@@BackcountryHerbalist Leatherleaf Mahonia (M. bealei) is used in Chinese herbalism, but I haven't experimented with it myself. It has the same bright yellow inner bark as Oregon grape root, so I imagine they probably share much in common. Berberis thunbergii, Japanese barberry, is much more abundant where I'm living now, slightly north of where I see most of the leatherleaf. That one is more like common barberry than Oregon grape root, but still has bright yellow inner bark. I have a little bit I've dried.
Yeah I would guess they both have similar uses. I'll have to look into the TCM uses. Thanks for sharing about this! I haven't spent much time in the Southeast but would love to visit again. I harvested Gelsemium root last time I was there visiting a friend and have been experimenting with that.
Here in south-central Michigan some of our early spring greens reappear. Were harvesting chickeed for medicinal teas. Mullen is still available and dandelion and burdock root are plentiful. I did not know that alcohol will pull out astringent properties. When making tea from spruce I seep no longer than 5 minutes to help it not be too bitter. Do you know if vinegar tinctures are a bitter preparation? Would this work for preserving spruce and would it help with retaining the vitamin c in rose hips?
Thanks for sharing! I’ve never been to Michigan before. Cool to know that Ya’ll have the fall greens too. I think vinegar would be good for fall needles but spruce might be the exception- it has this wild camphor taste that comes out. Worth trying just a small batch to see how it is, though. Let me know if you do!
