The Plantain Weed with Mel Mutterspaugh

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If you love practical herbalism, you're really going to enjoy this episode with Mel Mutterspaugh about the many, many gifts of the plantain weed (Plantago spp.)! Mel shares so many simple and practical ways to work with this abundant and powerful herb that you'll undoubtedly walk away with some new recipes and methods to try for yourself.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► Why Mel says, “When in doubt: plantain.”

► A fun way to introduce kids to the plantain weed for little ouchies or bug bites

► How a plantain moment wowed an initially skeptical, “manly man” carpenter

► How Mel is working to fulfill her mission to help there be an herbalist in every home

You’ll also receive instant FREE access to Mel’s fabulous tea blend, Wild Weedy Respiratory ReLeafy. Even herbalists who consider the plantain weed one of their all-time favorite herbs to work with admit that plantain tea isn’t the best-tasting brew. But Mel has created a blend that brings you plantain’s medicinal benefits while tasting good too. This is one to know for the cold and flu season!

If you aren’t already familiar with her, Mel is a clinical herbalist, environmental educator, founder of the herbal products company, Mountain Mel's Essential Goods, podcast host at The Herbalist's Path, and most importantly, a mom to a fun and silly 9 year old daughter.

Mel’s enthusiasm for and knowledge of the plantain weed and herbalism for parents is deep and wide. I’m thrilled to share our conversation with you today!

-- TIMESTAMPS --

• 01:24 - Introduction to Mel Mutterspaugh
• 02:37 - Mel shares her path to becoming an herbalist
• 05:53 - Why Mel chose the plantain weed (Plantago spp.) for this episode
• 08:05 - Working with Plantago major vs. Plantago lanceolata
• 10:34 - Plantain for healing leaky gut syndrome
• 14:23 - Plantain for insect bites or stings
• 17:18 - Mel’s tea blend recipe: Wild Weedy Respiratory ReLeafy
• 20:23 - More on why plantain is such a powerful herb to know and work with
• 23:47 - Mel shares her current project: Apothecary Momma
• 31:03 - The big misconception about herbs Mel sees over and over again

Download Your Free Recipe Card!

Connect with Mel

• The Herbalist’s Path | https://www.theherbalistspath.com/
• Cold & Flu Busters download | https://www.theherbalistspath.com/ColdFluBustersRosalee
• TikTok | @theherbalistspath
• Instagram | @theherbalistspath
• Facebook | @TheHerbalistsPath
• YouTube | @TheHerbalistsPath

Transcript of the Plantain Weed with Mel Mutterspaugh Video

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Hello, and welcome to the Herbs With Rosalee podcast, a show exploring how herbs heal as medicine, as food, and through nature connection. I'm your host, Rosalee de la Forêt. I created this YouTube channel to share trusted herbal wisdom so that you can get the best results when relying on herbs for your health. I love offering up practical knowledge to help you dive deeper into the world of medicinal plants and seasonal living.

Each episode of the Herbs With Rosalee podcast is shared on YouTube as well as your favorite podcast app. Also, to get my best herbal tips, as well as fun bonuses, be sure to sign up for my weekly herbal newsletter at the bottom of this page.

Grab your cup of tea, and let's dive in. For those of you who love practical herbalism, you're really going to enjoy this episode. Mel Mutterspaugh shares so many simple and practical ways to work with the plantain weed that you'll undoubtedly walk away with some new recipes and methods to try for yourself. For those of you who don't know Mel, she's a clinical herbalist, environmental educator, founder of the herbal products company, Mountain Mel's Essential Goods, podcast host at The Herbalist Path, and most importantly, a mom to a fun and silly nine year old daughter. Well, welcome to the podcast, Mel. I'm so happy to have you here.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Thanks so much, Rosalee. It's an honor to be here. I'm really happy to be here.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Well, you first did me the honor of having me on your podcast, and we had such a great time. We were just hanging out, chatting, talking about all the things that you and I both love. So it's really exciting to have you here.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

It was really fun in that podcast to discover how many things we have in common with that really deep passion for nature and that connection. It's so important.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

So important, yeah, which I'm sure we're going to dive into today. But first let's hear about you, Mel. What got you started on this plant path?

