Heart-of-the-Earth

Ever since the lock down stage of this pandemic, I have been walking in a section of the Simcoe County Forest near my home.  When I started, there was ice and snow and only a few plants emerging from the forest floor.  Now, there are thousands of plants, trees and mosquitoes.  And, on every visit, the forest community shows me something new.

A patch of Heal-all in bloom

A week ago, I discovered a lot of Self Heal or Heal-all (prunella vulgaris) plants that were in bloom.  These members of the Mint Family don’t grow very tall.  They have square stems and lanceolate leaves that grow in an opposite formation.  The large square flower head have multiple purple lipped flowers with fringed bottom lips.

Close up of Heal-all flowers

This plant can be found in lawns or on the edges of forests, abandoned fields, and disturbed areas.  The subspecies Prunella vulgaris vulgaris is native to Eurasia but has made its way around the world and is considered invasive in some areas.  It is also called Lawn Prunella as that is where it is found in this part of Ontario. It grows very close to the ground.  The subspecies Prunella vulgaris lanceolata grows upright and is native to this area. The young shoots and leaves are edible and the plant has been used medicinally for a long time for a variety of conditions. 

I first noticed the purple flowers of these plants last week which are likely the native subspecies.  They were popping out all along the edge of one section of the trail.  I had never seen so many all in one place.  They seemed to vibrate and wave to get my attention.  I knew their name but not the uses and so I wanted to go home and read up on them before picking.

By this past Saturday, I had done some research and had decided to pick some leaves to dry.  A tea made from these leaves is good as a gargle for sore throats or an eye wash for conjunctivitis.  The other uses such as, anti-cancer or HIV didn’t interest me at the moment.  I did take note that the crushed fresh leaves had an antiseptic quality that might come in useful however.

And so, after asking permission to pick from the plants and giving an offering which is a way to show respect and build a relationship, I was given the go ahead.   Since the plants are short and don’t have a lot of leaves, I decided to just pick one leaf from each plant that got my attention.  Some of the plants were surrounded by what we call The Guardians (Poison Ivy).  I left those alone. 

Once I reached the end of the first trail, I felt that I had enough.  But, turning the corner, there were more plants that I hadn’t noticed last week and they seemed to be offering themselves to me, so I kept up the pattern of one leaf per plant.  This seemed like a sustainable way to harvest and there are few other people even visiting the forest these days thanks to the mosquitoes.  I felt like I was collecting an offering from each member of the Heal-all family that lived in the forest.  They felt generous to me and I was grateful.

I often feel conflicted about the plants which my ancestors brought to this part of Canada when they become “invasive”.  I find it hard to hate the plants, as they are just being who they are.  But, I can see how they change life for the indigenous plants just as my ancestors did in such a harmful way for the Indigenous people.  I wonder, if we, the descendants of those who brought the plants were to renew our relationship with the descendants of the original plants, if we could bring them under better control and negate their negative effects.  I don’t know for sure, but the idea intrigues me and I feel drawn to renewing these relationships.  And so, taking one leaf from each plant felt like renewing the relationship of reciprocity with this particular community of native plants.  Who knows how this will inform renewing my relationship with the alien subspecies of Heal-All.  That will be another story.

Despite my netted hat, long pants, socks, shoes and light jacket, I still got some mosquito bites through my clothes and on my hands as I stopped to pick.   This made me think of my blood being carried away by these little winged female creatures and becoming new mosquitoes or being eaten by birds or the many toads that hop about in the woods.  Then my blood would become a toad or a bird, and then maybe a snake or a fox or a coyote or compost in the forest floor and then a tree or a Heal-all plant.  The forest was giving to me and I was giving a very tiny amount of blood in an unintentional reciprocity that was evidence of our interconnection. 

A lack of knowledge or acknowledgement of our place in all of life is what some people feel is one of the deep causes of this pandemic.  At the very least, the pandemic has shown us how we are interconnected in ways that we cannot ignore or deny.  Perhaps our ignorance, denial and lack of reciprocity is what needs to be healed.  This is something which we all need to self heal.  And that is when the flowers of the Self Heal (Heal-all) started to get my attention.  I wondered if they had something to say about this idea.  Flowers are used in the creation of Flower Essences to facilitate emotional or spiritual healing.  Perhaps these tiny purple flowers were trying to get my attention.  And so, I asked permission and was flooded with “What took you so long?” in response.

Suddenly, I could see lots of Heal-all plants on the next section of the trail which was bathed in sunshine.  So, I collected the flower heads of some of these, leaving most to provide seeds even though they are a perennial plant that grows by spreading stems which can also root at the nodes.  After a few minutes, I came to the end of these plants and then walked the rest of the trail where they were nowhere to be found.

We walk a loop in the forest and repeat part of the trail on the way out.  When I came to the first section of the trail where I had collected leaves, I thought that maybe I should have collected flowers instead of just leaves.  I second guessed myself.  So, I reached out for the first flower I saw.  My glasses were a bit steamed up from the sweat on my face but as soon as I picked the flower, I felt the sharp sting of a wasp or bee (who love these plants) in between my third and fourth fingers on my right hand.  I dropped the flower and yelled “Ouch.” 

I didn’t want a big, fat, swollen finger and so my mind clicked into gear.  I was in the middle of a natural pharmacopoeia.  What would help?  Obviously, Self Heal has an antiseptic quality for wounds, so I grabbed a leaf, crushed it up and rubbed it on the sore spot.  Then I picked up the flower head that I had dropped so it didn’t go to waste.  What next?  There is lots of Curly Dock in this part of the trail.  It is good to settle down Stinging Nettle stings.  Why not?  I picked a leaf, crushed it up and rubbed it on the sting which was building in intensity.  What else?  Mud is good for a wasp sting and I didn’t know what had stung me.  So, I stooped down and collected some cold, damp, sandy mud from the trail and packed it onto the sting.  I could feel the bite calming down now and I started to walk again.  Quite quickly, I came across a patch of Jewel weed leaves which are an antidote for Poison Ivy.  I cleared off the now warm mud and applied a number of crushed Jewelweed leaves onto the area.  After a couple of minutes, I was back at the car and my hand no longer hurt at all.  There was no obvious swelling either.

I reflected on the experience once the pain was gone.  I had not asked permission to pick the flowers from that section of the plants.  I had asked for leaves only.  The sting was a good reminder to be a respectful harvester.  I have to admit that I did not ask permission to take the leaves that helped me once I was stung.  The plants seemed to offer themselves like kind aunties once I was injured.  And yes, I was grateful for the healing and for the lesson.

Once at home, I washed the leaves which were a bit sandy from the splashing rain that shot sand onto them last weekend.  Then I laid them out to dry.  I have more than I can use for myself, so I will share them with others.  I carefully took the tiny flowers from the flower heads and put them into spring water that I had poured into a ceramic bowl that my daughter made for me.  Then I put it out into the sun which can help transfer the flowers’ essence into the water. 

In this time of global pandemic and global healing, these flowers have offered themselves.  I discovered that this plant is also called Heart-of-the-Earth which is quite beautiful.  Over and over again, Earth offers us healing despite what we are doing to her.  Our healing is critical so that we can right our relationship with her and she like a good mother is offering her help.  It is my job to accept that help and allow my natural ability to self heal take over.