I just had to share these photos of the herb Chaparral in rare Spring bloom in the desert. It’s also called creosote and the Latin Larrea tridentata.

Historically, the leaves were used as a resinous tea for bad coughs by pioneers. In the 1990’s some people took too much via capsules, bypassing the tongue’s ability to reject a drink, and hurting themselves to the point of needing liver transplants. Some people took it to help their liver, but what is unclear from my own thorough research is whether people already had liver issues before taking it, how bad they were, how much they took in capsules, and whether the chaparral was the problem in some mixtures. Frustratingly, the reports on Pub Med don’t list these very necessary details on an herb that we were warned against using in herbal school due to supposed safety issues.

I made a weaker than recommended, short term brewed tea (10-15min), and it was still very strong to take. (Always listen to the tongue!) I did not take it long. I had been guided to take this hot herb in meditation, and my digestive issues involved diarrhea, what in Chinese medicine is called dampness. It seemed to fit, and it was only for my own use.

But looking back, what I think I may have needed then was the “spirit” of the plant- In meditation on my health, I saw a red haired, jaunty happy woman with a triangular curly haircut. I heard “Larrea” as a word. My life was very difficult then, with an imbalance of joy, and thus image fit the bill. Perhaps I should have meditated with it instead of drinking it! (For more about this see my video lecture Plant Spirit Medicine on YouTube, iTunes Podcasts, my LibSyn.com podcast page (search Transform Health), or others audio only on SoundCloud and Stitcher.)

I hope you enjoyed this article, and that it shows you a little more about me. To learn more about herbs, you could search that word or click on the Categories at the bottom of the page.