Five Wild Herbs for Winter Support
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Five Wild Herbs for Winter Support
In northern regions, such as where I live in Minnesota, winter can be a difficult time of year for people. The temperature drops dramatically, sunlight becomes faint, and meanwhile the landscape seems dead with everything covered in snow and ice. Fortunately, there exist many wild herbs in this region that can be strong allies during this challenging season. Below is a list of my top five! All of them are easy to find growing wild throughout eastern North America, and some of them have a much wider range. They all have multiple uses, but for the purpose of this article, I will focus on one aspect of each herb. I encourage you to follow the links if you’d like to learn more!
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
This native perennial is one of the top herbs I recommend keeping in your medicine cabinet for its many uses. It’s one of my go-to remedies for treating colds and flus, especially when accompanied by fever. Its diaphoretic action promotes circulation to your peripheries, which induces sweating and helps break fevers. Its antimicrobial and astringent properties also make it useful for treating sore throats, either as a tea or as a gargle. A tea or a syrup can also be used for coughs, especially when combined with other herbs that target the lungs.
The flowering tops of yarrow are typically harvested for medicinal purposes, which includes the flowers, leaves, and stem. This plant is typically most potent around the summer solstice. I’ve also noticed that it’s medicinally stronger when growing in dry or rocky soil. Yarrow can be prepared in a variety of ways for medicinal purposes, but typically a hot tea is best for colds and flus.
Safety note: Yarrow is generally considered safe, but due to its stimulating action on the uterus, it is recommended to avoid taking medicinal doses when pregnant. Also, yarrow looks somewhat similar to plants in the carrot family, which includes poisonous species such as poison hemlock. Please see the links below for identification info!
Yarrow identification and medicinal uses video→
Yarrow article: identification, harvesting, and medicinal uses→
Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
Also sometimes referred to as Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis, this native shrub grows throughout eastern North America. Both the flowers and berries have medicinal qualities, but in this article I will focus on the berries for their immune boosting properties. Elderberries are both immunomodulating and immunostimulating. Immune modulants balance and strengthen immune function, while immune stimulants activate our immune system so it can more quickly and effectively fight infections. Taken in a large dose at the first sign of illness, elderberry has been shown to prevent upper respiratory infections, and reduce the severity and duration of colds and flus.
Elderberries ripen in late summer and fall, and should be harvested when dark purple/nearly black in color. The berries can be dried and stored in a sealed container for tea, or made into a syrup (see recipe link below!)
Safety note: Elderberry is usually considered safe, and its palatable flavor makes it a good option for children. However, be aware that elderberries should only be eaten cooked, as the raw berries may cause nausea. Furthermore, please note that elder leaves, stems, and roots are poisonous.
Rose Flower (Rosa Spp.)
When you think of an herb that treats depression, probably St. John’s Wort first comes to mind. While that plant is useful for many people, there exists a wide variety of herbs that uplift mood, and rose flowers are one of my favorite! I recommend adding them to your regimen if you suffer from seasonal depression, or just generally feel down in the wintertime.
Taken internally as a tea or tincture, rose flowers help heal heartache and alleviate grief. They also soothe anxiety and depression, helping you unwind and relax. I also enjoy using rose externally—try adding rose petals to a hot bath, or go for a rose facial steam. Even just smelling rose can have uplifting effects on the body.
Safety note: It’s not clear if all cultivated roses have the same edible and medicinal properties as their wild counterparts. I recommend sticking to wild roses, mainly because domesticated varieties commonly receive heavy doses of chemicals that are not safe for consumption, as they’re grown for ornamental—not edible—purposes.
Rose hips (Rosa Spp.)
Rose hips are the fruits of the rose plant. After the flowers fall away, the hips develop, ripening in late summer or fall. They generally look like the image above, but there is considerable variation between different rose species in terms of size, shape, and color. Some roses, like multiflora rose, make tiny hips, only about 1/4 inch across. Others are as large as one inch. Many are reddish in color, but some are more orange, or even yellow when ripe. The shape can be circular, oval, or anywhere in between. Many retain the sepals (the leaf-like appendage on the bottom that looks like a 5-pointed star), while others fall off. To make sure you’re harvesting the correct plant, please see the article linked below!
I recommend rose hips for winter use due to their high vitamin C content. As you probably know, vitamin C is essential for the healthy functioning of the immune system, and is therefore especially important in the wintertime. You may be thinking “well I can just eat an orange,” but rose hips have about 50 times the vitamin C of oranges! Indeed, they are one of the highest plant sources of vitamin C on the planet. Furthermore, the vitamin C in rose hips is highly bioavailable, meaning that it’s easier for your body to absorb than vitamin tablets. That plus their additional medicinal benefits make rose hips an excellent winter supplement!
Safety note: Rose hips have seeds in the middle, which are coated in scratchy hairs. Be sure to strain rose hip tea before drinking, to avoid irritating the throat and intestinal tract.
I’ll repeat: It’s not clear if all cultivated roses have the same edible and medicinal properties as their wild counterparts. I recommend sticking to wild roses, mainly because domesticated varieties commonly receive heavy doses of chemicals that are not safe for consumption, as they’re grown for ornamental—not edible—purposes.
Rose article: identification, harvest, and preparation→
Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)
This fuzzy European native is common across North America. It frequents sunny and partly sunny sites with dry soil, such as fields, roadsides, and disturbed areas. As a biennial, in its first year it grows as a basal rosette of large, hairy leaves. Once it has enough energy to flower (typically in its second year), it sends up a large flower stalk that can reach heights of over 6 feet. These produce yellow, five-petaled flowers.
Mullein is best known as a respiratory aid. For this purpose, make a tea from the leaf. Just make sure to strain it before drinking, as the hairs can be irritating to the throat! Alternately, you can take mullein as a tincture, or even smoke the dried leaf! Mullein leaf has relaxant, demulcent, and anti-inflammatory properties, which makes it an excellent remedy for dry, irritable coughs.
Safety note: Mullein is sometimes confused with lamb’s ear, so make sure you have the correct plant by following the identification link below!
What Are Your Favorites?
Well those are my top five! I hope you feel inspired to try some of them out, if you haven’t yet. Which plant are you most excited about? And are there any of your favorites that I’ve missed, perhaps some that are local to your bioregion? Let me know in the comments below!
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