Yerba Santa
Eriodictyon californicum
Early may I decided I wanted to have some girl time with my friend Iz. She lives on the edge of a BLM land, tons of untouched mountainside to hike and wild-craft from. I had a couple beers and pizzas while hanging out and watched some pretty shameless chick flicks.
The next morning she left for work leaving me to do my first solo wild-crafting experience. Unfortunately when I woke up I went through an intense detox mode where I soon became very intimate with my friends bathroom. I had only had three beers and yet my body acted as though I sloshed through a kager. This happened because I became severly dehydrated because of the dryer climate of the mt. st. helena mountainside. Also, I did not drink any water the night before. Falling asleep next to a dry, hot fire didn't help either. My body had to process that alcohol without any water in my system to help.
I have an awesome intuition. For some reason I knew I would need a coconut water, so I purchaced one before I left. I drank that, and filled it up with water about 4 more times. The electrolites in the coconut water saved me! Then I took a nice long bath, and drank more water. Then I decided the earth could help me if I just asked. So I walked outside and grabbed some herbs to make a tea. I knew I was going to journey to find yerba santa, so I figured I should utilize the medicine I was seeking. I grabbed a large gummy wad of yerba santa from the back yard of my friends amazing cabin. I walked around more and grabbed some mullein, and some of my favorate chocolate mint. I made a decoction of those 3 herbs and sipped on 2 cups of tea. I finally felt totally perged of whatever my body did not want in there as well as totally hydrated.
I finally left for my 5 hour trek. I wandered around and played at each spring, to keep cool and plus I'm by myself so it doesn't matter how long I take, so I take my time. I wanted to collect some indian warrior, but alas most had gone to seed. I decided to trek farther up the mountainside where there may be a grove of yerba santas and also where the indian warrior may still be in bloom. Finally when I had walked to the point where I thought it was about time to turn back because of water concerns I found the grove. A nice shaded area right below the tree line where it is dry and the yerba santa grows happily. I had picked from this spot a year before with a group of friends and they had picked from there a year before. These were bushy and full yerba santas. I collected three heavy bags and also found enough indian warrior to soothe my achey back after a long hike.
I had some pretty spiritual connections with the earth on this particular hike. I think it may be because I had just detoxed and I was super clean and fresh. I was also healed by my bitter yerba santa decoction and felt that it brought me to a whole new vibration.
Yerba santa is an evergreen bush that stands usually from 2-6 feet tall. It has a sticky and shiny resin that covers a dark green long lance shaped leaf. The upper side of the leaf is dark and resinous while the underside undersides are greyish yellow and is felty . The Eriodictyon californicum species that grows in that region have small tubular white to a pale lavendar color flowers.
I brought the three bags of yerba santa home and Matt showed me how to make a distilation of herbs. We made 1 gallon of beautiful and refreshing hydrosol. I spray it on myself after a shower every day and take small sips of it to totally make a shift in your lungs and heart which gives an almost euphoric clearness for just a moment. But I guess you have to use it all pretty quickly because Matt made a distilation last year and it already smells off. The fresh stuff is amazing.
Yerba Santa is a member of the waterleaf family (hydrophyllaceae), most members of this family grow in cool and moist places. Yerba santa's does have a relationship with water but it's mixed with fire as well. With it's tough resinous leaves it conserves and protects its water inside to survive in the intense fire hot environment. Yerba santa's seeds are the happiest right after a good fire tears through a forrest.
This herb is used as a water element regulator. Yerba Santa coats the mucous membranes and holds the aqueous component in contact with the cells, reestablishing mucopolysaccharides. It is a bronchio-dilator and an expectorant. Great for asthma or allergy issues. This can also be used medicinally by smoking the leaves.
Yerba Santa was highly valued by many California tribes including the Salinan, Ohlone, Miwok, Pomo, and Yokuts who continue to use it for various medicinal purposes. The Spanish who came to early California were so impressed with the plant that they gave it the name Yerba Santa, meaning holy plant. Yerba Santa was introduced to the Spanish Padres at Mission San Antonio de Padua by the Salinan tribe and it became one of three major medicinal herbs used at the mission. Yerba santa leaves and flowers were used to treat fevers, coughs, colds, stomachaches asthma, rheumatism pleurisy, and to purify the blood. The Kawaiisu drank Yerba Santa tea instead of water for a month to treat gonorrhea.Leaves were smoked or chewed to relieve asthma, coughs, colds, headaches, and stomachaches. Heated leaves were placed on the forehead to relieve headaches and other aches and sores. The sticky leaves conveniently stay in place upon the skin. Mashed leaves were applied externally to sores, cuts, wounds, and aching muscles. Mashed leaves were also used to reduce the swelling and relieve pain caused by bone fractures. Yerba Santa, used alone or combined with other herbs, was applied to infected sores on humans and animals. The branches and leaves were burned in steam baths to treat rheumatism. The Ohlone wove the leaves into skirts and aprons. http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_erca6.pdf
