On the top-selling herbs list for 2023 (the most recent data), the herbs in places #19-21 were Tribulus terrestris, Pycnogenol (an extract of Pinus pinaster), and garlic. Today we continue our series on commercially popular herbs, and share our views as herbalists on the actions, benefits, and applications of these ones.

The pine extract is an interesting item, given that it’s not an entry for the herb itself but rather for a specific proprietary extract from one species. It’s true that this extract has been well-studied and shown to exert good effects, but it’s also true that pine is much more than this one product.

Today’s trio also offers an excellent opportunity to apply herbal energetics to help us critique and navigate marketing hype. While tribulus is very popular as a body-building aid, its cooling nature tells us that it is most helpful for those who already run hot. Garlic is the polar opposite of that. While garlic is very famous for its capacity to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, these effects are not as straightforward in a hot, dry, tense body – garlic could cause adverse effects for such a constitution. So, looking through the lens of herbal energetics remains one of our best methods for matching the right herb to the right person.

19. Tribulus – Tribulus terrestris

• Tribulus terrestris at Examine.com
• Gokshura (Tribulus terrestris) at Herbal Reality

20. Pycnogenol® – Pinus pinaster

• Pine bark: cardiometabolic health (Herbal Reality)
• HHP 205: Herbs A-Z: Pinus & Plantago
• Pine wallpaper for phone & desktop

21. Garlic – Allium sativum

• Garlic at Herbal Reality

Every herbalist should understand energetics, and be able to apply them effectively. Our Energetics & Holistic Practice course has all the info you need to understand herbal actions, qualities, tissue states, and constitutions. These critical concepts set herbalism apart from other healing modalities and are essential to effective herbalism.

Like all our offerings, this self-paced online video course comes with free access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, lifetime access to current & future course material, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more!

That course is one part of our Community Herbalist program. This program prepares you to support your family & community with holistic herbal methods.

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Mutual aid projects are a natural place for herbalists to gravitate, and setting one up in your community is easier than you think! Our mutual aid startup guide is a free resource we offer you to help with this. You can download it right here:

Mutual Aid Startup Guide

In today’s episode we want to emphasize two key things about this: First, it doesn’t have to be an enormous undertaking. You can start with a small circle of friends, and build from there. The keys are consistency and continuity of communication.

Second, getting started can be very simple! So often, people feel hesitant to begin – thinking they need a fully fleshed-out concept and perhaps some financial backing before they start. But mutual aid can be something that fits into your schedule and that lifts you up instead of burning you out.

We discuss three examples to show what mutual aid can look like at different scales: a small personal support network, a medium community fix-it club, and a larger community disaster response team.

We hope this episode inspires you to get started, and if you have any questions, reach out to us!

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Use code HAWTHORN at checkout to get 20% off!

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

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You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Our semi-annual 20% off Sale is active now!
For the entire month of July,
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Sussing out herb-drug interactions is complicated! In this episode we take the example of Celexa + skullcap, and demonstrate the process of investigation we’d use to sort out whether a proposed risk is real.

We start with the Botanical Safety Handbook, because it has certain features which make it significantly better than other manuals or databases. These include the varied relevant experience and skills of the editorial team, its clarity about real vs theorized reactions, and other critical data points which are directly relevant to the herbalist’s practice.

Checking one resource isn’t sufficient, though. We also need to consider the fact that ‘absence of evidence is not evidence of absence’, and remember that constitutional variations can significantly change the efficacy of a given herb for a particular person. Information outside of scientific studies – such as the popularity of an herb or the prevalence of a drug, as well as traditional practices with plants – can help us to orient ourselves more precisely.

For further education about herb-drug interactions:

• Herb-Drug Interactions & Herb Safety – our complete course on this subject teaches you all the ins & outs of identifying potential interactions, avoiding them, and conducting reality checks on information you encounter about these risks.
• The Botanical Safety Handbook – our #1 resource for this information.
• HHP 101: How Herbs Are Different From Drugs – a key episode of our podcast, these concepts are helpful when learning how HDI may occur.

Everything’s on sale in July!

All our offerings are self-paced online video courses. They all with free access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, lifetime access to current & future course material, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more!

Use code HAWTHORN at checkout to get 20% off!

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Our semi-annual 20% off Sale is active now!
For the entire month of July,
use code hawthorn at checkout
to take 20% off all our online courses!

On the top-selling herbs list for 2023 (the most recent data), the herbs in places #16-18 were saw palmetto, cinnamon, and echinacea. In today’s installment of our best-sellers series, we share our views as herbalists on the actions, benefits, and applications of these herbs. All three are long-term residents on the market report’s top 40 chart, and there’s no reason to expect that to change in the coming years.

