kind of thing. So I like having both to look at and to reference, so you can use color coding too. When you are writing about plants, you can, you know, really really go to town on it, and I encourage you to do that. If you're really into Materia Medica and you love that part of herbalism, that's a whole part of herbalism that really needs to be explored by students and all levels of practitioners.

Speaker 1: 16:05

Okay, so the next part of your Materia Medica is kind of exciting. It's the action. So it's like what does the herb do? What does this herb do? Is it an astringent, a demulcent? Here's where you want to list the herbal actions. Some herbs have more than one action, so you need to note that. Or the action may be different in different body systems. That's where you're going to want to list that here. So the great thing about herbs is the more you learn, the less you almost use right, because you learn how one herb can have multiple uses. So a lot of people will be like, well, I use this herb for this and this herb for that. But when you start really learning more about them more deeply, you'll be like, oh, I can use this herb for this, this, this, this and this also. So it's really important to remember that and to value that relationship with herbs so you can kind of open and grow in that arena.

Speaker 1: 17:02

Okay, so herbal actions refer to the specific effects or properties that herbs have on the body when consumed or applied. These actions describe how herbs interact with bodily systems to promote health and alleviate symptoms. So I'm just going to go over just a few common herbal actions that you've probably heard before and what they do, so hopefully this will be helpful. Adaptogenic helps the body adapt to stress and promote overall balance. All right, we've heard adaptogens everywhere now Everyone's like adaptogen, adaptogen, adaptogen. So that is what those herbs do.

Speaker 1: 17:43

Anti-inflammatory it reduces inflammation and associated symptoms. So antimicrobial means it fights against bacteria, funguses, viruses and parasites. Diuretics promote urine production and helps eliminate excess fluids from the body. Nervines support the nervous system, promoting relaxation or stimulation. Digestive herbs they aid in digestion. That one's pretty uh self-explanatory, right. But it also supports gastrointestinal health. Immunomodulatory they help modulate the immune system, enhancing its function and reducing hyperactivity. Analgesics relieve pain, whether mild or severe. Sedative herbs calm the nervous system and induce relaxation or sleepiness. So, understanding herbal actions and there's a lot of them, right, it will help you in selecting the right herbs to address specific health concerns and achieve desired therapeutic effects.

Speaker 1: 18:43

Then you're going to want to talk about the uses. So some herbs are known as superheroes for specific issues. So everyone's been all hot and screaming about Elderberry recently. Elderberry has been a friend of mine for years. I remember picking Elderberry when my children were little and we just used it like all year round as like an immune system thing, I don't know enhancer protector. We used it more as a tonic and so the kids would have it in their like pancakes and stuff like that as a syrup.

Speaker 1: 19:22

Here's where you want to list the particular problems of the herb. That is often that you may be working with right, so you may find certain herbs work well for certain kinds of issues and circumstances. But you may also working with right, so you may find certain herbs work well for certain kinds of issues and circumstances, but you may also note that they don't work well in others. So this is where you're going to want to say this is good for this, but maybe not necessarily for this. And then you always have to have, when it comes to uses, that it is specific to individuals. So it starts like what is specific to the needs of this individual and then greater communities at large. So herbs that are rich in vitamin C can often be used the same way foods and vitamin C. So you would just, you know, have a little bit or have some, and you know it doesn't have to be like this big herbal protocol and then other instances. You're going to have a more specific protocol for the individual that you're working with. So this is where you're going to want to add resources to the traditional resources and modern studies to the section. So you're going to want to also potentially send you know yourself links to add to your Materia Medica about specific studies on specific issues.

Speaker 1: 20:41

Safety and contraindications is the next part. So, look, knowing how to use an herb safely is essential, we kind of. So there's like this whole like sexy thing with using like dangerous herbs. Um, people be like, yeah, I use this herb. It's it's kind of like, you know, um dangerous if used wrong, but I use it right and I don't really like that kind of stuff. Like I like very, very safe stuff. I don't need to walk on the wild side, I don't want my clients to walk on the wild side, you know, um, there's I honestly I'd rather, like you know, take my car to a track and race around the track.

Speaker 1: 21:20

If I want to be on the wild side, then like, use herbs that, or promote the use of herbs that have potential problematic side effects and contraindications, and there's plenty of plants out there that are safe. So I'm not a huge fan of this kind of herbalism and it's pretty small, it's not, you know, it's not a lot of people who do that kind of stuff. But you know, I just don't. I just don't see the need to be sexy and quote different or whatever. Just use what works. Keep it simple. You know what I mean. Keep it so clients feel safe and that you feel safe. Really give people the information that they need. So safety information in Materia Medica is crucial to ensure the responsible use of herbal remedies and to minimize the risk of adverse effects. So here's some key safety things that should be included in your Materia Medica.

