Steven Horne's Newsletter Articles

August 24, 2021

Practical Uses for Prickly Pear

Knowing how to use the edible and medicinal plants growing in your area will give you a greater sense of security and valuable skills when troubled times come. One of my goals in writing these articles is to introduce you to the uses of common plants you might find growing nearby so you can learn and share this practical knowledge. Today I’m going to discuss the uses of nopal, also known as the prickly pear cactus. While more common in the Southwest, various species of prickly pear are found throughout…

August 17, 2021

The Beauty and Benefits of Chicory

When I lived in Roosevelt Utah, the driveway to my home was lined with wild chicory. It was one of the things I loved about the place. The beautiful blue flowers produced by this member of the aster family were always cheering for my soul. Chicory is cultivated as food, harvested as a medicinal herb, and one of the original twelve healers created by Edward Bach, the father of flower essence therapy. Chicory as FoodYou can find chicory in the grocery store, but it won't be labeled as chicory. The…

August 10, 2021

Find the Uplifting Calm of Lemon Balm

I love growing lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) in the garden. I enjoy running my hand over the leaves and then smelling the lemony fragrance that lingers on my fingers. It reminds me of lemon furniture polish and provides a distinctly uplifting feeling when I smell it. Like borage, which I wrote about last week, it’s an annual that is easy to grow in the garden and readily reseeds itself. It also attracts bees; the Latin name Melissa being derived from the Greek word for bee. Uplifting Fragrance…

August 3, 2021

Creating Cheerful Courage in the Face of Adversity

Borage officinalis is a member of the borage family, the same family as comfrey. It has a few similar properties, but quite different uses. Both plants contain mucilage and tannin and are good sources of silica and other minerals. Both have also come into disfavor because they contain small amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (which are common in this family). These alkaloids are potentially toxic to the liver. As I said in my comfrey article, I think the toxicity of both comfrey and borage is highly…

July 27, 2021

Mimosa: The Happiness Tree

I was introduced to mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) by Thomas Easley, who gave me a tincture made from the flowers. He didn’t tell me anything about it; he just asked me to experience its effects. When I took a few drops, it felt like the energy of the plant went straight to my heart, opening it up, creating a sense of happiness like the happiness you feel when you’re in love. This diffused outward from my heart. It was one of the most uplifting feelings I’ve experienced from any herb. I was immediately…

July 20, 2021

The Golden Power of California Poppy

Many members of the poppy family have been used as sedatives and pain relievers through the centuries. The most famous is the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), the plant that gave rise to the entire class of opioid pain relievers, including morphine, heroin, oxycodone, and fentanyl. While these drugs are powerful pain-killers they are highly addictive and are responsible for over half a million deaths due to overdose since 1999.A Gentle, Non-Addictive PoppyFortunately, there are members of the poppy…

July 13, 2021

Tribulus: Please Pick This Plant!

Normally I write about plants I love but this week I’m writing about a plant I don’t really like. When I was growing up we called it puncture vine or puncture weed because its seeds put holes in our bicycle tires. Southwest herbalist Michael Moore described it thusly. “A terrible, disgusting, gross, little ground covering weed… [with] seed pods that break apart into three-sided capsules that maim pets and crawly children, puncture bicycle tires…and, if you step barefooted on one, give…

July 6, 2021

Arnica: Every First Aid Kit Needs This Remedy

There are some herbs I think no first aid kit should be without and arnica is at the top of the list. I keep homeopathic arnica in my home first aid kit, the first aid kits in my cars, and the first aid kit I take when I’m hiking. It’s one of the best remedies for rapidly resolving all kinds of bumps, bruises, sprains, and just about any other injury where the skin isn’t broken. It takes down swelling, relieves pain, and speeds healing. I particularly like arnica in a cream form for topical…

Practical Uses for Prickly Pear

The Beauty and Benefits of Chicory

Find the Uplifting Calm of Lemon Balm

Creating Cheerful Courage in the Face of Adversity

Mimosa: The Happiness Tree

The Golden Power of California Poppy

Tribulus: Please Pick This Plant!

Arnica: Every First Aid Kit Needs This Remedy

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