Common Name: Monkeyflower
Botanical Name: Mimulus spp.
Energetics: Neutral to Cool, Sl. Moist
Actions: Relaxant nervine, anti-depressant, anti-inflammatory, vulnerary, anodyne
I’ve talked about Monkeyflowers before, and am loving them just as much now. I really wish I’d made more tincture or least dried more of the plant for infusions, seeing how abundant they are especially at higher elevations in this area. Anyhow, I’m still amazed by this plant’s special ability to relieve certain kinds of depression, especially cases typified by paranoia, phobias, oversensitivity and simple fear. There’s a particular feeling of joylessness combined with fear and vulnerability. It’s also a good general mood lifter for mild depression and seasonal affective disorder. I haven’t worked with it extensively enough to discuss its use in more serious cases of depression, but hope to come back to that at some point.
I also really like it for pain, especially nerve pain, with anxiety, irritation and depression. It often takes the pain down a notch or two while relaxing the entire system and making everything just ~feel~ better. It’s certainly a sunshine plant, and can impart feelings of joy, openness, compassion and friendliness. It helps bring the sunshine inside, you might say.
It makes a great poultice and salve too, by the way. I like it with Evening Primrose leaf/flower, Elder flower, Alder leaf and Plantain for a lovely green salve…. it also makes a nice nerve healing balm when combined with St John’s Wort and Sweet Clover.
Monkeyflowers are most common to the American West (particularly in California), but there’s at least one species that can be found throughout the East as well. I have only used our particular species (M. guttatus, also called Seep Monkeyflower or Spotted Monkeyflower, that grows throughout the West and parts of the NE), and can’t really speak to the effectiveness of other varieties, but I do know that M. pilosus has been used effectively by earlier herbalists such as Harvey Felter. If you try it out, do let me know….
Effective Pairs & Triplets for Formulation:
With Lemon Balm for mild or seasonal depression.
With Golden Smoke (Corydalis aurea) and California Poppy for any kind of nerve pain, especially when accompanied by tremors and a anxious, restless gloom.
With Wild Rose for trauma, fear or paranoia, especially in women, children or individuals who feel extremely vulnerable. I keep this particular combo on hand at all times.
With Evening Primrose for stress/emotion triggered asthma, and depression from gastric causes.
With Sweet Clover for sciatica and other neuralgias.
With St John’s Wort as a nervine, mood lifter and gentle liver support. Also a nice combo for nerve damage, sciatica and so on.
With Milky Oats for feelings of anxiousness, crispy critterness, and burnout with symptoms of heat and nervous irritation.
With Vervain for headache, neck tension/pain and moodiness.
With Damiana and Rose (say 3 parts Monkeyflower and 2 parts Rose to one part Damiana) for a non-edgy energy lift and gently warming nerve tonic. You may not get the energy lift if you habitually use caffeine or other stimulants, so you may want to increase the proportion of Damiana in such a case.
The lovely people who came up with Wildcraft (my daughter’s favorite board game) over at learningherbs.com are putting on a free teleseminar with herbal fairy godmother Rosemary Gladstar on March 21st (you do need to sign up for their mailing list to get the details though). They also offer lots of other very cool free herbal resources (like an interview with Susun Weed) and information. John and Kimberly are down home and common sense, just like all the best herbalists, and their work reflects a great passion for sustainable botanical medicine and a healthy fascination with weeds. And really, who doesn’t love Rosemary?
So, it’s getting close to event and workshop season here, and I am frantically looking for new ways of getting the word out to people. Living out in the sticks can make it difficult to network, so we depend on our supporters, students, friends and readers (that would be you) for help. Word of mouth is the single most dependable way to let people know about the work we do here at the sanctuary and what we offer.
So please, pretty please, check out the announcement here, and please, pretty please, forward it to any friends or acquaintances (and maybe a few accomplices) that might be interested! This year we have three different six day long women’s workshops happening here in the canyon, and every single one of them includes copious amounts of medicinal plant teaching time, and endless herbal babbling by yours truly. And, you get the singular pleasure of learning about plants, medicine and primitive skills in a botanical sanctuary in the wilderness.
We’ll have more flyers available soon (would’ve been sooner if the computer hadn’t eaten them…. twice) for volunteers to distribute. And in case you don’t have access to a printer but still want to help post them, just write us and I’ll send you hard copies!
