Burdock seed (Arctium lappa)

Those stick-in-your-hair-and-on-your-dog-and-on-your-sweater-too burdock burrs hold a wealth of seeds revered for their medicinal powers. Many plants have seeds that are easier to harvest than their roots, but burdock is not one of them. Digging first year roots (not yet) is hard work, but getting at the seeds is stickery prickery work. For details on exactly how to handle the seed heads and how to make Burdock Seed Scalp Tonic, please check out the burdock section in Healing Wise.

Sumac berries (Rhus typhina)

Reach up for the fruit with the highest vitamin C content: the fuzzy red berries of the sumac tree. Not the smooth red sumac berries (Rhus glabra); they taste bitter. And not the white sumac berries (Rhus vernix); those are poisonous. The fuzzy, velvety, ones. The best ones are dark red and leave a lemony taste on your fingers after you handle them. I put four big heads in a half-gallon jar, fill it to the top with cold water, wait 4-6 hours and enjoy sumac-ade. I keep adding water to the jar of berries until there is no more taste; then I start over with fresh berries. Enjoy!

Grapes (Vitis aestivalis)

Wild grapes sting my lips!! Still, I can’t resist them. One of my first teachers was convinced that any problem could be cured with grapes and I, no doubt, internalized her attitude. The “Grape Cure” for cancer was one of the first alternative remedies I found that seemed to work with the body, rather than castigating it. Still very heroic in its though process, nonetheless, I credit grapes with helping to set me on the path of healing by nourishing. If you can’t find wild grapes to eat, do enjoy the cultivated ones showing up now at all the farm stands.