Sonoran Herbalist

In my next free webinar I'll be presenting on the Core Principles of Vitalist Herbalism.

Through focusing on the principles and concepts, any herbal knowledge can be revised or expanded to meet the needs of where you're at in your experience or the landscape and plants you're working with.

I hope you can join me for the webinar this Friday afternoon!

Free Vitalist Herbalism Webinar Sep. 27 — John J. Slattery Bioregional Herbalist, Forager, Author Learn the 5 Core Principles of Vitalist Herbalism, how to work with plants for individual healing, and how to apply bioregional herbalism in your life.

I'm also posting content and creating events on a new FB Page - Vitalist Herbalism

You can follow it here:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564094477017

Vitalist Herbalism Education

There's still space in my free webinar on Vitalist Herbalism this afternoon at 3:30p MST/PDT.

I'll be covering the basic concepts & principles of Vitalist Herbalism which is at the core to my approach to Bioregional Herbalism.

Today we'll look a bit more closely at the Seasons & Elements and their influence on People, Place, & Plants.

Just click the link to register!

Free Vitalist Herbalism Webinar — John J. Slattery Bioregional Herbalist, Forager, Author Learn the underlying principles of Vitalist Herbalism, how to work with plants for individual healing, and how to apply bioregional herbalism in your life.

I'll be offering another Free webinar on Vitalist Herbalism this Thursday afternoon (3:30p MST).

I'll be telling stories and giving an overview of how I approach Vitalist Herbalism.
It's a practice steeped in connection to the landscape and a great deal more.

You can register by clicking this link:

https://www.johnjslattery.com/free-vitalist-herbalism-webinar-sep-5

I was given a few pots of Agave murpheyi, Hohokam agave, about 13 years ago. This is a very special Agave species which is only known in Arizona from ancient agave terrace (trinchera) sites.

I have not yet baked or eaten this species yet, but it was once prized for not only its ability to reproduce abundant suckers (plant offspring) and come to maturity relatively quickly (7-15 years), depending on conditions, but also for its high sugar content.

I have left most of those I received in pots all this time, although some have made it into the ground, and those are the largest of the bunch. For the past 3-4 years, every April-May, I keep thinking I’m going to see one of them shoot up a flower stalk.

Fortunately, this hasn’t come to pass yet as it would cause me to have to spring into action to process it for food.

Not only are agave a primary sugar source, once properly processed (and it’s not easy!), but are also a wonderful, and abundant, source of fiber cordage in our region.

I once had an old bag agave fiber bag I’d procured from a shop in Chiapas, Mexico many years ago and it had been well-used prior to me picking it up. A very sturdy net bag that I used for several years.

So this weekend, I took the time to separate some of the older plants, put some in the ground around the exterior perimeter of my property at an east-facing block wall, and then re-planted some of the recent re-plants that had started to overcrowd a pot (photo above).

I have pondered starting a small Agave murpheyi farm in a desert plot I have access to, south of Tucson. Not only is agave heart, the base of the mature leaves and young flower stalk edible, but the roasted and fermented heart can be turned into pulque (a sort of agave beer) or bacanora, the Sonoran equivalent to tequila.

I write about my adventures with plants and other related subjects in my weekly email newsletter. To subscribe, go to my website and scroll to the bottom.

www.johnjslattery.com

I've been gathering experiences with plants and information about their Nature for over 20 years.

Starting with a philosophical independent study into Chinese cosmology about 25 years ago, I began applying Chinese herbs on myself to observe the effects.

Then I went wild and found myself surrounded by Nature and indigenous herbalists guiding my way, all across the Americas.

The unofficial training continued as I settled into the Sonoran Desert bioregion and began applying all that I had learned, and continued to learn, from my first two primary inspirations.

I learned to observe the landscape, the elements, the seasons, and the plants' responses to them, and in turn, the way I responded to them, all within a framework of energetic herbalism.

