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First Published in Foxprint, November, 1998
Season of changing colors...
I just came in from gathering the eggs and letting the chickens out to free range for a while in this cool weather. The spiders are abundant and the chickens are great at clearing out any pests in the garden. We thought we had 3 hens but Matilda started crowing a few weeks back so, we changed his name to Mathew. Our rabbit occasionally goes AWOL into the neighbors yard when he is out foraging, but he is in the back yard nibbling on blackberry leaves. With our dog, cat and two hamsters we have a regular little farm here. And I live in the city!!! If I can't live in the country, I will bring the country to me!!!
The fall is here in the Northwest again. The air is so crisp and clean with all the rains. Yes, the water still falls from the sky here and the lawns have greened up once again. All the leaves are starting to turn brilliant colors and our sun is casting longer and longer shadows to the north. This is the season where I start to wind down and let go of the belief that I have to accomplish everything at once. It is when I start to gather in my dreams that did not come to fruition in the last season. I take stalk of all my ideas and visions and start to sort them out, so that in the 'season of dreams' I can re-visit them and either let them go or nourish them into another state of being. I see the ants doing this, the birds are doing this, as well as the bears and other hibernating animals in my area.
The term polychromic is a new word in my personal vocabulary. It means following the seasonal clock of changes and seasons verses the term monochromic which is following the man-made clock on the wall. The followers of the Wise Woman Tradition are well aware of this way of being as well as the native people of the earth all over the world. I have lately felt grief over the loss of this concept in our society and I am trying my best to be more polychromic in my life and still function in the monochromic world.
So where is all this leading? Well, actually there is a clear path through the fall season here. It is the time to gather in, to stalk the cupboards, to check the freezer, gather fire wood, make soap and candles, and get your sweaters out of the closet. Also time to put your gardens to bed if you don't winter garden.
The plant that has been talking to me lately is usually gathered in the fall even though you can gather it any time of year it is in need. It loves to grow in the dryer west coastal areas from southern Oregon northward into British Columbia. It is also found inland on western slopes from Nevada northward to Idaho. There are a few species that could confuse someone but if you look close they are distinguishable. It is a leafy shrub that grows 2 to 6 feet in height. The leaves are waxy and have prickly teeth on the edges. Many people mistake this plant for holly if they don't know it. There are 5-9 leaflets per leaf , are alternate and each leaf has one central vein. In the spring the flowers are bright yellow and grow in clusters, upright or hanging downwards and bloom in March or April. And this time of year you can find clusters of blue-purple 'pseudo-grapes' that are usually very sour and sweet and have a bitter aftertaste. This is an evergreen plant which makes it easier to identify in the winter.
The berries were and still are a source for pemmican, to flavor soups and dried for winter use. Some used the flowers for salads. The berries today are used in vinegars and for making jelly, sauce or wine. The berries can also be made into a lemonade flavored tea. The white dust that covers the berries can be used for a leavening agent for making breads. The berries are too acid and cannot be used in flavoring bread, so you can rinse the berries in a small amount of water and use the water for the yeast action. Birds and squirrels, chipmunks and other small mammals eat the berries.
For medicinal purposes, the root is gathered from late summer to winter. It is best to cut it up fresh to make tincture because it dries fairly hard and can dull your clippers if you try to cut it up dry. The shredded bark of the lower stems and root is used for dyes by the natives and by those who like to naturally dye basket materials. The root contains many isoquinoline alkaloids including the yellow alkaloid berberine. The leaves are also used medicinally by drying them and either powdering them into a fine dust to use on skin abrasions as an antibacterial or made into a tea for internal use.
This plant has a bitter quality to it and is used for problems with salivary or gastric secretions. It is also a stimulant to the liver to help as a blood purifier and used for skin metabolism. It has an antimicrobial and antibacterial affect on the skin and intestinal tract, and as mentioned earlier, used on injuries and wounds. The native peoples of the coast used it for a general tonic in the spring as a blood purifier and also for cough and a gargle for sore throats. This plant has strong qualities and should be used with intelligent awareness. Because of the antimicrobial and antibacterial qualities, I have made a winter remedy with Cedar and Devil's Club for the winter ailments. In fact I am using it more than my Echinacea, since all three of these plants grow here in the northwest. Besides, one of the paths of the Wise Woman tradition is using backdoor herbs, or in this case, backwoods herbs.
This plant is beautiful in a rustic sort of way. all year long. In the fall the leaves can turn a vibrant scarlet color and is widely cultivated in gardens. Next to salal it is the most common evergreen shrub west of the Cascades. I like to see this plant in the winter when the rains have made it down the loam of the forest floor and because of the waxy appearance of the leaves, in the winter light, the leaves shine.
So slip your feet into those waterproof boots and go for a walk in the woods. Look for the Mountain Holly or Barberry or Creeping Barberry. This is in the Berberidaceae family, the species is known as Berberis and the Latin name is Mahonia (Berberis) aquifolia. This is the state flower of our southern sister state, known as Tall Oregon Grape.
Eileen VanBronkhorst is a practitioner of the Wise Woman Tradition. She is a homeschooling mom, an herbalist, gardener, naturalist, tracker, spinner, weaver and I am sure I am leaving out a few of her talents. :) THANKS Eileen!
How did you do on the plant quiz? The Kamana Naturalist Training Program is a great way to learn the plants of your area. You'll pass the plant quiz with flying colors!
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