Every Leaf Speaks Botanical Studies

Our upcoming events include a discussion about sci fi and climate change, an evening with two acclaimed memoirists, and a new project that examines modern patriotism. Plus, new Osher courses start soon! Click here to find out more: https://conta.cc/2O8aws4

Volunteer opportunities with Mojave National Preserve . Mojave National Preserve seeks Desert Rovers to join our rangers. Volunteers at Mojave foster meaningful connections between park visitors and resources. It’s also a great opportunity to live and work in an amazing area with great people. Volunteers will aid park staff with a variety of roles, including answering visitor questions, providing orientations and introductions at the Kelso Depot, roving park trails, picking... up debris, and helping with special projects. Desired qualifications include: Enjoy working with the public Good communication skills Required qualifications: Minimum commitment of 16 hrs. per week (weekends required) Work assignments are ongoing and negotiated given need and availability. If this sounds like an exciting opportunity to you, please contact us [email protected]. Thank you for your interest and passion for our public lands, 2701 Barstow Rd. Barstow, Ca 92311 [email protected] 760-252-6102

Thanks Mojave Desert Land Trust for conserving wild spaces. http://z1077fm.com/mojave-desert-land-trust-acquires-prop/

Mesquite bars gluten free recipe. Recipe starts at 4:46 in the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf0kwyWT7uw

Meet Castela emoryi a fairly endangered shrub/tree in California. A plant that also occurs in Az and MX. I am slowly working on adding more videos on my YouTube channel but editing is not my strong point. https://youtu.be/o3PJYlBpxqs

Symbiosis in nature and more reasons to appreciate ants. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlREaT9hFCw

This is some in depth information on Kava Kava from dosage, preparation from tincture vs aqueous extract to the importance of knowing what cultivar to use. Thanks Dr. Christopher Hobbs

The gleaming inflorescence of , Desert Lavender. We found a happy stand on flower on my birthday spent botanizing in the desert. It’s a drought deciduous shrub that is also sensitive to freeze occurring in the eastern Mojave, Colorado Desert, Sonoran Desert and into the south to Baja Ca. and into northern MX that attracts native bees, hummingbirds and other pollinators. The flowers and leaves are both aromatic and I actually prefer this shrub than the common lav...ender sold in the marketplace, in fact it is not within the same genus as common Lavender, . I have planted three and found that if I don’t use hardware cloth the jackrabbits love to consume the aerial parts of the shrub including the younger twigs. Check out end of the year Cactus Mart sale offering 20% off 5 gal. plants. Not sure if they have anymore Desert Lavender but I will soon be finding out as we are going to load up on more native plants! Forgot to mention that some folks will still call it by it’s former genus . Cactus Mart #condeaemoryi

American Botanical Council is having a free webinar tomorrow on Indigenous Plant Knowledge and how it’s contributing to cultural renewal. Keep in mind the time takes place EST.

PUBLIC COMMENTS will be taken December 10 for the California Department of Fish and Game meeting via ZOOM regarding thdidacy-periode request made by the Town of Yucca Valley, Palmdale and SBC for a conditional take (kill) coverage of the Western Joshua Tree. Click below for more info. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! THANK YOU! ... https://www.everyleafspeaks.org//public-comments-for-condi

Announcing the upcoming herbal online (zoom) series. Foundational Herbalism is an introduction to community herbalism. An online interactive course encompassing the fundamentals of Traditional Western Herbalism. The course is designed to introduce folks to herbal energetics, thermal energetics, herbal taste, herbal actions and how we can implement these into our botanical repertoire. Visit for more information... https://www.everyleafspeaks.org//foundational-herbalism-on See more

RED-BELTED POLYPORE (Fomitopsis pinicola) Common medicinal polypore used in several world cultures. Details of use are below. My new book, "Medicinal and Vision...ary Mushrooms, the Essential Guide" (Storey) will be available about the first week of February. You can pre-order it now on multiple sites and get a good discount. Introduction This beautiful and common polypore often grows on conifers throughout the U.S. and is also noted in Europe and many parts of Asia. The top is lacquered and can be melted with a flame. The spore-producing bottom surface is white consisting of many tiny pores, and does not change color with bruising. One of the best identification characters is a sweet aromatic smell from the fruiting body. This fungus is very hard and almost impossible to cut up when dried, outside of using a saw! Cut the fresh fruiting body into strips with a stout pair of shears and dry for later use. I have never seen it attacked by insects, so store in jars or bags after drying. The tea is aromatic, rather sweet and somewhat bitter, I consider it a tonic. USES The red-belted polypore was also known as Mech quah (red touchwood) by the Cree in Eastern Canada. They dried and powdered the fruiting body, making a paste with water and applying it to excessively bleeding wounds as a styptic. A half teaspoon of the powder was also steeped in water and taken internally as an emetic for purification (Beardsley, 1944). For most people, after cooking, it takes quite a lot in one dose to cause nausea. Up to 1 tablespoon/day should be fine, with 1 tsp as a daily maintenance dose. This mushroom was used by early 20th century physicians, as detailed in their most comprehensive text, King's American Dispensatory (1895). F. pinicola was recommended for persistent, intermittent fevers; chronic diarrhea and dysentery; periodic neuralgia and nervous headache; excessive urination; jaundice; and chills and fevers in consumptive patients. Use daily as a tonic to reduce inflammation of the digestive tract and increase general resistance, or as a cancer-preventative, though this use is not supported by scientific studies with humans. The tea is sweet and mild-tasting with a some bitterness. It is one of the most common polypores in many parts of the world. I have enjoyed it as a tonic beverage with the addition of ginger or licorice for a number of years. Though some consumers of the tea might think of descriptors other than "enjoy," tastes vary. DOSE Prepare a tea by boiling 10-15 grams/day for 30-60 minutes, or better, cook in pressure cooker on high for 30 minutes to release beta-glucans from chitin bonds, making them more water-soluble and bio-available. You can make enough tea for a week and store in refrigerator. For longer storage, make a double extraction, or a dry tea powder. Complete instructions with pictures in my new book. Not typically grown commercially.