A short lesson about Nature in and around Lexington, Virginia within the county of Rockbridge. Presented by Dr. Horace Douty #naturebeauty #nature #Lexingtonva
Great stuff. As a child in the 70’s, my pawpaw would take me on nature hikes behind the house, and rabbit tobacco was the second wild plant he taught me, first was yellow sorrel, which we called “sour grass”. Looking back, he was very careful to introduce me to easily IDd plants, of course because of the dangers that can be among them. He showed me how to make sapling whistles and many other things and instilled a love of the earth in me that remains to this day, and has continued into many other natural plants and fungi. Rabbit tobacco will always hold a special place because that little herb got me and him in a lot of trouble with mom…..at 8 or 9, he taught me how to roll a cigarette with it using the old brown paper grocery bags. Of course, I got caught smoking it, and we BOTH got a real good chewing out, lol. Thank you for reminding me of such wonderful memories, even though they tend to come with tears attached. May God bless you this day and always.
I love these lessons,I had never heard of rabbit tobacco.I love learning about something that has been around forever,but new to me.I couldn’t believe the smell.Thanks for the lesson!
It grew profusely in North Alabama around cotton fields where it was allowed to reseed annually. I never smoked it but heard tales of many who did. I had no idea there were so many medicinal uses. Thanks!
Interesting. I did not know it grew around cotton fields. Like cotton fields, Rabbit Tobacco is disappearing. I encourage folks to plant seed. You can purchase online. I am experimenting this year. It's tricky to grow. If this initial effort fails, I will try again. Almost every plant I research has some medicinal uses or edible parts or some benefits. The natives of every country on earth knew more on these subjects than I suspect any person alive today. We all need to educate ourselves! Best wishes, Horace
I have smoked it rolled in brown paper bags also which my father taught me. He said as a kid people did it all the time. He was born in December 1923 so he would be 100 yrs old now. Thanks for the video because few people know about this herb.
I have received an incredible number of comments on Rabbit Tobacco. Many older folks are very familiar with it. I am one of the older ones - and took it for granted. Now it has become rare because of losing its growing environment. What a loss to the younger generation! I hope as people learn about it, they will protect and encourage spaces for it to grow and flourish. Thank you for your comment and watching. Hoping you still can find a patch to enjoy! Best wishes, Horace
Well this is awesome!! Just came across your channel. As a kid growing up in Arkansas, we used to pick rabbit tobacco and chew it and even put it in an old pipe and smoke it. My parents also showed us how to identify sheepshaw. We used to chew those leaves too. Thats the only two i can remember as a kid that we used to chew the leaves on except for honeysuckle flowers, we would pick them and pull the middle long thing out and suck the juice out of the flower from the end.
I'm 71 and when I was a kid staying on the rez with my grandparents us kids used to chew rabbit tobacco and occasionally "tried" to smoke it. The dried leaves have a strong black pepper favor and when we chewed it for too long it would make our tongues sore.
What a great childhood! Sounds similar to mine. Children need patches of Rabbit Tobacco to explore! Thank you for your comment and for watching. Best, Horace
I'm going to look for some...I am up north of you quite a bit but still in the "Carolinian Zone"...There are many other plants and trees that we have in common with you. Middle of Jan. and we just experienced a real taste of winter for the first time this season.
Good luck. Clean farming is discouraging Rabbit Tobacco. I had to plant some at my house last week. Needs at least 2 months of cold weather to germinate. And we are certainly getting cold weather! Thanks for watching and your comment. Best, Horace
Yes, all of the above. Plus, chewing. It has been used medicinally for thousands of years to treat dozens of ailments. Thanks for watching and your comment. Best wishes, Horace
