Identity Crisis

The very first step in learning about herbal medicine, is proper plant identification. We’re all living in the modern age of technology, so anyone who loves plants is sure to have one or five identification apps on their phone. A quick google search will reveal the top choices are PictureThis, PlantNet, iNaturalist, and LeafSnap just to name a few.

My personal recommendation is PictureThis, as I have found the most accurate information with it, but I also have PlantNet and have used it with a decent amount of success too.

But here comes the controversial bit – plant apps are for nature lovers not herbalists. Sorry, but that’s the simple truth. Of course, we all use them, but they are only step one in a series of stops we need to make for an appropriate identification.

Above all things, an herbalist must be forever mindful that the herbal remedies we make will be going into a person’s body and thereby must be safe.

The fact is that the plant world is outrageously vast, far more so than any scan on an app will allow. We must be ever vigilant of dangerous look-a-likes and use a multi-step process when working toward identification.

Here is the method I use every time:

1.     Step one after finding a new plant is to scan it.

2.     Step two is to scan in on a different app for comparison.

3.     Step three is to look up the plant online and find multiple respected sources that agree on the plant.

4.     Step four is to read the plant identification points from more than one trusted botanical educational site and match every point to the plant in question.

5.     Step five is to look up “plants that look like” the plant you have or “plants that are often misidentified as” the plant you have and then compare the identification points of those plants with the one you’re researching as a point of ruling them out.

6.     Step six is to cross check all collected information within your herbal library – and by this, I mean published books, and then do the same cross reference with all your varied and respected botanical and herbalist authors.

7.     Step seven is to then spend a considerable amount of time with the herb and the information you’ve collected. Study it well and learn how to use it appropriately.

8.     Step eight is to follow up with what you’ve learned by comparing your thoughts to those of other herbalist across platforms to see if what they are saying align with your own interpretation, and if not, why? 

This may seem excessive, but there’s no such thing as excessively informed. Once you have been informed, journal everything you’ve learned. The practice of herbalism is so broad that we can’t keep track of it all, so write it down. Doing this also serves another, beautiful purpose – your journals will become your lifeline and your very own hand-me-down library for generations to come. Your journals will become priceless to you.

 So don’t be afraid out in the wild, be vigilant and smart! See every day outside as a new foragers adventure waiting to be explored! I was once told that if you spend your life working at something you love, even if you never reach the heights you hope for, the worst thing that will happen is that you will have spent your whole life doing something you love. Given that as a road map to happiness, I could sure think of worse ways to spend a good long time than learning about amazing plants.