California School of Herbal Studies

Plant People:
Folk Herbalist Rosemary Gladstar

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Featured Herb

Cleavers
Galium aparine
Rubiaceae

the plant: This sprawling, leggy annual - the 'velcro plant' - adheres to surfaces using the tiny hooked prickles that cover the plant's aerial parts. Rings of blade-shaped leaves are spaced inches apart along the square, weak stems that creep the plant across the ground or clinging to whatever is around. The small white flowers bloom at the end of small, slender stalks.

Originating in Europe, cleavers are found growing wild throughout North America, and the tiny tendrils of this early spring green are expanding now in the garden and across the woodland floor at Emerald Valley.

parts used: Aerial parts

medicinal actions: diuretic, alterative, anti-inflammatory, tonic, astringent.

preparation: Fresh plant tincture, tea infusion, juiced or blended as beverage (freeze fresh juice for later use)

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Upcoming Classes

Wild Edible Mushroom ID & Walk Friday evening, Jan. 3 & Saturday, Jan. 4
Handcrafted Herbalism 2020(9 month weekend course) March 14 - November 8, 2020
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Herbal Medicine Making for Beginners March 28 & 29

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about CSHS

Located two miles west of Forestville, in beautiful Sonoma County, the California School of Herbal Studies is one of North America’s oldest centers for herbal education. Founded in 1978 by Rosemary Gladstar, and led today by School Director Rebecca Maxfield along with a skilled and dedicated staff of teachers, CSHS continues in the spirit in which it was created.

Our mission is to help create sustainable communities by providing Earth centered, community based herbal education. CSHS works to empower individuals with the skills, experience and confidence needed by the community herbalist. Our school teaches from the tradition of western herbalism, with a materia medica primarily made up of North American and European herbs. Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine perspectives and herbs are used to complement the Western tradition.

Our full-time, Roots of Herbalism intensive offers students a broad-based foundation in herbal medicine. For those who can't make a fulltime commitment we also offer a broad range of weekend series courses and one-day workshops. Successful graduates of our intensive program go on to the second year Community Herbalist Program and leave here with the knowledge they need to enter and contribute to the field of herbalism. Upon graduation students receive certificates of completion that are highly regarded by the herbal community.

CSHS is located on a lovely, rustic 80 acre sanctuary known as Emerald Valley. Our campus includes a classroom with an adjacent kitchen, a one-half acre garden with over 400 herb species, a medicine making building and forested hiking trails. Forestville is an hour and a half drive north of San Francisco. Visitors to the school are welcome, but please call first so we can be sure someone will be available to greet you! We look forward to meeting you and sharing friendship and herbal experiences.

Featured Herb: Cleavers (continued)

Indications: A cooling and astringent diuretic plant that acts in a purifying, clearing way as a lymph tonic, and topically as a skin-soother. One of the best remedies for swollen glands, cleavers can help with many lymphatic issues like edema or swelling. It combines well with urinary demulcents to relieve painful bladder & urinary irritations, stones & gravel, or other obstructions.

Cleavers also has powerful topical uses for the skin: the tea or fresh plant is a soothing remedyfor dry types of ailments like psoriasis, eczema and sunburn, as well as burns, boils and poison oak rashes. Both internally and as a poutlice, cleavers is a good treatment for inflammation due to its purifing diuretic actions. Traditionally cleavers has been valued for ulcers and tumors as a poultice as well as internally.

Pliny is quoted as saying "A pottage made of Cleavers, a little mutton and oatmeal is good to cause lankness and keep from fatnesse," revealing a long-honored personality as a detoxifying, clearing & reducing herb.

contraindications: May cause skin irritation during harvesting.

note: This information is not a replacement for a trained herbalist. Please consult your medical professional before treating yourself or others with this or any other herbal remedy.