In this series of episodes, we’re working to present you with the perspective of a practicing clinical herbalist on these very popular plants. In the form of supplements, they’re among the most-taken and most-asked-about herbal remedies for the modern population. Their presentation in the marketplace, though, is generally quite restricted and limited in comparision to both historical and contemporary herbal practices!

These herbs are “good for” more than just what’s on their packaging. Let’s break them out of their pigeon-holes and appreciate their depth & complexity together!

If you’re new to studying herbs, these episodes will armor you with protection against “herban legends” and misinformation about these plants, which is sadly very common throughout the internet of today.

If you’re already a practitioner, well, you know how valuable materia medica study has been, is, and will ever be! Because these supplements are so popular, you can expect many of your clients to be taking them already, and to ask you about them when they come to see you. Best to be prepared.

16. Saw Palmetto – Serenoa repens

• HHP 158: Saw Palmetto Doesn’t Discriminate On Gender
• The Historical Interplay of Plant Biology, Trade, and Human Interactions with Saw Palmetto, Steven Foster

17. Cinnamon – Cinnamomum spp.

• HHP 182: Herbs A-Z: Citrus & Cinnamomum
• HHP 048: Pumpkin Spice – That’s Herbalism Too!
• HHP 035: Cinnamon, Vanilla, & Cacao

18. Echinacea – Echinacea spp.

• The 3 types of echinacea: A comparison of medicinal actions, Ruth Weaver (Herbal Reality)
• Gangrene averted by Echinacea, C.S. Whitford (1908)
• The sustainability of echinacea within herbal medicine, Jonas Brab (Herbal Reality)

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Bandaids are undeniably handy, and there are plenty of situations where they do the job that needs doing. But there are also lots of times when a wound is too big, too irregular, or too sensitive for a bandaid to be the best choice. That’s where bespoke bandaging comes into play! You can learn bandaging basics really quickly – yes, even through podcast audio – and that’s what today’s episode is all about.

Bandages are extremely versatile and customizable – even without getting a dozen different types of gauze and pads. Truly, a box of 2″ and 4″ roller gauze, plus some gauze pads and micropore tape, is plenty for most situations you’ll run into. For the purposes of practice, they’re all you need to get started.

When you’re practicing your bandaging technique, your big goal is to make the bandages neat, secure, and yet still allowing for a normal range of motion. The best way to get good at this is to practice. The best way to practice is to get some friends together for a “mummy party”, where everyone gets bandaged by everyone else!

We’re highlighting first aid herbalism on the podcast all month. You can use the discount code FIRSTAID during checkout for $25 off of our Herbal First Aid course for the month of June (2025)!

Our Herbal First Aid course has plenty of video showing you bandaging techniques, tips, and tricks! It also teaches you all the fundamentals of working with herbs for acute care. Wounds, burns, sprains, bites & stings, and emotional first aid needs can all be addressed with herbs!

Like all our offerings, this self-paced online video course comes with free access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, lifetime access to current & future course material, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more!

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

When putting together a bug-out bag in case of emergencies, don’t forget your herbs! Just like a first aid kit, a go bag is best when you construct it according to your specific needs, and the needs of people you’ll be with. This isn’t a “one size fits all” situation!

The same goes for circumstances when you need to shelter in place. A ‘stay-in stash’ is just a go-bag without the go. It’s an orderly, intentional accumulation of all the things you’ll need if the power goes out for a week, or you can’t leave your home for an extended period of time.

Herbs, food, and ‘everything else’ all need to go in there – and don’t forget water! In this episode we discuss what to include, what to avoid, and ways to keep your stock rotating and fresh for a moment of need.

Mentioned in this episode:

• HHP 233: Emergency Readiness Needs A Meal Plan
• FEMA App

We’re highlighting first aid herbalism on the podcast all month. You can use the discount code FIRSTAID during checkout for $25 off of our Herbal First Aid course for the month of June (2025)!

Our Herbal First Aid course teaches you all the fundamentals of working with herbs for acute care. Wounds, burns, sprains, bites & stings, and emotional first aid needs can all be addressed with herbs!

Like all our offerings, this self-paced online video course comes with free access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, lifetime access to current & future course material, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more!

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Just like checking your stock of remedies in the apothecary, herbal first aid kit maintenance is one of those things you need to carve out time for – at least once a year! It’s June, which is the kick-off to summer adventure and here on the east coast, also hurricane season. In other regions, wildfire season is already started, and even without a disaster, summer means more bumps & bruises – so it’s the perfect time for us to be focusing on first aid and updating your kit.

Your kit might need updates if your health needs change, or if different people enter your circle of care. Sometimes old remedies need replacing, or you find a better system to organize everything. Your first aid kit is like a garden – it needs tending to be at its best.

This month we’ll be sharing lots of first aid information on the podcast. Let’s start off with your first aid kit. If you have one, it needs maintenance. If you don’t have one, this is the time to build one! This episode has everything you need to do both.