Speaker 1: 22:17

Contraindications, so any conditions, medications or situations in which the herb should not be used due to potential interactions or adverse side effects. So even if an herb is totally, totally safe, right, and your client says when I use it with this, I feel like this note it right. Same with side effects. So there's known side effects or potential reactions that can occur when using an herb. These can include allergic reactions if they're allergic to the plant or the plant family, digestive upsets. Interactions with other medications there isn't. So there's good information out there, and then there's not so great information out there and then there's a lot of lack of information out there. So you taking notes is how you're going to keep on top of this for your clients. So if a client is on a certain medicine and there's no known contraindications, right, there's no known side effects with use of whatever herb and their medicine. But when they do that combination, they're reporting back to you something. Note that Find them something different to use.

Speaker 1: 23:29

So it's really important that we not just rely on the information that's out there. You know, sometimes we'll find that like so there's a study done on a plant that's used for sweetening, right, and it said, oh, it can cause this, this and this. And so I was like, okay, you know. And then it's like, just use sugar, sugar's better. So I was like, okay, you know, and then it's like, just use sugar, sugar's better. And I mean so I'm totally like second grading this, right, I'm not, I'm not going into a lot of detail and stuff, but then I was like I wonder how sugar would do if it was put under the same parameters that this has done. Like if we, if we did studies on sugar the same way we were for this plant and we didn't know anything about sugar, right, would sugar be the sweetener of choice now? So it's just, you really have to look at a bunch of different things For our students. We have like information on how to study and stuff like that, and I could do a podcast about that too.

Speaker 1: 24:26

But I think like it's really important that you understand the side effects and the contraindications. Then you need to have your dosage guidelines, so the recommended dosage for the different forms of the herbs. So a tea, a tincture, a capsule, a salve, they're all going to have different recommended dosages. I always start with clients lower than average, because I'm like, if it takes two drops for you to get the same effect as 30, why would you use 30? Like you could build it up. You know you can. There's all different ways you can do things.

Speaker 1: 25:02

But the reality is is that you just want to really be clear with clients about like dosaging guidelines. You don't want them to say, well, you know, if 10 works, then 50 will work better. I mean, that's just. You know the way we tend to do things in our modern world. You know, if I can get someplace going 30 miles an hour, I can get there faster. If I go 180, well, 180 is going to have a lot more potential issues driving 180 down a road than going 30 miles an hour, the recommended speed limit. So definitely think about things and maybe I need to go and do a road trip, because I referenced it, referenced fun and vehicles twice now.

Speaker 1: 25:44

So, but the reality is is that you need to really talk to clients about this. And you need to really talk to clients about this and you need to note anything that they say. And I know I said that with the last two things note, note, note. But definitely note, note, note. And then, of course, if they're pregnant or lactating and breastfeeding, so you're gonna wanna make sure that you have safety considerations for pregnant or breastfeeding individuals, including herbs to avoid or things that they can safely use during this time period, and caution during these time periods. Children and the elderly also have to have special considerations. Sometimes I'm surprised at people's willingness to give their very young children tons and tons and tons of herbs and say, well, it's natural, it's safe. And I mean I wrote the book on herbal healing for children, so I do understand the place herbalism I mean herbalism is a great option for children, but the reality is is that we have to apply it and come to it from the point of being an herbalist, not as someone who's using it like over-the-counter drugs. So it's really important that you understand that with children.

Speaker 1: 27:02

And then, of course, drug interactions I talked about that, with the dosage guidelines and the side effects and stuff like that. So you're going to want to know if there's commonly known drug interactions, effects and stuff like that. So you're going to want to know if there's commonly known drug interactions. Of course you know you're never going to know potentially every possible interaction. So when you come across one, or you see one, or you hear of one, you can look it up and add it to your Materia Medica. And then toxicity so what are the potential toxic effects of the herbs, what are some symptoms of overdose and precautions for safe use? You're going to want to have that information there. And then, if you're working with clients, you're going to want to pass it on to them too.

Speaker 1: 27:37

And then quality and sourcing. So where are you finding your herbs? Where do they come from If you're not growing them yourself? Are they, you know, high quality? Who provided the herbs that you are referencing? And then you're going to want to have that information for yourself. So when you find a reputable source, you're going to want to you know, you know bookmark it or, you know, tell your Materia Medica.

