Educating about herbs, medicinal plants, herbal remedies and uses, since 1997.

The Herbal Remedy used for Herpes, (Prunella Vulgaris)

  Much of the Medicinal Herbs Gallery was written by my dear friend, Deb Jackson. It contains information about many medicinal plants of our area. Over the years I've added information to the articles as I learned new things about herbs as well as some of the thousands of herb pictures I've taken.  Many of these medicinal plants also grow in many other areas around North America, Europe, and Asia. You may even find herbs such as chickweed, ground ivy, plantain and violets growing wild in your yard! 

  Many of the herbs that I take pictures of are within a few miles of my home in wooded areas, fields, and the creek beds that flow from Kentucky Lake in Houston County, Tennessee. Much of the western part of the county is wooded with gravel and dirt roads, with creeks that have only concrete slabs for bridges. We have a lot of forests but the big trees are mostly gone. Timber and Ginseng provide much needed income for many rural people here, we even have a place that buys herbs like Ginseng, Goldenseal and Wild Quinine in Erin, Tennessee.

Jewelweed Flower

  There are many common medicinal plants in the wild which can be harvested. Some of the invasive herbs that can be harvested here are dock, passionflower, yarrow, poke, rabbit tobacco, evening primrose just to name a few.

   For the most part the woodland herbs should not be harvested unless one is propagating plants and actively seeing to the wellness of the plant population. When I harvest Jewelweed , (considered an invasive in much of the state)  I only take the tops of the plants in most cases. Jewelweed is an annual herb and will not maintain a healthy stand (by that I mean a dependable yearly harvest) if it is pulled up by the roots instead of leaving part of the plant to reseed.

See United Plant Savers for more information about endangered medicinal herbs.

  Herbs have been used for healing since the beginning of time. A large percentage of prescription medicines are plant based, so propagation of endangered medicinal plants is necessary to our future survival. It takes a long time to restore habitats, and there is no way to bring back extinct medicinal herb species.

   Once you have read my disclaimer at the bottom of this page, feel free to email your questions about herbs to karen@altnature.com . If you want me to take time to write back, please take the time to read my disclaimer at the bottom of the page, along with the added comments.

  Sometimes I get too many emails to answer all of them. I will not answer questions that pertain to diagnosing, treating or curing any disease. My specialty is learning about herbs, not your anatomy. My answers are only my personal opinions and I encourage you to study many different sources to learn about herbs and their uses.

Please read Herbal Questions and Answers before emailing your question If I cannot provide the herbal information you are looking for, I hope I can guide you in the right direction. Or join me on Facebook, I post herbal information every few days and answer questions on my fan page.

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Herbal Links 

  Our huge directory of hand picked quality herbal sites.  A great reference as we only feature sites that have useful and interesting content about herbs, plants, alternative medicine, herbal remedies and other subjects of interest to my readers.  This is also the place to look for courses on Herbalism.