Use the discount code FIRSTAID during checkout for $25 off of our Herbal First Aid course for the month of June (2025)!

Our Herbal First Aid course teaches you all the fundamentals of working with herbs for acute care. Wounds, burns, sprains, bites & stings, and emotional first aid needs can all be addressed with herbs!

Like all our offerings, this self-paced online video course comes with free access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, lifetime access to current & future course material, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more!

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

This is the second half of the Disaster-Proofing your Herbal Business theme.

Economic uncertainty is part of business – but there’s so much you can do to make sure your business stays strong throughout the ups and downs.

In the previous episode, we covered the first three steps in the work of diversifying your revenue streams and your product/service offerings to make sure that your herbal business keeps growing!

In this episode, we’re talking about expanding both your offerings and your target audience so that you can broaden your reach into more markets. This takes some creativity and some market research, but don’t worry! It’s not hard to do and this episode has plenty of tips. The most important take-away is that if you stay flexible and try several different ideas at a small scale to see what gets traction, shifting your business with the economic conditions becomes a lot less challenging.

Most importantly though: you don’t have to do all this alone! Join our Herbal Business Program and let’s do it together! Not only will i personally help you, but you’ll also have access to our private community of herbal business folks – so that you get a nurturing peer support group as well!

The Herbal Business Program covers every aspect of GMP compliance, as well as every other part of running your business, from getting registered, paying taxes, and getting insurance to building your website and marketing without selling out – even hiring employees!

All of our courses include twice weekly live Q&A sessions and you can ask questions in the discussion thread attached to every lesson – we answer them ever day! Plus we have a student community where you can get support from other business herbies too!

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Economic uncertainty is part of business – but there’s so much you can do to disaster-proof your herbal business and make sure it stays strong throughout the ups and downs.

This episode is the first three steps in the work of diversifying your revenue streams and also your product/service offerings to make sure that your herbal business keeps growing!

We’re focusing here on how to shift your marketing so that your products/services remain essential as people tighten their budgets, as well as shifting which products or services you offer to make sure that you really do remain essential! In order to do that, you’ve got to really know your customers, and so we’ll talk about exercises for how to do that, too. Taking the time to gather some data will help you to stay relevant and survive the budget cuts!

And if your business is still in the planning stages, that’s great – that means that you can be structuring your business to be economically resilient right from the start.

Most importantly though: you don’t have to do all this alone! Join our Herbal Business Program and let’s do it together! Not only will i personally help you, but you’ll also have access to our private community of herbal business folks – so that you get a nurturing peer support group as well!

The Herbal Business Program covers every aspect of GMP compliance, as well as every other part of running your business, from getting registered, paying taxes, and getting insurance to building your website and marketing without selling out – even hiring employees!

All of our courses include twice weekly live Q&A sessions and you can ask questions in the discussion thread attached to every lesson – we answer them ever day! Plus we have a student community where you can get support from other business herbies too!

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

In our fifth installment in this series, we address the facts & fictions about ginkgo, guarana, and maca supplements in commerce! These were #13, 14, and 15 on the top-selling herbs list for 2023 (the most recent data).

This series is all about sharing an herbalist’s understanding of herbs very popular as commercial supplements and other mass-market products. We want to share perspectives of both traditional and contemporary herbal practice, so people can understand these are “good for” more than just what’s on their labels.

It’s too easy for herbs to be boxed in to smaller and smaller ranges of application when they’re commercialized. This is an antidote to that movement!

For practicing herbalists & clinicians, it’s very important to know well those herbs which are most commonly consumed. Your clients will ask you about them, or be taking them before they even visit you – so you’ve got to know what they do! You might be able to give advice about a better remedy, or a compensation for some effect of the plant. This can help your clients just as much as a new recommendation, so don’t neglect it.

If you’re new to herbalism, this can also serve as an inoculation against “herban legends” and misinformation – which is rampant on today’s internet.

13. Ginkgo – Ginkgo biloba

• HHP 139: Six Herbs for Cognitive Decline Prevention
• HHP 047: Tinnitus & Headaches

14. Guarana – Paullinia cupana

• Guarana at Examine.com
• Guarana in King’s American Dispensatory (1898)

15. Maca – Lepidium meyenii

• Maca at Examine.com
• Maca at Herbal Reality

Find the previous episode of this series here:

• (Part 1): Psyllium, Elderberry, Turmeric, Ashwagandha
• (Part 2): Apple Cider Vinegar, Cranberry
• (Part 3): Wheatgrass, Beet Root, & Ginger
• (Part 4): Green Tea, Fenugreek, Ivy Leaf

Whether you’re a brand-new beginner or an herbalist with experience, it’s always helpful to study the herbs in depth! Our comprehensive presentation of herbal allies is in our Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica course. It includes detailed profiles of 100 medicinal herbs!

This self-paced online video course comes with access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, lifetime access to current & future course material, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!