Harvesting and Drying Desert Plants

Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon spp.)

• Native to California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Baja California.

Energetics and Properties

• Warm and dry.
• Sweet, pungent, and slightly bitter.
• Vital stimulant, tonic, astringent, and relaxant.
• Decongestant, expectorant, mucolytic, anticatarrhal, bronchial dilator, carminative, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antioxidant, astringent, digestive, and disinfectant.

Uses

• Internally: Cough, cold, flu, chest congestion, urinary tract infection, gas, bloating, asthma, bronchitis, catarrh, cystitis, leucorrhea, vaginitis, diarrhea, dysentery, fever, hay fever, sinusitis, hemorrhoids, pharyngitis, laryngitis, pneumonia, pleurisy, rheumatism, sinus congestion, sore throat, smoker's cough, and tuberculosis.
• Externally: Broken bones, bruises, sprains, strains, fever, insect bites, stings, poison oak and ivy rash, eczema, sores, rheumatism, and partial paralysis.

Collecting and Preparation

• Gathered whenever fresh, green, and vibrant.
• In southern California, often in early spring; in northern California, late spring to mid-summer; and in Arizona, from April to November, depending on proper moisture.

Additional Information

• Yerba Santa means "Holy Herb" in Spanish.
• The plant can look brown and withered in early July, but vibrant in early November, depending on moisture.
• Prune fresh, flexible new growth at the end of the branch, gathering no more than 10% of the branches from any one plant.
• Dry the wooly varieties loosely in paper bags, and the resinous species on a screen or cloth in the shade, checking periodically to turn and mix.
• Strip the leaves and use as desired, discarding or using the stem with less effect.
• Yerba Santa can be used in decoction, tincture, fresh or dry, syrup, oxymel, wash, poultice, steam inhalation, douche, pessary, chew, and smudge.
• It is said to hold truth with integrity, anchored within a sense of rootedness, and is the epitome of tai chi, with a sense of neutrality and flexibility.

Learn how to properly prune, gather, and dry desert plants to ensure their health and quality. Understand the importance of careful handling and storage to prevent mold and damage.