Native Missouri Medicinal Plants

Yarrow

Jewelweed

Purple Deadnettle

Bloodroot

Yarrow

• Very common in this area.
• Found in pastures and along roadsides throughout the state.
• Often confused with wild carrot...see comparison pictures:
• Latin name Achillea millefolium (named "Achillea" due to a legend that says Achilles used this herb to help his wounded soldiers on the battlefield. "Millefolium" means "a thousand leaves")
• Used to staunch bleeding, as well as heal minor cuts, scrapes, and wounds.
• Reduces fevers by inducing sweating (make a tea with the leaves - fresh or dry).
• Helps Gastrointestinal discomfort
• Used for women's issues: menstrual pain, to induce menstruation, and to reduce excessive flow.
• leaves can be chewed to relieve a toothache..
• Make your own styptic powder by drying the leaves and grinding them down to powder with a mortar and pestle!

-Abundant everywhere right now!

-Contains flavonoids that suppress histamine production.

-Wound healing properties similar to plantain.

-Anti-inflammatory

-Astringent

-A wild edible: good in salads

• Also called spotted touch-me-not, due to the fact that if you touch the flowers, they react by folding in on themselves.
• Loves wet areas: along springs, creeks, and wet lowlands.
• A great remedy for poison ivy because of the skin-healing oils in the plant!
• Extract the medicinal properties: Infuse the plant into an oil (grapeseed oil, olive oil, etc.) for 4-6 weeks, leave in the windowsill, shake daily, and strain out when ready. You now have an oil to help prevent and treat poison ivy, as well as other skin issues!
• I make a soap infused with jewelweed for poison ivy. It is for sale at my booth!

• A highly sought after plant...considered endangered in some places.
• Called bloodroot due to the roots oozing a red substance HIGH in alkaloids.
• Conflicting literature on this plant: some say it is a miracle that cures cancer and others say it is dangerous and may do more harm than good.
• Very interesting discussions and testimonials about this plant on Facebook's "Bloodroot Discussion" group and other similar groups.

Wild Carrot leaf: not fuzzy like yarrow

Deadnettle is often confused with henbit. However, both are edible!

Self-Heal

Elderberry

St. John's Wort

• Very abundant in this area!
• Grows in pastures, along creeks, and all over from May-August.
• Often referred to as "heal all" or "self heal" because of its versatility. It is antiviral, antimicrobial, and is great for the skin!
• A member of the mint family (fun fact: mint family members usually have a square stem).
• Can be infused in oil to make a salve for the skin, to help heal fever blisters (it's antiviral), or infused in 80 proof alcohol to make an extract to take internally for viruses, colds, and infections.
• A very underrated, but powerful plant

• Has strong antiviral properties.
• Can be found in abundance along the wood's edge, roadsides, and along creeks.
• They flower in June, so this is the time to spot them for later harvesting. There will be large clusters of white flowers on the bushes. The berries will be ready in the fall. Harvest where you know it hasn't been sprayed with pesticides, etc.
• The flowers, as well as the berries, have medicinal properties.
• I prefer to make a glycerite from the fresh berries I harvest on my property. It is a powerful flu remedy.

Don't Confuse Elderberry with Poke Berry!

• Grows wild in this area.
• Bright yellow flowers and smaller oblong green leaves.
• Found in pastures, on hillsides, and along roadsides (I never recommend harvesting anything along a roadside).
• Used to treat mild to moderate depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder.
• It is antiviral. Infuse it in oils to make a lip balm for fever blisters.
• It acts on the nerves, and can be used to treat sciatica and shooting nerve pain.
• Is often confused with another species in the same family called "False Spotted St. John's Wort." The differences are subtle, but the false St. John's Wort has smaller flowers and bigger leaves. It (false spotted) has small red spots on the yellow flowers and when you hold the leaves up to the sun, you will see pores. I sometimes use them interchangeably because both contain hypericin, the main medicinal component.

Cleavers

Pineapple Weed

Crane's Bill

Wild Geranium

Native Missouri Medicinal Plants

• Grows in sandy and rocky soil.
• Not picky: Found in abandoned lots and growing out of sidewalk cracks.
• In the same family as chamomile and has many of the same properties!
• Helps with upset stomach, digestive issues, mild pain, irritable bowel, gas, bloating, and more!
• Named for it's scent that is reminiscent of pineapple.

-Native Americans used the roots to treat diarrhea and dysentery.

By Amber Robinson, CH, CA

thebitterherb.com

On FB: @TheBitterHerbLLC

-Contains natural astringent properties that can be used to treat inflammation, sores, and skin conditions that cause redness.

Chickweed

Bellwort

-Also applied topically to treat hemorrhoids.

Great for the skin!

-Cooling effect

-Reduces swelling and inflammation: great for treating rashes and eczema.

-Abundant at the moment!

-A wild edible: young shoots are similar to asparagus

-Roots are medicinal: poultice of roots can heal sores & ulcers, reduce inflammation, and were said to treat snake bites.

-Tea of roots is said to treat diarrhea, sore mouth & throat, and coughs.

Sources/Recommended Literature

Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America

Peterson Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants

Midwest Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 109 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness

Herbal Antivirals: Natural Remedies for Emerging and Resistant Viral Infections

Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Remedies for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria