Herbs with Rosalee

What if the “ordinary” marigold in your garden was actually a sacred plant with centuries of healing tradition behind it?In this week’s episode, Texas-based herbalist Lauren Peterson shares how she first learned about the medicine of yauhtli (Tagetes lucida), an herb hiding in plain sight all around her. Commonly referred to as Mexican tarragon or Texas tarragon, this cheery little marigold is a common landscaping plant in Texas, and yet it has so many medicinal gifts (and it is oh so fragrant and delicious, too!).There are many ways you can work with yauhtl...

Have you been missing this amazing and underrated mushroom? Chances are if you’ve ever gone out in the woods in North America, you’ve walked past the mushroom red-belted conk (Fomitopsis pinicola)—though you may not have noticed it. This ubiquitous, yet often-overlooked mushroom may not be well known among herbalists, but it certainly deserves to be! As this week’s podcast guest, Logan Keister, describes, there are so many benefits to working with red-belted conk, from aiding digestion to reducing inflammation, and so much more.Logan also explains in detail one of his favorite ways of worki...

Once beloved in root beer and medicine cabinets, sassafras was later banned as dangerous. So...is it poison or a powerful plant ally?In this episode, we’re diving into the wild and winding story of Sassafras albidum—a tree deeply rooted in Southern culture, traditional herbalism, and kitchen magic. From thickening gumbo to flavoring root beer (before it was pulled from shelves in the 1970s), sassafras has played many roles—and stirred up plenty of controversy.Herbalist Matthew Hunter joins me today to shine a light on this misunderstood tree. He shares his favorite ways t...

I am so excited to share this conversation with Dana Hutchinson! I really identified with her herbal path – like me, as a young person she suffered from a debilitating autoimmune condition, and it was through her search for healing that she found herbalism. As a clinical herbalist herself now, she offers so much hope for others in similar situations.  Dana had so much to share about one of the first herbs that she worked with to help her overcome her illness, jujube dates (Ziziphus jujuba). This delicious, nourishing herb has so many gifts! Here are just a few...

I’ve been looking forward to this interview with Lorna Trigg for a while now! Lorna’s herbal path was strongly influenced by the practices of the indigenous people who lived near her childhood family farm in South Africa, and she has such a creative and unique perspective that I just had to learn more from her.Lorna shared about a plant that she has known since childhood, the beautiful passionflower (both the Passiflora edulis she grew up with in South Africa, and the Passiflora incarnata that called to her as an adult here in the United Stat...

I was so excited to talk about St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) with this week’s podcast guest, Kyle Denton. St. John’s wort is one of my all-time favorite herbs, and Kyle told me he’d be sharing a few things about it that you don’t commonly hear. He certainly didn’t disappoint! Kyle discussed mythological and poetic aspects of the plant, how he understands it via the lens of the doctrine of signatures, and the science behind potential contraindications of St. John’s wort (hint: how you take the plant matters!). His enthusiasm and love for this plant...

I had such a lovely time chatting with this week’s podcast guest, Josh Williams, about one of my favorite tree medicines, and one that is often found in urban landscapes – the lovely linden (Tilia spp.). Josh shared so many gems about this beloved tree, from harvesting tips to how to make the most of its medicine, and he even told a beautiful story about linden from Roman mythology.Every year during linden bloom time, Josh gathers its sweetly-scented flowers and prepares a syrup with them, for use in beverages, to drizzle over food, in baking, and more...

In this week’s episode, I sat down with the lovely Yemaya Kimmel to discuss milky oats (Avena sativa). Yemaya is not only a wonderful herbalist, but as you’ll see in this episode, she’s also an amazing singer! She shared so many deep insights about the benefits of milky oats – an herb that most people these days could probably benefit from – plus a beautiful song to cap off the episode.Yemaya mentioned during our chat that she enjoys naming tincture formulas after songs (and I may have had a little too much fun coming up with Tori...

I was so happy when today’s podcast guest, Tiffany Harper, told me she’d like to talk about red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea syn. C. stolonifera). This striking shrub is very common in North America, both in wild lands and cultivated landscapes, and I was excited to learn more about it!Tiffany brings so much heart and wisdom to everything she shares in this episode—the powerful medicine of red osier dogwood, the value of forming connections with the natural world around you, the often-overlooked importance of postpartum care.The recipe that Tiffany shared with u...

It was such a joy to have my good friend, Thomas Easley, on the show. For some reason, the herb he chose to discuss – blue vervain – surprised me (perhaps because it hit so close to home?), but his insights about it were both thoughtful and expansive.  He shared about the type of person who tends to really benefit from vervain, the best time of day to take it, some lesser-known ways of working with it, and so much more!Blue vervain is perhaps best known for its gift of helping wind you down, and so it’s often i...