If you’re interested in attending any of our workshops, coming for a retreat, scheduling an internship or even wandering in for a plant walk, do go ahead and write us and let us know. The schedule gets busier later in the year, and we like to plan ahead when we can.
Thank you, thank you!
For the March Blogparty on Nettles hosted by Julie at Crow’s Daughter.
Stinging Nettle’s has a remarkable ability to rebuild and restore. Part of this comes from the fact that it is intensely nutritive, being dense with minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. Nettle’s nourishing properties have been discussed at length by many authors, perhaps most notably (and infamously) by Susun Weed in her excellent book, Healing Wise.
A less explored aspect of this common plant, is its capacity as an adaptogen and adrenal trophorestorative. According to Winston and Kuhn in their book, Herbal Therapy & Supplements, these terms can be defined a:
“Trophorestorative: An herb that nourishes, strengthens, and tonifies a specific organ or function. Considered”food for the organ”. Hawthorn, with its specificity for the heart and circulatory system, is a cardiovascular trophorestorative. Examples: fresh oat (nervous system), nettle seed (kidney).”
and
“Adaptogen: A substance that helps a living organism adapt to stress (environmental, physical, or psychological). “
My personal experiences with Nettle would indicate that both of the above terms suit this remarkable plant very well. Winston and Kuhn specify Nettle seed as a trophorestorative for the kidneys, and I believe they may also serve the same function for the adrenals as well. Dried seed, when taken (chewed well, or ground) orally, promotes a sense of clarity, wellness, heightened energy levels, reduced stress and seemingly increased lung capacity. They are especially effective for those suffering from severe burnout, resulting in profound fatigue, brain fog, chronic pain and alternating feelings of depression and intense anxiety. Nettle seed can lessen all of these symptoms, and sometimes eliminate them completely. For some people, they can dramatically effect or shift perception, promoting a sense of connectedness, well-being and mild euphoria. Physical and mental stamina is usually increased, and exertion may seem more enjoyable to the individual. Several people have reported having their sense of color brightened and expanded, probably due to the mood altering effects.
An overlarge dose may cause a sense of “speediness”, much like other tonic herbs such as Ginseng, so care should be taken that an appropriate dose is used. In sensitive individuals, this may only be a small pinch and can range up to a tablespoon. Others may need to take a teaspoon per day for a week or so to notice significant effects, although results are usually noticed within a few days. I recommend starting with a small dose and working up as needed. These seeds do not seem to promote any kind of dependence, and smaller and smaller doses are needed over time. Unlike simple stimulants, one does not “crash” on Nettle seeds when their effect wears off (usually 4-7 hours after ingestion), and appropriate rest and relaxation is actually often enhanced by their use.
Ingestion of fresh seeds my cause intense feelings of stimulation and can prevent sleep, so they should probably be avoided by those sensitive to stimulants, although fresh fully ripe seed tincture has been used in renal failure as a kidney trophorestorative by herbalists such as David Winston. Dried seeds are milder in action and more adaptogenic in action. Tincture of dried seed is also useful, though less ideal than dried seed since alcohol does not effectively extract the trace minerals. I’ve used the tincture much less than the whole seed, but in my experience most individuals only need 1-5 drops of the tincture for this application. This can be combined with tincture of fresh Nettle tops, to increase the restorative effect on the adrenals.
This particular use of Stinging Nettle is not yet well known or often used, so we must assume that there’s much more to learn and understand about its profound effect on the kidneys, adrenals and body as a whole. So far, the results have been very gratifying for herbalists already familiar with Nettle leaf’s gentle yet deep effect on depletion. I am personally very excited to continue developing my relationship with this common and endlessly versatile herb.
While Nettle leaf and root can be too diuretic (and therefore drying) for those already dealing with systemic dryness or yin deficiency, the seed seems much less drying and more supplementing in action. Nevertheless, care should be taken not to aggravate a dry condition, and practitioners may consider recommending a demulcent such as Elm, Flax or Mallow be taken concurrently with Nettle. A nervous system trophorestorative such as Milky Oat tincture may also be recommended alongside Nettle seed to quicken and deepen healing and restoration.
I’ve also written about Nettles several times over the last year, and here’s a list of a few of those posts:
http://bearmedicineherbals.com/?p=36
http://bearmedicineherbals.com/?p=41
http://bearmedicineherbals.com/?p=67