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Yeah. Actually it was my connection and love for nature. So I was that kid always playing outside in nature, but I didn't have any idea that one day I would become an herbalist or anything like that. But I did start studying environmental and experiential education and outdoor leadership. And I really just wanted to connect everybody with the power of nature and how it gave me so much humility and passion and awe and love. And I became a backpacking guide and wilderness therapist and got paid to take people to all these beautiful places. And I found that everybody was carrying all kinds of toxic, nasty junk in their backpacks and first aid kits. So I was like, this can't be. We have to start making natural first aid kits for the outdoor lovers.

And I started diving into books and using other people's recipes and formulas, and that just kind of triggered in me like, hold on a second. These plants are on the same trails that these people are paying me to take them on, and then it just really snowballed into that. I started buying more and more books and taking some online courses. And I went to Breitenbush Herbal Conference. And when I went there, I connected with all these beautiful plant people. That's when I really, really knew this is what I've got to do. And ever since then, it's been a deep, immersive dive and continuous learning. I think that's what I love about it. I'll never be bored with the study of herbalism.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

I love that one of your entryways was Breitenbush, because that gathering is such a special gathering, very near and dear to my heart too. Even though I've only made it a couple times, it is a memorable experience.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Yeah. It's magical for sure, the connection, the people, the land, certainly beautiful. I haven't been out since after the fires yet, but I do need to go for sure.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

I love your "I bought a book and then another book," and I have this very distinct memory of I had 11 herbal books. And I remember I had them stacked all together, and I remember thinking, I am so rich. I have 11 herbal books. I just thought that was the coolest thing. I just remember that feeling of complete joy, of look at what I have. And I just referenced them all the time. All I did was pick up those books, pick up those books, and that's how I got started. Now I have a few more books.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

I know, I know. Behind me, there's a bunch of herb books there too. And I'm like, it's an addiction.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Yeah. But definitely one I'm sure a lot of people can relate to, just dipping your toes in and then taking the full dive.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Yeah, absolutely. It's definitely a question I get all the time. What books do you start with? And of course I have your books and so many others, and one of these days I'll have my own out.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

I have no doubt about that.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Yeah. It's exciting.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Well, for today, you chose one of my very favorite herbs. And although all herbs are my favorite, I don't say that every episode, so it's truly one of my favorites, one of the very first herbs that I learned, so very near and dear to my heart. I'm curious what brought plantain here for you today?

Mel Mutterspaugh:

It's also one of the first herbs I really started exploring and studying in greater depth. My first herb school program was at the Elderberry School of Botanical Medicine in Portland, Oregon. And we had to do an in-depth plant study, and I chose the plantain weed. And I think what has me talk about it here today is I'm one of those people in the camp of, when in doubt, plantain, because its claim to fame is the bee stings and the bug bites or the skincare, but you can use it to help heal and repair the damaged gut wall. You can use it to draw out infection, even mouth and tooth infections and snake venom and spider venom and just so many things. And it's a plant that is everywhere. I think that today, as herbalism is gaining in popularity, which is awesome ... It really needs to. One thing that is not awesome about it is it's also gaining this widespread, let's everybody go wildcraft everything and forget about the need to preserve these plants. But the plantain weed is so abundantly there. Most people are trying to kill it in their yards. If we can just raise that awareness of the power of this beautiful, beautiful medicine, then we can change the world.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Absolutely. Actually I have a lot of plantain weed growing in my lawn right now, and I love it so much. It is such a wonderful plant because it doesn't take a lot of care, and it's still soft because I like walking through the soft lawn. But now my lawn is mostly filled with herbs, the low growing type.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

As well it should be. Are you more Plantago major? The funniest thing is I don't have much for plantain weed growing in my yard. I do have the lanceolata, but the major doesn't grow in my yard. I mean, I live on the Sandy River, and my yard is very sandy soil. So it doesn't grow well for me.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

I have both. And that's actually a great place. Let's start. What are these things you're talking about, Plantago major, Plantago lanceolata?