This has been the foundation of my approach to Bioregional Herbalism which is intimately connected with the landscape and the wild plants therein.

Woven throughout all of this, including the spirit of the landscape itself, has been my own path of ancestral healing.

What began as a spiritual path, albeit reluctantly, nearly 25 years ago, grew, by necessity, into a business and was a lifeway before I even recognized it as such.

Persisting at all of it over the years, has provided for a deep, rich network of experiences and relationships that has many layers of nuance and subtlety - just as we ourselves do within.

All of this wrapped up together, in the broadest sense, is my approach to Vitalist Herbalism.

This is an approach to using herbs for deep healing in one's life, just as I have, as well as grounding and rooting oneself in the local landscape and its rich web of intricate interconnections that serve to inform us and invite us back into the web of life when we have gone astray.

I am bringing all of this forward now in my forthcoming online Vitalist Herbalism cohort course.

Nestled within a private online community we'll explore the herbs in depth while exploring ourselves and the natural world around us. The community engagement will provide a network of likeminded, engaged and inspired individuals seeking to learn and apply this knowledge within their own lives and, in turn, share it with the world.

As of this morning, the Vitalist Herbalism Cohort Course is open for enrollment.

There are 3 different enrollment tiers to choose from providing more or less engagement all the way up to an in person field study workshop and private one-on-one sessions.

I hope you choose to join me in this cohort on our intimate journey through Vitalist Herbalism!

https://www.johnjslattery.com/vitalist-herbalism-course

Are you looking to deepen your knowledge of herbs?

Is Vitalism of interest to you?

Want to learn more about Plant Energetics?

Would you enjoy joining a private community of people pursuing knowledge in vitalist herbalism to help themselves, help their family, and deepen their practice of herbalism???

After over 20 years of gathering experiences and insights, I'm excited to share a unique, experiential learning experience to help you to explore Vitalist Herbalism, build a foundation to grow from, deepen your knowledge of herbalism, join a community to grow with, and learn a methodology to continue life-long learning!

I've put together a 50-minute slideshow presentation to explain what you'll expect to find in this upcoming Vitalist Herbalism Cohort, with 3 different options for participating:

-What is Vitalism?
-What's the Inspiration for this Course?
-What are the Intentions for this Course?
-Who is this Course for?
-What is the Content?
-What will you Achieve?
-3 Options to Participate
-What's Expected from you?
-Detailed breakdown for each participation Tier
-Breakdown of Pricing

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or send me an email at [email protected]

I hope you can join us for this great opportunity to learn about Vitalist Herbalism!!

2024-25 Vitalist Herbalism Cohort Preview This slideshow previews the upcoming 2024-25 Vitalist Herbalism Cohort with John Slattery, Bioregional Herbalist.This 3-tiered course offering describes what...

I have been observing and thinking about these things for many years. Although I could write a great deal more, and eventually will, I took a brief look at How Herbs Heal from a Vitalist perspective in my recent Substack post.

How do Herbs Heal? Biochemical processes or energetic wave forms: What are herbs really doing inside the body? A Vitalist's take.

I've made my first batch of globe chamomile, aka stinknet oil infusion to begin handing out as testers for those willing to apply it and get back to me with results.

I will have some bottles at the Rillito Heirloom Farmers Markets this Sunday (8a-12p).
If you happen to stop by and mention it I will give you one.

I also intend to put together a written post or video with the steps to making the oil infusion so more people can get to making this and begin applying it. Then we'll have a better idea of how it can be used from a wide array of testing.

My initial range of application will be to unbroken skin with irritation or pain present.

I will advise people to try a small amount first to see how your body responds to it, observing for 30 minutes or so, then proceed from there if there's no adverse reaction.

(FYI, "adverse reactions" aren't necessarily always a sign that a plant is harmful. Within the context of understanding, this may be the herb doing just what it's meant to do. But that's another subject).

