Herbal Skill: Safely Harvesting Herbs in the Wild

Herbalists are plant people. They don’t just learn about how plants work for therapeutic purposes, they also study how plants grow. Many of the successful medicinal herbs are wild plants. Learning to harvest wild plants safely is foundational to successful herabalism. For more information about endangered herbs in your area contact United Plant Savers

Here are some important rules for safely harvesting wild medicinal herbs

• Make a positive identification from at least 3 independent sources before harvesting, including at least one regional field guide.
• Harvest at least 25 feet away from country roads and 50 feet away from busy highways.
• Ensure that the plants have not been sprayed with poisons before harvesting.
• Get permission to harvest on private land that is not your own.
• Ensure that the plant you intend to harvest is not endangered in your area.
• Take no more than 1/3rd of the flowers, leaves, or roots from plants in a given area.
• Use what you take. Take no more than what you will use.
• If you take flowers, spread seed first, to ensure the survival of the colony.
• Replant the seeds of wild plants in your own garden for future harvests.
• Some plants are so rare and endangered that they should never be harvested for medicinal herbs. Learn what these plants are in your area.
• Some plants are protected and it is illegal to harvest them in the wild or to take them over state or country borders.  Understand which plants these are so that you don’t run afoul of the law.