Standing silently and beautifully in abundance along my favourite wooded track.
This plant ally always holds a great silent majesty to me and I always have to reach out and tickle this beauties little white dangly butternut squash flowers that hang so elegantly from the stem.
Eaten in small amounts The root of this plant is so tasty, like Brazil nuts and bamboo shoots.
The root is also available to harvest without killing off the plant or next years growth.
The root runs along the ground, level with the surface. If you reveal the root you may notice a little upward pointing nubbin in front of the plant, this will be next years growth, behind the plant is all the past growth points.
So as long as you leave a hands length of the past growth root that lies behind the plant and harvest from that point on, you shouldn’t damage the plant.
The root is bone like and has what looks like knuckle points on it, which are the past years plant growth.
The medicine of Solomon seal has been used for years to help bruising and to stimulate tissue repair. This plant ally is also an invaluable connective tissue anti inflammatory.
Be aware that the berries are toxic and the whole plant contains a very very small amount of a toxin (that Lilly of the valley contains in higher amounts) so this plant is best used with caution and in small amounts.
Inspiring Plant person and herbalist Jim McDonald has a brilliant and informative write up about this plant on his website. Describing in detail the medicinal benefits and usage. If you don’t know Jim McDonalds work you should look him up, he is incredibly inspiring.
Reference Brigit Anna McNeill, https://brigitannamcneill.com
Tree Weaver 