Passport
Slower preparations, often medicinal or topical rather than purely food — and a closing note on plants as a kind of first aid.
Infusions, oils, and tinctures extract a plant's properties
into a liquid base over time, rather than preserving the
plant itself to eat later. These are often used topically
or in small medicinal amounts rather than as food,
continuing the thread from section 10.3.
The simplest infusion: steeping dried or fresh herbs — yarrow,
lady's mantle, linden flowers, all introduced in section 10.1 —
in hot water for several minutes. This is the same basic
principle behind every other infusion in this section,
just with water as the base instead of oil or alcohol.
For topical preparations, dried plant material is steeped in
a carrier oil over several weeks, often in a sunny window or
gently warmed, then strained. Black poplar buds, introduced
in section 10.1, are traditionally infused this way to make
a balm of Gilead style salve, useful for minor skin irritation.
Tinctures use a high-proof alcohol as the base instead of oil,
typically steeped for several weeks and then strained.
Alcohol extracts somewhat different compounds than water or oil,
and the alcohol itself acts as a preservative, giving tinctures
a notably long shelf life compared to other preparations here.
As covered in section 10.3, a poultice is plant material mashed
or lightly heated and applied directly to skin — comfrey is
the classic example, used for bruises and minor strains.
Worth repeating clearly here too: only for closed, unbroken skin,
never on an open or actively bleeding wound.
Infusions, oils, tinctures, and poultices are suited to minor,
everyday complaints. They are not a substitute for medical
attention when something is serious, doesn't improve,
or gets worse. Use these as one small part of caring for
yourself, not as the whole of it.
Eleven topics ago, this course began with attending — noticing
what's already around you, starting with what you have.
It ends here, with plants offered back to you in small,
practical ways: as food, as tea, as a salve for a sore muscle.
None of this was ever about mastering a fixed body of
knowledge. It was about building a relationship —
with land, with plants, with your own attention —
that will keep changing for as long as you keep returning to it.