There are so many ways that working with herbs can benefit you – and health challenges related to chronic inflammation are no exception.  In this short compilation, I share four of my favorite herbs that help to cool inflammation, along with some of the specific inflammatory conditions where these herbs shine.  By the end of this episode, you’ll see just how versatile and supportive these amazing plants can be!By the end of this episode, you’ll know:► Why marshmallow is like a soft herbal hug for your digestive tract► What makes rosemary a great part...

Who doesn’t love cacao in some way, shape, or form? (Of course, dark chocolate is the best kind of chocolate in my not-so-humble opinion, but that’s beside the point.) In this episode, I got to interview Marcos Patchett, a London herbalist with a very interesting backstory, who also happens to be an expert  on cacao.Marcos shared so many fascinating aspects of this amazing plant, from its rich history in South America to its chemical constituents and the way it affects our bodies.  He also dove into its many health benefits – so now you have an excus...

I’ve been wanting to have 7Song on the podcast for a really long time now, so it was exciting to finally get to sit and chat with him.  7Song is well known for his work in first aid and disaster relief, and our conversation touched on many different aspects of this work.  People often want to help when there’s been a natural disaster like a hurricane, wildfire, or flooding, and 7Song shared some of his best tips on how herbalists can help, along with some of his favorite herbs to have on hand for first aid situations.O...

A major hazard of inviting herbalists on this show is that with each conversation, I get so excited about the herb we discussed that I want to run out and get it and start working with it right away! I often have to remind myself that I don’t need to try every single herb, and that many of my most versatile and beloved herbal allies are the ones that I already have in my garden and my spice rack.This conversation with Dr. Orna Izakson about thyme was a great reminder that herbs don’t need to b...

Rosemary Gladstar was the very first person I interviewed for this podcast nearly four years ago, and it was truly an honor to be able to have her on the show again. She is such a presence in the world, having brought so much love and wisdom to the herbal community for decades. Rosemary’s work has inspired many thousands (at least!) of budding and experienced herbalists, and I am so incredibly grateful for every moment I get to spend with her.Rosemary discussed a variety of topics in this interview, but there was one major thread th...

You’re in for a treat! In this episode, I had such a delightful conversation with joAnna Sanchez, who has been “beckoned by the plants,” as she so lovingly puts it, for decades. She shares such hope for the world, gained through her work with the plants and relationships with other students of nature, and her positive attitude is infectious – I found myself just beaming after speaking with her!I was thrilled that joAnna chose to speak about  Lobelia inflata, a plant that she has been working with closely for many years. She had so much to share abo...

This conversation with Julie Caldwell was such a joy! It brought me back to a time when I was just a baby herbalist studying in Santa Cruz, California, where the surrounding mountains are home to countless towering redwood trees.  The redwood forest where Julie lives is a few hundred miles north of Santa Cruz – but as she pointed out, the entire northern hemisphere  used to be covered in redwoods, and those of us who live on this part of the earth are connected by the land’s memory of these ancient beings.  These trees and their connections to the s...

I was thrilled to have a chance to interview Dr. Jacqui Wilkins! I’ve been following her on social media for some time now, and her posts always brighten my day with their beauty and insight.  Our conversation went so many places – from the ways that herbalism can reconnect us with the land and our ancestors, to more technical aspects of how chemical constituents of plants interact with our hormones.I was also really excited Dr. Jacqui chose to speak about yarrow, my plant ally for the year.  Yarrow is an amazingly versatile plant with so many gifts...

It was such a delight to sit down and chat with Bevin Cohen – he has such a deep love and appreciation for plants, and so many gems of herbal wisdom to share!  Our conversation was centered around wintergreen, a plant that he has been learning with since he was a child, but also touched on so many other aspects of living a life rooted in herbalism: from the importance of being in the moment and forming personal relationships with plants, to the crossover between food and medicine – a great reminder that plants’ gifts are not solely found in salves, tinctur...

It was such a pleasure to have KhadiYah Preciado on the podcast - her curiosity about the plant world and its many gifts is inspiring, and it was just delightful to hear about her love for chickweed and the ways that she works with this abundant springtime herb! One of the many ways that KhadiYah works with chickweed is in her Itch Relief Oil – a fantastic medicine to make in the spring, when chickweed is abundant, in anticipation of the inevitable mosquito bites of summer! You can download your beautifully-illustrated recipe card here: https://bit.ly...