Mel Mutterspaugh:

So the Plantago major, I like to think of it primarily ... Well, they both are somewhat interchangeable. They are cousins, and one looks significantly different than the other. The lanceolata has very long lance-shaped leaves. So they're going to be anywhere from five inches to ... I've seen them almost up to two feet if I'm just guessing without a ruler. And they look significantly different to just the regular eye, but they have so many medicinal properties that are similar. And one thing I think of the major for is for mouth and tooth infections specifically. Due to the doctrine of signatures, like treats like, and the major almost looks like a tongue, if you look at the shape of the leaf. And so I kind of think and connect that, big helper there.

I like to use it with echinacea and spilanthes in a tincture and dilute it for a mouthwash for people when they've got major infections. I'm not sure if I completely answered your question in that way, but I do also know that I love to use the lanceolata with kids as nature's bandaid. It's nice and long. So you can chew up the leaves and put it on an ouchie here or a bee sting or a bug bite or whatever's going on, and then use that leaf as a bandaid, not the chewed one, a new one as a bandaid wrapped around the finger. And that is just so much fun to share with kids. They are always wowed by it.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

That was a great response. I was going for, they are two different kinds of plantain weed, but what you shared was much better than that.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

They are two different kinds of plantain weed, but they have very similar medicinal properties.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

I'm always interested to hear how people use them differently. I use them just interchangeably, but the doctrine of signatures that ... I call it an egg shaped, the Plantago major, looking like a tongue, that's brilliant. So thanks for sharing that.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

I learned that from one of my first teachers, Scott Kloos. He was like, this is for mouth and tooth infections. And I was like, oh, that can make sense. Such a great plant. I love it.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

So you've already shared a lot about how ... I mean all the many different ways of working with the plantain weed. Maybe we shouldn't say all because I think there is an endless amount, but many different ways. Is there any that you'd like to expand upon?

Mel Mutterspaugh:

I think one of the ones that absolutely blew my mind when I started diving deeper into the study of clinical herbalism, I was taking some classes with Paul Bergner, and he was also having us do an elimination rechallenge protocol that we would do with our clients. And he's who brought it to my attention that, as plantain helps with the tissues of the skin and the respiratory tract, it's also extremely helpful for the digestive tract. So if you're looking to heal, most disease that is derived in the gut and from leaky gut, if you're willing to do all of the other lifestyle changes that it takes, plantain can be an amazingly effective herb to help heal and repair all that damaged gut wall and the leaky little areas. Didn't go into that very eloquently. But that's what I love about the plantain weed. So many people are seeking the gut healing, and they forget to look at this very, very simple and abundant herb.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

And how do you like to work with it for the gut healing aspect?

Mel Mutterspaugh:

I put it in a tea, just because you're not introducing more alcohol to the gut. Another way I love it is powdered with some calendula and powdered marshmallow inside some really good apple sauce. So those that don't like a tea but love a tasty little apple sauce can really get a lot of cooling anti-inflammatory benefits to that. That's also going to heal and repair that damaged gut wall. It's super powerful. I used it in one of my teas, digest ease. It was just amazing. The results I would hear from people with that blend were just blown away.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

I've never thought of that or heard of that with the powder and the apple sauce. That is brilliant.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

I'm not going to claim that one. That's a Paul Bergner thing.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Oh wow, nice. The tea of plantain can be kind of intense, especially in larger dosages. It's not a super strong tasting plant necessarily, but once you dry it and start adding more and more to it, it does have kind of a bitterness to it that's not like, yum. That's not what people say after they drink plantain tea.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

No, they definitely don't say yum. And I think that's one of the fun things to do, the more you get into using plant medicine, is to learn how to make that yum. I know you talk about that a lot through a lot of your programs and classes that you share, but the yum factor I think is really important. And it can be really, really challenging, but the yum factor is what allows more people to use plants as medicine on a more daily lifestyle basis. So it can be done.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

