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Page 4
6 PACIFIC NORTHWEST PLANTS
EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW
The largest of
the American
poplars, this
hardwood tree was
used by Native
Americans for food
and medicinal
purposes.
Street Roots • May 19-25, 2017
Wilderafter
The author o f ‘Pacific Northwest M edicinal Plants touts
nature’s potential to heal our bodies and our spirits
holistically, and working with the whole
STAFF WRITER
organism - and pharmaceuticals don t do
that. So what ends up happening a lot is that
cott Kloos has a profound affinity for
when you take a pharmaceutical to do
plants.
something, it then has another effect. New
diseases ride in on these supposed cures. So
He’s the founder and director at The
you’re not creating the foundations for health,
School of Forest Medicine, a founding
you’re treating a symptom in the moment.
member of Portland’s Elderberry School of
When you work with herbal medicines, we are
Botanical Medicine, and the owner of
looking to create the space
Cascadia Folk Medicine, a producer of small-
in the body where healing
batch herbal extracts.
can happen, and the innate
He’s spent the past two
wisdom of the body can
decades working with the
heal itself and bring a state
native flora of the Pacific
of harmony back, and that’s
Northwest, immersing
what I think of as a true
himself in the botany and
cure.
medicinal qualities of
The wild plant
regional vegetation and
population can’t sustain the
studying at the Herb Pharm
world’s population, so we
in Williams and with other
need cultivated plants as
master herbalists, such as
well, but wild plants carry
Portland’s Matthew Wood.
different energy with them
But it’s the natural world Scott Kloos is the author of “Pacific
that connects us with wild
that’s been his greatest
Northwest Medicinal Plants. ”
nature and the environment
teacher. Kloos said learning
where we live because they
directly from plants was
are shaped by the same
common among our
forces. So because of that,
BY EMILY GREEN
P H O T O B Y T H E R E ID S H O M E A /V IK IM E D IA C O M M O N S
Stinging
nettle, known
for the
stinging hairs
on its stem
and leaves,
has a long
history of
medicinal
use.
P H O T O B Y U W E H . F R IE S E A /V IK IM E D IA C O M M O N S
The state flower
of Oregon, this
shrub bears small
yellow flowers in
the spring
followed by
purplish-black
berries (see
Page 5) in the late
summer and fall.
S
a n c e sto rs c e n tu rie s ago,
P H O T O B Y N A T IO N A L P A R K S E R V IC E
This wild plant
with yellow
flowers has
long been used
to help relieve
mild to
moderate
depression.
St. John’s wort
P H O T O B Y F IR O O 0 2 /W IK IM E D IA C O M M O N S
This arborvitae
- not a true
cedar - is
known by
some tribes as
the “tree of life”
or “life giver”
because it was
used to make
shelter, food
and medicine.
H O T O B Y A L A N C R E S S L E R A /V IL D F L O W E R C E N T E R D IG IT A L L IB R A R Y
Several tribes
used this
common plant
for medicinal
purposes,
including as a
pain reliever, a
fever reducer
and a sleep
aid.
P H O T O B Y K IM B E R L Y K L IN E A /V IL D F L O W E R C E N T E R D IG IT A L L IB R A R Y
but along with humanity’s
connection to nature, it’s a
practice that’s faded away
over time.
His new book, “Pacific
Northwest Medicinal
Plants: Identify, Harvest
and Use 120 Wild Herbs for
Health and Wellness,” is an
approachable guide to
regional herbal medicines -
and to becoming
reconnected with nature.
At the heart of Kloos’ methods is his deep-
rooted respect for plants and their
surroundings, evident throughout his book.
In addition to teaching readers how to find,
harvest and use medicinal plants, Kloos
imparts his philosophies of ethical and
sustainable harvesting, becoming attuned to
the natural world and open to its lessons.
His book, released May 17 by Timber
Press, aims to teach beginners the
techniques of “wildcrafting.”
Kloos will be at Powell’s City of Books on
West Burnside Street at 7:30 p.m. Monday,
May 22, for a book signing and to talk about
medicinal plants.
Emily Green: Why should we make our
own herbal remedies when there are so many
pharmaceuticals readily available?
Scott Kloos: There’s a growing awareness
around the limitation of modern
pharmaceuticals, and many people are finding
out, unfortunately through self study and self
experimentation, that there are side effects.
Ultimately, the theory behind pharmaceutical
use is that there is a pathogen, and the way
to healing is to kill the pathogen.
In herbal medicine, we think about things
there is a whole other level
of healing which, for me, is
the deepest healing,
because I feel like a lot of
our disease as a culture
comes from a disconnect
from nature. These plants
not only heal our bodies,
but they end up healing our
spirit as well.
E.G.: You have said that
humanity has really come
out of touch with its deeper connection with
nature over the past 400 years. How might
someone reconnect?
S.K.: Because of who we are as humans,
and the way we’ve evolved with a deep
connection in nature and with plants, it’s
easier than people think. Sometimes people
come to my classes and they say, “I can’t do
this” or “I don’t know what I’m doing,” and
they’re surprised with how easy it is.
Basically you just have to find a way to
quiet the mental chatter and get out of that
mindset, and what I recommend to people is
to let your consciousness sink down into your
heart. There’s a way of perceiving with the
heart that is different from our minds that we
are so accustomed to. Just spend time in
nature, in that space - whether it’s sitting by
a creek with your back up against a tree or
while you’re walking - and just see what that
feels like.
There’s these practices that are coming
out now, I think in Japan they call it forest
bathing (shinrin yokuf There’s all this healing
potential just from spending time in the
See KLOOS, page 5