A Dance with the Desert Plants
Contributed By - Dr. Meghna Thacker
I want to learn how to play the Native American flute and walk through the desert collecting plants to make medicines. I moved to the southwest desert of Arizona 14 years back to go to the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and fulfill my dream of becoming a Naturopathic Doctor. It was very difficult yet amazing 4 years of medical school. Besides the coursework being rigorous and demanding, I was also learning how to live all by myself, far away from my family, in a completely new culture. I love the fact that we got trained in various natural therapies besides the regular pharmacology. Thus when a patient presents with a particular complaint, I have a tool box to open and see what would fit the patient best at that time rather than simply writing a script to be filled at the pharmacy. One of the tools that is readily available to us are the beautiful plants that surround us. I spent 3 days with them in different parts of the desert last weekend. I learned a lot from the teachers about what the plants offer and decided to share practical uses of five of those plants and to inspire you to use them in your home.
1. Chapparal (Larreatridentata): It is commonly used as a first aid plant for infections. It is also called the Creosote bush and you can smell the sweet smell of the creosote leaves in the air during and after rains in some parts of Arizona. We started our field study with Mimi Kamp at McDowell Mountain Regional park by touching the wet leaves of this plant on our faces and moistened our skin with Kreosote oil to nourish our skin since we were going to spend the day in the dry desert. An aspect that makes this such an intriguing plant is its longetivity. There is a Larrea stand in the Mojave Desert called the “King Clone” that is 11,700 years old. Joann Sanchez, another great herbalist shared that if you sit with this plant, it will tell you stories from your ancestors. It is considered one of the first plants on the planet and thus has lived through many generations. Imagine how flexible it is, since it survives the extremes of temperatures to thrive in the desert, from freezing points of 34F to scorching heat of 120F. There are many ways to use this plant, including tincture, infused oil, salve, tea, poultice. I recommend making a strong tea to drink while soaking an infected body part such as a foot or forearm in a bath with chaparral.
2. Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens): It is a beautiful plant in the southwestern deserts. During spring, the plant form a 4-6 inch crimson-orange-red racemes of flowers at the ends of their durable limbs. You can make a beverage tea by collecting these flowers and soaking them in water over night. It is tasty and sweet to taste. A particular use of this plant is to improve portal blood circulation and lymphatic drainage in the pelvic area. Thus it becomes important medicine for women who have premenstrual congestion or uterine pain caused by congestion. It combines well with Chaste tree berries. Due to its affinity to the pelvic region, in men it is used in cases of prostate enlargement or congestion. It combines well with saw palmetto berries and nettle root. Mimi Kamp helped us understand the energetics behind these plants. Ocotillo helps with self-confidence, taking responsibility from a deep-rooted place. It helps to create healthy boundaries and provides protection. Thus people use it to make “living fences”around their houses. It helps one to be focused, remain grounded and stable.
3. Mesquite Tree (Prosopis): Mesquite is the most common shrub/small tree of the desert southwest. There are 3 common species of it and it restores nitrogen to the soil. As hosts to nitrogen-fixing bacteria, they help enrich otherwise impoverished desert soils in which the plants and their progeny grow.The mesquites root system is the deepest documented; a live root was discovered in a copper mine over 160 feet below the surface. They produce abundant large seedpods that serve as a nutritious food source for the wildlife. Mesquite honey is a lightly floral and pleasantly mild honey produced in Sonora Desert. To produce this premium honey, bees source nectar primarily from the Honey Mesquite. People living in AZ who suffer from seasonal allergies, should use mesquite honey to help their symptoms. Velvet mesquites ooze a dark, blackish brown sap which is used as an eye wash that can be used to treat infection and irritation.
4. White Ratany (Krameria grayi) are frequent throughout the Sonoran Desert in Arizona on rocky slopes. It has pink-purple flowers with a unique structure. Krameria root is a powerful astringent, used both externally and internally, and has the general properties of tannic acid. The powdered root is added to tooth powders for the use when the gums are spongy and inflamed. An infusion is used as a gargle for inflamed throats.
5.Bursage plant- Ragweed (Ambrosia) are flowering plants and notorious for causing allergic reactions in humans specifically allergic rhinitis. Up to half of all cases of pollen-related allergic rhinitis in North America are caused by ragweeds. Bursage is a valuable remedy in relieving menstrual cramps. It helps as a menstrual stimulant when menses become sluggish and there are corresponding pelvic feelings of inertia and congestion. The root preparations help diminish rapid intestinal movement from acute viral or stress initiated diarrhea. The leaves of the bursage diminish allergic reactions. It helps to diminish whole body allergic reactions that manifest as general itchiness or even hives.
The desert of the South West is vast and a home to variety of plants. I will love to share more medicinal uses of desert plants in the future. I am intrigued by the Native American culture and also find comfort in it because it has many similarities with the Indian culture that I grew up in. At the Southwest Botanical Medicine conference, we began and ended the conference with small meaningful ceremonies/rituals. Coppal resin sticks were burnt in the beginning to bless the surroundings. I am very grateful to the knowledgeable teachers including Phyllis Hogan, Mimi Kamp, Joann Sanchez, 7Song, Dr. Lise Alschuler, Dr. Patricia Gaines, and Dr. Kenneth Proefrock among others. Thank you for sharing the love you have for these powerful plants and illuminating us with this knowledge. I am thankful to everyone who puts this conference together each year and gives all like- minded, spiritually inclined, earthy souls to get together. My heart feels like dancing in the desert rains.