It can be done. I don't think we could say enough about the plantain weed for healing the gut. You're mentioning leaky gut or intestinal permeability. I think for me, I recommend or personally rely on plantain for any time there's anything that might come up, even just minor or major digestive inflammation or prolonged diarrhea, post colonoscopy, when then intestines have just been flushed out and kind of gone through some trauma there. It's like plantain, plantain. And as you mentioned, the calendula marshmallow too is a wonderful combination.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Plantain, it's just one of those herbs that you can say, what do I have on hand? Plantain? Great. Let's use it. I can't think of very many times when I wouldn't want to turn to plantain. Can you? I'm curious.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

That'd be a tough one. I mean, really there are so many fabulous, fabulous uses for it. Even, so many people get started in herbalism or at least their eyes opened to the plant world with the bee sting remedy. And that's kind of what the plantain weed is initially famous for. Just last year I retested that. It had been a while since I had got a bee sting. But I was out in the garden, and I got a couple of horse fly bites, which those hurt.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Yeah, they're so pesky.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

They hurt bad. And so I got those on my arm, and I was like, oh, I'll just do a little test. And I'll chew up some plantain weed and put it on one and compare them. And it was just so dramatic the difference between the two. And I was just staring at my arm being like, whoa, that is just amazing. It's so different. Even after all these years, I'm still like, God, that's so cool. And then after a while I was like, oh, I should probably just put some plantain weed on the other one now too because the other one was still throbbing and hard and red, everything, and the other one had pretty much gone away. And I was like, oh yeah, the experiment is over now. I can just do it.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

I can actually heal myself now. This is great. I think that's so funny. I can absolutely relate to what you're saying right there. You can study these plants for years and years and years, and then you know what they're doing. You can utilize them in practice. You can see them do their work, but yet you forget how powerful they are or what they can do for you. And you have to retest. I don't know. I continuously get my mind blown by them.

When I was formulating all my products for my product line that I had, I formulated them like 14 years ago, and I would completely forget about what's in them. And then I would hear from somebody how much it impacted their health and their life. And I'd be like, why is that? And then I'll go back and try the blend or look what's in my formula. And I'm like, oh yes, these plants do work. They're really, really powerful. It's funny. I don't know why I turn back to that, but I do.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Well, and that's one thing to repeat: plantain's good for bee stings or whatever stings, and another thing to get to live that again and again.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

It's one of those plants that my daughter has known since she was really, really young, and she'll teach her friends. But I remember we were at the park one time, and she was three, and her friend got an ouchie. And she walked over to a completely beat down, walked on, beat up plantain leaf and brings it over to her friend. And her friend's parents are looking at her like, what is your kid doing? I'm like, I right now am winning as a mom because my daughter knows how to use this plant. And it was just the coolest thing ever, and to this day she knows it so well.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

I love that so much.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

It's a beautiful thing to share.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

All right, so plantain, we've covered bee stings. We've heard how powerful it is for the digestive system. I'm really excited to hear about your recipe, wild weedy respiratory relief-y.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

I get pretty cheesy with my names on things. I can't help it, but I wanted to share this one because we've talked, like I said, about the skin and the digestive tract, which are all mucosal tissue, which are very similar to the mucosal tissue of your respiratory tract. And the plantain weed can be a really great, helpful herb in that department as well. It's slightly demulcent and can just provide a lot of help when it comes to having a dry, irritated scratchy throat. And when I created this recipe for this show, I was recovering from my first battle with COVID, and I was using plantain. And I use some other friendly herbs in there because, as you were saying, plantain is not delicious. But you can add other herbs in, that are really going to enhance the medicinal benefits and the flavor. So I did plantain leaf and elecampane root and marshmallow, all which are powerhouses for the respiratory tract. But then for yumminess and flavor factor, I added in anise seed and fennel seed.

