The above picture is of a wild American Ginseng root harvested in Wayne County and preserved/extracted in locally made moonshine. (Photo courtesy of: © Sandra Cundiff, 2008.) Nathaniel's first herbal teacher, Taterbug, was a 'Sang digger and 'shiner who taught Nathaniel about wild edible and medicinal plants. Currently, Nathaniel uses organic grain alcohol to make herbal tinctures. He also makes cough syrups, salves, and other herbal preparations, and intends to offer a line of products to the public later this year.

POCONO NATURE FEST at Lacawac Sanctuary

Saturday, June 27th 10:00 am to 3:00 pm (walk at 2:30 pm) Lake Ariel, PA Call Lacawac Sanctuary at (570) 698-9494

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OUR HERBAL HERITAGE at Fort Delaware

All weekend of Friday July 31st through Monday August 3rd. Herb walks and presentations each day.

Narrowsburg, NY Call Fort Delaware at (845) 252-6660

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FESTIVAL OF WOOD at Grey Towers National Historic Site

Weekend of August 8th & 9th wild food harvest display at festival, with food samples. Walk at 11:00 am on Saturday.

Milford, PA Call (570) 296-9630.

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WILD EDIBLE & MEDICINAL PLANT WALK at Lacawac Sanctuary

Saturday, August 15th at 2:00 pm

Lake Ariel, PA Call Lacawac at (570) 698-9494

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MUSHROOM WALK at Damascus Forest

Saturday, September 26th at 11:00 am

Damascus, PA

~The Wednesday evening group at Clearwater Acres will be starting back up on June 10th at 6 pm. We will be spending more time outside identifying plants.

~The Honesdale group will continue as a series of classes for the summer:

Herb Class Series At the Honesdale Wellness Center

Nathaniel Whitmore will be offering a seven class series on botany and medicinal herbalism this summer at the Honesdale Wellness Center. The classes will be organized by botanical families (instead of by therapeutic properties of plants or body systems) in order to focus more on the plants themselves and to learn about botany in addition to herbalism. There will be seven classes of the following subjects:

~ Pine, Cedar, Ginkgo, and Ephedra Families (Naked Seed Division)

~ Rose, Bean, Carrot, and Ginseng Families (Rose Subclass)

~ Aster, Nightshade, Mint, Honeysuckle, and Figwort Families (Aster Subclass)

~ Buttercup, Poppy, and Barberry Families (Magnolia Subclass) & Buckwheat Family (Pink Subclass)

~ Witch Hazel, Hemp, Nettle, Walnut, Beech, and Birch Families (Witch Hazel Subclass)

~ St. John's Wort, Mallow, Violet, Willow, Mustard, Heath Families (Mallow Subclass)

~ Grass, Ginger, Sedge, Cattail, Arum, and Lily Families (Monocot Class)

The classes will be held on Tuesday evenings at 6:30, starting on June 16th and continuing every Tuesday with a couple breaks. The class dates are: June 16th, 23rd, July 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, and August 11th.

The classes will be held at The Honesdale Wellness Center at 602 Church Street in Honesdale, PA. The classes are by donation. (The donation is voluntary, but a suggested amount is $5 - 20 depending on your income level.

Contact Nathaniel Whitmore at (570) 224-0264 or (845) 887-4808 for more information. Or e-mail him at wathakes@gmail.com

You are welcome to come to as few or as many classes as you would like. There are obvious connecting threads that will be explored throughout the series, but each class is also a stand-alone presentation.

Additional Information / Explanation of Series:

In the plant kingdom, the scientific organization of plants includes grouping plants on various levels of relationship. These levels are phylum/division, class, order, family, genus, and species. For the study of medicinal plants recognizing relationships at various levels of classification can offer special insight to the nature of a particular species. In the series we will explore all these taxonomic levels, with a particular focus on the family and genus levels.

For example, the Genus Rosa contains many well-known species known as Roses. It belongs to the Rose Family (Rosaceae) that is in the Rose Order (Rosales) that is in the Magnolia Class (Magnoliopsida) that is in the Magnolia Division (Magnoliophyta) that is in the Plant Family (Plantae). Generally people know that there are many species of Rose. There is the Rugosa Rose (Rosa rugosa), the Sweetbriar Rose (Rosa eglanteria), the Wild Rose or Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora), and many more. Did you know that the Rose Family includes many well-known genera? Raspberries and Blackberries (Rubus spp.), Strawberries (Fragaria spp.), Apples (Malus spp.), and Pears (Pyrus spp.) are a important edible fruits from the Rose Family. The Prunus genus includes Cherries, Plums, Peaches, Apricots, and Almonds. Think about the blossoms of all these plants. With the exception of roses that have been domesticated, they are all very similar. They all, for example have five petals of the same quality on each flower. The Rose family also gives us many medicinal plants. The Agrimonies (Agrimonia spp.) and Cinquefoils (Potentilla spp.) are important astringents. In fact, when we look at the Rose Family as a whole we find many astringents, such as Blackberry root and Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris). The Rose Family also gives us Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) for the heart, and Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) as a "natural Aspirin" (the name Aspirin comes from the genus name that Meadowsweet formerly belonged to: Spiraea, a genus that includes some well-known shrubs).

Understanding that Apples, Strawberries, Cherries, and others are all in the same family deepens your understanding of those plants and of the world around you. Then, when studying the medicinal qualities in the species of these various genera, we can see some common threads, such as the astringent property. Considering that astringents are often used for bleeding and that herbs such as Hawthorn (for a wide range of cardiovascular issues) and Raspberry leaf (for the uterus) are used to benefit circulation, we again observe a particular quality manifesting in the family level. Such understanding helps the herbalist to remember general groups of plants for mental referencing, and it also helps the herbalist to simply appreciate more details of an herb, which helps in gaining insight into an herb's individual personality.

Nathaniel offered weekly classes for two years in the Honesdale area (originally in Bethany) until early this year. This class series is designed to pick up with those in-depth studies. The classes are advanced enough to benefit serious students of herbs, plants, gardening, et cetera. Anyone is welcome, however, and the material is simple enough that all serious students will benefit. Since participants will be at all levels of understanding it is important to realize that the more prepared you are for the classes, the more you will get out of them. Self-studying before and between sessions is encouraged.

Nathaniel Whitmore is a local herbalist who teaches about wild edible and medicinal plants and mushrooms, and about medicinal herbalism. He practices shiatsu and clinical herbalism at the Honesdale Wellness Center.