I won't get into the process yet, but I'll either post the full explanation here or a link to it on this page.

Stay tuned!

When I've been up near Cave Creek and other parts north of Phoenix, including the foothills and drainages of the Superstitions, over the past few years I've seen areas completely covered in globe chamomile, aka stinknet (Oncosiphon pilulifer), the now apparently naturalized annual from South Africa.

After recently visiting that area and feeling grateful that I hadn't YET seen any globe chamomile locally, I then found my first plant in my back yard yesterday.

This plant is the new subject of vilification.

I gathered some years ago from the Superstitions to experiment with, but didn't get too far. It is really not a plant for simple internal use.

I think it may have potential for topical use though.

It is traditionally used amongst the Khoi-San of South Africa. We may do well to learn something from them should we be so fortunate as to receive that help.

If dozens, or hundreds, of people gathered some and dried it to make salve, we could do a broad scale testing of its properties by applying it under a wide variety of circumstances within a relatively short timeframe.

Then with any relevant and useful applications, begin to teach people a) how to identify b) how to make the preparations c) how or when to apply them, we could potentially turn around the narrative so that we may at least save ourselves the misery of noble savage attempts to spray it to death with some "highly selective" herbicide.

I'm not saying that I'm not concerned about the potential tidal wave coming our way.
I'm not saying that I didn't pull and toss mine in the garbage.

But I am saying that we could take an intelligent, or at least a thoughtful approach and begin to utilize it for good rather than purely vilify this plant.

And, who knows, we could learn a great deal in the process, either by interacting with the plant out on the land, learning to make these preparations, or whatever healing may be had as a consequence of this process.

What do you think?

Hopbush
Dodonaea viscosa
Sapindaceae (Soapberry Family)

This is an unusual plant in that it can be found from the southern hemisphere to the north. There aren't too many species that are known in Tasmania, SE Asia, South Africa, the Caribbean, Mexico and the Southwestern US.

My friend said, "that tells me the botany needs a revision". He could be right, but I recall corresponding years ago with an ethnobotanist in Tasmania (Tasmanian Bush Tucker & Medicines) who corroborated some of the uses we have here in the Sonoran desert.

I've used it in one of my popular salves for many years and have had some very interesting experiences with students with this plant.

It is long-lived but doesn't often grow above 10' and is mostly under 7' tall. But this one in my yard was transplanted from a 1 gal pot less than 3 years ago and is already 7+' tall and is thriving!
There must be 1000s of seeds on the bush right now. This is when the plant stands out as its winged fruits are tinged with a purplish-pink not unlike the color of prickly pear fruit or the lower stems of red dock.

Hint: it's one of the plants I'm standing next to in my profile pic

Do you have any experiences with hopbush?
if so, please share below...

we had a great start to the Intro to Foraging in the Sonoran Desert course this weekend.
Beautiful weather, crisp mornings, clear skies, crystal clear, sweet water coming down off the mountain and fresh air to take in with every stride.

London rocket was the star of the show (amongst 3 dozen other plants) and we wrapped up making some London rocket pesto, pickled London rocket stems, fermented London rocket greens with chiles, and London rocket citrus juices/cocktails/marinades!

Next module (for drop in enrollment) is April 27-28 (see link below) where we'll be hunting down a variety of wild edible plants and preparing a delicious feast to wrap up our weekend.

Hope to see you there!

Excited to have golden smoke (Corydalis aurea) pop up in my yard for the first time.
Growing from a mulched basin that's received a good deal of rain this winter with shade to the south (hopbush, TX mulberry and desert cotton).

Corydalis is a unique plant in the Southwest, in part, because one can find it at low elevation in the winter and all the way up over 8000' in the summer and on into the autumn.

Corydalis is in the Fumiariaceae which used to be part of the Papaveraceae (Poppy family). These plants address key body systems including the spleen, liver and nervous system in a way that elicits unique effects.