I love to use licorice root in this blend as well. I absolutely love licorice, but it's not a great herb for anybody dealing with high blood pressure or who is pregnant or dealing with edema. So you can use the licorice root optionally. So this is kind of a big conglomeration of herbs that I had on hand. And I was like, this dry sore throat is not helping, and I want it gone. So I also put in some mullein leaf. I did some Western coltsfoot, which grows abundantly where I am and then lungwort, the lichen, which is another one of my absolute favorite respiratory friends in the world. So it's a little bit sweet, and it is super duper cooling and just eases that yuck factor from a dry, scratchy, irritated throat.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

And I don't know if we said, this is a tea blend, right?

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Yes.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

And I can imagine it just being very soothing and coating. Those dry coughs, they can just be the worst.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

They're super uncomfortable. And I was supposed to be teaching classes and recording podcasts, and I'm like, I can't talk. But the blend really, really helped a lot, and it was not disgusting to drink either.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

A Win-win.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Absolutely.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Thank you so much for sharing that recipe with us. And for the listeners, if you'd like to download your free recipe card and handout, then you can click the link above this transcript. Now what else would you like to share about the plantain weed with us, Mel?

Mel Mutterspaugh:

It is an herb to get to know. It is an herb to use. I love to dry some each year when the leaves are nice and young before the flowers are really up and doing their thing. You can add it to salads and your food early in the spring, if you wish. You can make a tincture of it.

I have a really fun story. I was having this friend of mine build us a new woodshed on our property, and he was this rough and tough carpenter, manly man, mountain man. And we were making him dinner, and he comes in, and he's like, "I've got this splinter in my thumb, and it's just not coming out." And I'm like, "Great. I've got some plantain tincture. Hold on." And I could see him looking at me like, okay, crazy hippie, Mel, whatever, sure, I'll do it. And so I got a cotton ball with some of the plantain tincture, and I put it on his thumb, and we continued to chat and babble as dinner was being made. And 15 minutes later, I'm like, "So how's that splinter?" And he was like, oh, I completely forgot. And he takes off the bandaid or the cotton ball, and the splinter comes right out on the cotton ball. And his mind was just like, boom, no way. I think I turned him on to plant medicine from there on. It's just so cool in that way.

Another time I had used it, I was out hiking in the woods around my property, and I got a big thorn from a blackberry shrubbery in the back of my leg. And I didn't think anything of it. I'm like, whatever, I don't care. It's just whatever. And I ignored it for several weeks until I look back, because it was in that area of my calf where you just don't really look at. And it was red and swollen, and I'm like, okay, Mel, this is getting infected. You need to do something. And so I did the same thing with the plantain tincture and put a cotton ball in a bandaid over there and took it off a little while later. And this just ginormous blackberry thorn came out of my leg. It's just such a cool, cool plant to work with, and just the fact that it's there for you. It's all over the place. It's known as white man's footprint because people cannot get rid of it wherever we step. You can find it in sidewalk cracks. You can find it on the side of the road. It's in your neighbor's lawn. It's amazing. Just try not to chew the ones that you think maybe your neighbor's dog peed on or anything like that.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Good call.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

I think I can and I will talk about the plantain weed for the rest of my life, but I don't want to just bombard your whole show.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Oh, there's so much there. I've never used the tincture and cotton ball before. I've done more complicated things like mixing plantain tea or tincture with clay and then putting that over the area or doing a poultice. But I'm going to try this, because that sounds way easier.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Super simple.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

So easy. So that's great.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

The clay poultice is a great way to go too though. But if you've already got it preserved and ready to rock, why make more mess, right?

