I found this power point presentation on Christopher Hobb’s site. Thought I would pass it along:
http://www.christopherhobbs.com/webdocs/presentations/Herbs_for_Infectious_Diseases_files/frame.htm
this is super important - everyone should know atleast a few heat clearing/anti-microbial herbs in their bioregion. it is also important to know which herbs will support your immune system. these are especially useful for treating people who have underlying chronic deficiencies or who have been fighting off viruses/bacteria for an extended period of time.
my favorites for the PNW include usnea, oregon grape rt, cottonwood, reishi mushroom (app. & luc.).
other: yarrow, propolis, calendula, nettle (for def. types), plantain, etc.
i’ve seen some intense and widely spread skin infections (staph/strep) this year. learn how to take care of yourselves.
Thanks for sharing.
We have been using native herbs for lots of “ailments” for a few years now at the Porcupine Palace. My favorite is Turkey Tail. He have a couple of friends fighting cancer and HIV who have used it as well. We also use Devil’s Club (inner bark from stems) sparingly since it grows relatively slowly, Oregon Grape, and Western Red Cedar internally. We’ve used the Reishi relative Oregon Ganoderma as well but not much since turkey tails are so common around us and delicious. For topical infections (like the staph infections mentioned) we use a salve made with wormwood and concentrated western red cedar.
Plantain is awesome. I was a skeptic about medicinal plants until I got an infected cut on my leg and treated it with a plantain poultice. The infection cleared up within a couple of days.