I like to make tincture of the fresh plant but I'll have to leave this one alone and hopefully, after seeding, it will produce more plants next year.

Sorry I didn't share this sooner.
Beautiful film available to watch through this evening.

This film reflects the work that I seek to facilitate between people and plants and it resonates beautifully with the concepts of Vitalism.

As humans, we are infinitely resilient while in tune with the Earth, our Ancestors, along our path beneath the Sun...

This is Tír Raon.

Guided by mó croí, my heart, this path is illuminated and the way forward is made clear.

I hope you have a chance to view it.

B_Pre-Release Screening 2024-03-01 Feel free to invite one or two people to this screening if you think they might like the film and would also fill out the survey.

Anybody happen to know the Gina Hoffman who wrote this book?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CF4FP4YS/ref=sspa_dk_offsite_brave_1?psc=1&aaxitk=9463ec0dbb91a36eec83da6bda470f30

In our burgeoning era of AI-written books, this one looks rather suspicious to me.

Please let me know what you think or if you happen to know who the author is!

127 Wild Medicinal Plants of Southwestern US: A complete guide for plant identification, sustainable foraging,preparation methods,and uses 127 Wild Medicinal Plants of Southwestern US: A complete guide for plant identification, sustainable foraging,preparation methods,and uses

With all the rain we're having in the Sonoran desert this winter it bodes quite well for the abundance and diversity of wild greens in the short-term and all the dry summer harvest to come thereafter.

Maybe we'll even get a large bellota crop this summer??

Learn to observe the plants and the seasons closely in my multi-season Intro to Foraging in the Sonoran desert field study course with lots of hands-on activities and the benefit of like-minded community, and the distillation of 20+ years of experience into a few seasons.

Spaces still available!

Intro to Foraging in the Sonoran Desert: A Foundational Course — John J. Slattery Bioregional Herbalist, Forager, Author Learn to forage wild plants for food and medicine in the Sonoran desert in this live, field study with herbalist, forager, and author John Slattery

Excited to share my first podcast episode with guest, Carole Guyett, from East Clare, Ireland.

Just a stone's throw from the great Brian Ború tree in the Raheen woods, up and over the hill from the ruins of Biddy Early's home, up a ways from the mound and barrow where Brian was crowned King of Ireland which is straight south a few flaps of a crow's wings from my ancestral homeland, Bailé Slátara, Carole conducts humble yet powerful plant diet sessions with the local plants.

Listen to some of her story on the first episode of my Bioregional Herbalism podcast.

https://open.substack.com/pub/johnjslattery/p/guest-carole-guyett-herbalist-in?r=140rrx&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcome=true

Also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Guest Carole Guyett: Herbalist in Ireland, Navajo and Druidic Teachings Recently spoke with Carole on my first podcast episode about her work with plant diets in County Clare, Ireland.

Bioregional Herbalism is an ongoing process of learning, unlearning, and uncovering the mysteries of Nature as they appear before us and relevant to our own path, or of those paths we intersect, however briefly.

The elephant tree (Bursera microphylla) has brought many magical moments and insights into my being over the years, not to mention healing to many of those I've shared it with.
For me, the medicine of this plant transcends the physical, or touches me more deeply on the emotional and spiritual level. It uplifts while shedding light into the deeper, darker regions to allow me to become more aware, enabling me to make better choices and become emboldened with courage as the experience deepens and expands my awareness just by sitting closely with the plant in quiet contemplation.

I continue to observe this phenomenon, in its myriad manifestations, amongst my apprentices and all those I share these experiences with. Facilitating these subtly intense growth opportunities, in Nature, with the plants, has been one of the most fulfilling and relieving activities of the past 2 decades.
I'm quietly anticipating what growth opportunities lay ahead in the next iteration of my Bioregional Herbalist Apprenticeship.

Applications are still open. 2023 season begins March 4!

Are you ready to join me?

https://www.johnjslattery.com/bioregional-herbalist-apprenticeship