As someone who gets replenishment from walking in the natural world, I used some of my “pandemic time” to venture into my local natural areas this past spring, taking photos of plants and getting to know them more closely throughout the season. And now, finally I have a chance to sit down and go over the photos of all the plants I found in the spring, and learn a bit about the fascinating history of their use as medicines. NYPL is a valuable resource for herbalism-oriented books. Below are just a few of the plants I found and some of the many informative medicinal plant books in our collection. Check them out and learn about the ethnobotanical histories of common weeds that grow all over the city. 

Coltsfoot

First up…the adorable coltsfoot. With its brilliant dandelion-like flower that appears in March, this native of Europe and Asia strangely blooms before its leaves emerge, arising in colorful contrast to the early spring brown leaf litter. Another wonder is that coltsfoot has a long history of use as a cough medicine and, believe it or not, was counterintuitively smoked for this use! Author Julie Bruton-Seal has a nice description of coltsfoot and its uses, along with many other fascinating herb descriptions in her books.

Plantain

Plantain is a plain but deeply significant herb—and no, it’s not the same species that produces the banana-like plantain you see in grocery stores. It literally grows abundantly everywhere, including from cracks in the sidewalk, from spring through fall, and you have probably seen and stepped on it often. Yet, it has an ancient history as a medicinal plant for all kinds of ills from skin irritations to digestive discomfort. Even Metamucil is made of plantain seeds! Famed herbalist Rosemary Gladstar provides a nice description of plantain in her book Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide, along with several other books of hers in the NYPL collection.

Rose

A rose, with its many species and many forms, is a rose is a rose, to quote Gertrude Stein, and has provided beauty, comfort and traditional medicine for millennia. Pictured is the common and lovely-smelling multiflora rose, growing wild and weedy all over New York City. Rose petals and rose hips (the fruit, containing vitamin C) have been historically used for immune support. Rose hips not only make a tangy, tasty infusion, but also can easily transform into skin-soothing face masks as described in The Gift of Healing Herbs, a beautifully written and comprehensive book by Robin Rose Bennett.

Violet

Violet is a gentle woodland wildflower, edible and traditionally medicinal with blossoms that look quite attractive ensconced in ice cubes. The early spring leaves have been used as a nutritious green, contain vitamin C and rutin. This plant is easy to grow, with its underground tubers that spread in a backyard or other natural spot so you can have easy access."Wildman" Steve Brill gives nice descriptions of Common Blue Violet and other plants in his book Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places.

Sassafras

A native tree of the American South and East, sassafras supplies a major ingredient for the Cajun stew called file gumbo, and also has been used to make a form of root beer. A deliciously aromatic plant, it grows all over the place in New York City and is famous for its 3 shapes of leaves—the “ghost” shape, the “mitten” shape, and the “football” shape. Native Americans prized it for its uses in arthritis and bruise healing, according to herbalist Matthew Wood in his book The Book of Herbal Wisdom.

Some books, such as Thomas Easely and Steven Horne's The Modern Herbal Dispensatory, describe how herbs have been historically prepared for medicinal use. For example, the use of alcohol to extract the medicinal properties of herbs, known today as tincturing, was uncovered in archaeological digs in China. An extract of honey, hawthorn berry and grape (sounds tasty!) was found in clay pots dating from between 7000 and 5600 BCE!

And just a note to remember: most plants are safe but there are a few poisonous (but still fascinating) species out there, so take the time to deeply learn, study and enjoy all of their characteristics.

Here are some other informative books, among many in the NYPL catalog which feature unique viewpoints on medicinal plants of the outdoors: Healing Herbal Infusions by Colleen Codekas, The Holistic Herbal by David Hoffmann, and The Wild Medicine Solution by Guido Mase. Many plants can also be found in the autumn and some even in the grocery store. Enjoy your herbal hiking!