HERB - Herb Class Help Needed

[Roberta R Comstock]

The first medicinal herb I learned about when I was about Cub Scout age
was shepherd's purse (_Capsella bursa-pastoris_, mustard family).

Other easily identified plants that might be of interest:  garlic,
onions, & chives (_Allium spp._, lily family), plantain (_Plantago major,
plantain family), mustards (_Brassica spp._, mustard family), slippery
elm (_Ulmus rubra_,  elm family), dandelion (_Taraxacum officinale_
composite family), 
and mullein (_Verbascum thapsus_, figwort family).

When teaching any group about identifying wild herbs, I always make sure
to show them how to identify poison ivy (_Toxicdendron radicans_, _Rhus
radicans_, cashew family), and any other common dangerous plant of the
local area - such as poison hemlock (_Conium maculatum_, parsley family)
and stinging nettle (_Urtica dioica_, nettle family).

This is also an opportunity to introduce them to use of field guides.  I
usually have several on hand for them to browse through and compare the
arrangement of the plants within the books.  Some beginners like books
that are sorted by flower color, but My personal preference is
taxonomical order.   Tell them what you like, and why.

The Rodale Herbal has a good discussion of the main plant families to
which most of the common herbs belong ( if memory serves, that would be
the mint, parsley, rose and composite families).

Hertha

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