Rosalee de la Forêt:

No, I'm always down for simple. Absolutely. Well, Mel, I'd love to hear about what projects you're working on these days.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

I'm pretty excited about my next project. I'm creating a program called Apothecary Mama, and it's just going to be a go-to resource for all the moms out there that are seeking more natural remedies and how to use them in a safe and effective way, without getting super overwhelmed by searching Google all day long or checking out the latest meme to find out what's the best thing to do and then finding out that it may not work for you. So really excited about that. We've been building that out on the back end, and so far it's looking great. And it's one of those things I wish I had when I was a new mom.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

That sounds so important. Since I'm not a mom and didn't work a lot with the mom population in practice, that's not an area of my strength. So I get a lot of questions. Is this safe during breastfeeding? Is this herb safe during pregnancy? And I have seen, like you said, the memes, the Facebook groups, where a lot of just really poor information gets shared in both camps, both the, "take-this miracle, tt's for everybody, it'll change everybody's life, by the way, I'm selling it." To "all herbs will kill you if you take it," the other side of, oh, you cannot do anything, no herbs during pregnancy, no herbs during breastfeeding. And sometimes it seems like people will be like, wait 10 years after you give birth, and then you can take herbs again. I mean that's some of the fears around that. So having a trusted source is so important and also just the overwhelm. I mean, when you hit the online world, trying to get that crowdsourced advice, it can seem so nice at first, like, whoa, and then it's just such overwhelm.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

It really does get overwhelming because you'll hear five people say, take this herb. They really have no context behind why to take that herb. And then the next person will be like, nope, you can't take that herb. It's toxic. It'll kill you, or something just ridiculous. And I just wanted to create Apothecary Mama so that more moms can start to use plants as medicine in a really safe and effective way, because I know the curiosity is out there. There are moms that are dying to know this information, and they're overwhelmed in Facebook groups. They're overwhelmed by searching Dr. Google, because you can look on there, and you can see 10 answers to one issue on the same Google page. And then some person says, use this plant, and five other people say it. And then there's the person that says, oh, I heard that plant is toxic. How do you navigate that information, especially when you're a busy mom who's got to do the laundry and pick up the kids when they're crying and take them to their sports and all of the things?

So I just really want to help. I'm on a mission to help there be an herbalist in every home, and there's no better person to start with than mama, who can then pass that down to her kiddos, and they can make remedies together. And she can share with that kiddo why that plantain is so important to know inside the park. This information used to be passed down from generation to generation, and it's our job today to continue to make that happen. So I just want to have safe resources for mamas, from pregnancy all the way to emptying the nest for all the many, many issues that come up during that time of life that tend to always fall on mama's shoulders.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Wow. That's a wonderful mission. Very well stated, Mel.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Thanks. It's exciting. And as you know, it's a good bit of work to create it all, but super, super worth it.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

So is this going to be a database, or is it a course?

Mel Mutterspaugh:

So it's a little of both. It's going to be a course where we teach them medicine making, all your basic medicine making skills, doing it folky ways and bringing more of the science and measurements and structure into it. But then it's going ... So that's the primary foundation so they can build off of that. And then I'm going to have a whole section where it's based on life stages, so starting with pregnancy to infancy, to toddler years, the primary years, and teens and tweens, as they go through all of the hormonal wacko-ness that is bound to happen, just the different things that happen in those phases. We share the herbs that you can use.

I share a recipe for ... Let's say there's cradle cap you're dealing with, and there'll be a little quick lesson where I'm like, this is what's happening with cradle cap and why it's happening. These are the kinds of herbs that you can choose to use to help this issue. Here's a recipe I've used, but here's really more the knowledge on how you can choose other herbs, especially if you don't have something on hand that's in the recipe. That's where I think moms can really get wise and intuitive and have this peaceful, inner knowing that they're doing the right thing for their babies and their kiddos. So I'm going to have it by life stages, and then also by body systems. So let's say we go back on that cradle cap. You can go into skin issues, and you can search cradle cap. So it's basically a lifelong encyclopedia for moms.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Cool. That's awesome.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Yeah. I'm excited for it. And then we're also going to do live monthly calls where they can ask an herbalist, basically.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

And for folks who are interested, where's the best place to get more information about Apothecary Mama?