Speaker 1: 28:06

I really love such and such from this company, because it's really important that one. When we expect companies to give us better, they give us better, but if we don't tell them when there's a problem, they don't know. Now don't go and like, make problems where there aren't problems, right, but when you find a high quality herbal supplier, tell other people that they're high quality and they're reputable. A lot of times people will find a company that they love and they don't want to tell anyone because they don't want everyone else to know about it too. But I think it's good to share the good resources because that elevates us all. So if you really like herbs from a certain place, use that information to elevate others, because we don't want to other people in our community or people interested in herbs getting information about getting things from, you know, kind of garbage providers. So there's tons of tons of high quality herbal companies out there.

Speaker 1: 29:13

So definitely, you know, let people know. Let them know that you appreciate them and that you use them because they're high quality, like let them know. This means a lot to me and I'm your customer. They say that if you like something, you tell like a few people, but if you don't like something, you'll tell like 80 people, and so maybe you should change that. And if you don't like something, only answer I don't like, because to people who ask, and instead focus that energy on telling people the things that you really really like. Like I really like certain things and I let people know.

Speaker 1: 29:55

And if I don't have a great experience with someone, I tend to say things like well, there was a little bit of an issue when I ordered, but I know they were trying to make it right. Like I really try to give suppliers and businesses that I work with the benefit of the doubt because, you know, everybody has a bad day. So take that energy and we've gotten this whole. I'm going to order $475 worth of food and then photograph the waitress being frustrated and trying to get things done or whatever. We get too much of a rise out of that kind of behavior instead of being like. This is why I really love this person and I think we need to shift that, especially in such a consumer driven society. I think when businesses and companies are told what they're doing, they're doing a good job, they're trying, and that you appreciate that, I think it makes the quality of everything go up. That's just me. I love telling businesses that we're wonderful, that they were wonderful. I don't get anything out of it, it just I know that as a customer, that when you say those things that it makes a difference to businesses. Enough, I'm going to hop up that pony. Sorry about that.

Speaker 1: 31:24

So precautions, so general precautions and considerations for safe use. You know you may want to add that. And then if there's any legal restrictions regarding that use of that herb in the country that you're in, or you may want to like note that in your notes If you're working with clients, you shouldn't be using or giving them anything where there's legal considerations, because you don't need to get in trouble and they don't need to get in trouble because they're working with you right. So by including comprehensive safety information in your Materia Medica, users can make informed decisions about appropriate use and it minimizes the risk of adverse reactions or complications. So having a Materia Medica file on the plants you use will allow you as an herbalist, to keep your own records on plants and their uses and specific client uses. So there are lots of great Materia Medica books out there. There's lots of great herbal books that have Materia Medica sections.

Speaker 1: 32:31

Definitely, you know, if you're a little gun shy about you know going and getting a ton of herbal books, right, you're into herbalism but you don't have tons of money to maybe do education and buy tons and tons of books. Access your library, go to the library, check out, check out books in the library, try to get them as eBooks. You know, you can go to your library and get like there's a ton of different library apps, right? I? So I don't have lots of time to read because I'm I work a lot. I so I don't have lots of time to read because I'm I work a lot. Um, I work a lot, one because I have to and two because I love the work that I do. So I I do work, probably too much, but I'm always listening to a book. So I listened to like 200 books a year and they're all different kinds of books and I get them through different library apps and they're free. So your library will also get books for you.

Speaker 1: 33:26

So if you're like, have like five herbal books that your library doesn't have, request that they get them or that they get them through interlibrary loan and you can look at them and check them out and read them and be like this is one that I need to have forever, or this is not one I need to have forever. It was a good read. I learned a lot but I'm not going to be referencing this later and I think it's really important to remember that even if we don't have tons of herbalism isn't just for the rich. It's for everyone and you can definitely find tons of resources in your community that aren't super expensive. Also, there are online Materia Medicas. You can resource those. You can create your own. You can purchase one. You can make ones with other friends that are into herbalism can purchase one. You can make ones with other friends that are into herbalism. So you could say, okay, like let's each do five herbs a week and do it together, and then you can combine your resources and add your specific notes to each other's work as you go down the line.

Speaker 1: 34:36

Herbalism can be a great community builder. You could even put together like a Materia Medica group builder. You could even put together like a Materia Medica group. You can harvest and forage together. You can learn about the herbs together. There's lots of things that you can do to really increase your access to herbs and herbalism. Of course, as an herbal education provider, I'm going to say you know, enroll at Harvard's herbal school, but you don't have to necessarily do that. There's lots of other great schools out there and there's lots of ways that you can connect with herbalism and connect with all the herbalism offers in your community. Thank you so much for listening about Materia Medica. I really appreciate you and you know and subscribe, follow, whatever it is that all the cool people are saying about listening to a podcast, because I haven't figured all that out yet, but definitely put us on your playlist and let us know how we can be of more value and more use to you. Thanks and have a great day.