Mel Mutterspaugh:

You can check me out at TheHerbalistsPath.com. That's the best place. We're still building it out, as I was saying. And I do a lot of things on TikTok these days, also under The Herbalist's Path. I've been having a blast over there, which I never thought I would do, but it's really fun. And I get a lot of communication and get to help a lot of people over there. It's really fun.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Oh, wonderful. Any other projects you're working on right now, Mel?

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Yeah. I've actually got a cold and flu busters from your kitchen cabinet free download for your listeners. I just think that we kind of underestimate the power of the medicine that we already have on hand. And if more people start to understand that even our food is medicine, including the spices, then we're going to have a better world. You don't have to go out and spend tons of money to start your herbal apothecary when you understand that you already have one. So that can be found at TheHerbalistsPath.com/ColdAndFluBusters.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Yeah. Perfect. I'll put that link in the show notes as well. Thanks for sharing that with everybody, Mel. Well, before you go, I have one last question that I'm asking everybody in season five. And that question is, in what ways do you think herbalism is misunderstood by the general public?

Mel Mutterspaugh:

This is a big one, and there's a few ways I could look at it. But I think one that I feel needs to be addressed and spread more out to the masses is thinking of herbs as we think of Western medicine, like you can take this herb to fix this problem. I know you hear it all the time. I hear it all the time. "Hey, Mel, what herb can I take for XY disease?" or whatever may be going on with them. But the reality is that these herbs are extremely complex and that you are extremely complex. Your symptoms are really complex. And learning how to balance and integrate those together so that the plants can work best for you is really, really powerful. And it's completely understandable why people think of this because we are raised with this Western medicine mentality of, you take this pill, and it fixes this problem, never mind the long list of side effects that may or may not come up in your body. But that's how we're taught to think about things.

And just if people could understand that it's significantly more complex than that. There are energetics of the herbs and energetics of your body and of the symptoms you are dealing with to work with in that whole realm. So I could go on and on and on about that, but that's a big one for me that I think is really misunderstood in our whole entire industry. That, and you see it all the time, the meme thing. This herb's going to cure everything. And it gets passed around, and suddenly it becomes this gigantic fad herb. And one thing that comes about with that is that fad herb then gets completely raped and pillaged from the land and comes to a point where the only way to really sustainably source it is to either grow it yourself or to ensure that you're gathering it from a really high quality organic herb farmer. But it's sad because then those plants are going away for future generations, and we need these plants.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Those are two very good points. And like you said, the plantain weed is not at high risk for being over harvested, but so many plants are. It makes me think of this one time I was looking at some kind of herbal ... It was mass produced herbal shampoo, and it had echinacea in it. And I was like, why is there echinacea in this shampoo? I mean, there's just no reason for that. And I can't even ... It was a mass produced shampoo, so I can't even imagine how many plants went into that. Even if it was the last ingredient and they were just putting a drop in, it was still too much because there's just no reason for that. But that's what happens when those plants get popular like that. Like you were saying, it's like they start to trend, and then companies want to jump in on that trend and be like, "Our shampoo has echinacea," and it's just not a good thing.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Yeah. It's everywhere, just like that. That's a perfect example. And you look at this formula, and you're like, whoever formulated this really has no idea what they're doing other than picking something trendy. It's really fascinatingly sad, I think.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

That was beautifully stated, Mel. Thanks so much for sharing that. Thanks so much for taking the time to be here. It's always a pleasure to be in conversation with you.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

It's an absolute honor to be here. Thank you so much. It's been really, really fun, again.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Again.

Mel Mutterspaugh:

Yeah.

Rosalee de la Forêt:

Thanks for watching. Don't forget to click the link above this transcript to get free access to Mel's recipe for wild, weedy, respiratory relief-y. Also available are the complete show notes, including the transcript. You can find Mel at TheHerbalistPath on TikTok and online at TheHerbalistsPath.com. If you enjoyed this interview, then before you go, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter below, to be the first to get my new videos, including interviews like this. I'd also love to hear your comments about this interview and this wonderful wild, weedy herb. I deeply believe that this world needs more herbalists and plant centered folks. I'm so glad you're here as part of this herbal community. Have a beautiful day.