What hidden stories of women are tucked inside this humble herb—linking old folklore, a touch of alchemy, and even today’s healing practices?

My guest today, Alyssa Dennis, invites us into the world of lady’s mantle (Alchemilla spp.), a plant whose cloak-shaped leaves hold both practical healing gifts and threads of ancient story. From her experiences in urban herbal sanctuaries to a life-changing encounter on the sacred isle of Iona, Alyssa shares how this humble herb invites us to see plants not just as remedies, but as storytellers and companions on the path of reconnection.

Alyssa’s favorite way to work with lady’s mantle is as a tincture, using just the right amount of glycerin to sweeten it up and draw out the toning, astringent nature of the plant. You’ll find a beautifully-illustrated recipe card for Alyssa’s Lady’s Mantle Tincture here.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► Why lady’s mantle is such a trusted ally for pregnancy, birth, and postpartum healing

► How the downy leaves of lady's mantle collect dew—and why alchemists once revered this process

► What makes lady’s mantle both an ancient wound healer and a modern digestive ally

► How myth, folklore, and modern ecology can come together to shape our understanding of plants

► and so much more…

For those of you who don’t know her, Alyssa Dennis is a dedicated earth activist, educator, interdisciplinary artist, and clinical herbalist devoted to the movements of peace, justice, and ecological kinship. Her work has been to reawaken to her ancestral traditions of plant medicine in order to guide her community back into relationship with the living world.

Alyssa has two fine art degrees, advanced training in clinical herbalism, and spent years within the natural building profession. She is the founder of Eclipta Herbal and steward of a vibrant herbal sanctuary in Baltimore City—a living classroom home to over 100 species of medicinal plants (and counting). This space is a heart-centered venture of ecological conservation—of both the human body and the land body—which serves as gathering ground for plant medicine education, community building, earth skills workshops, and collaboration.

I can’t wait to share our conversation with you today!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

Working successfully with herbs requires three essential skills. Get introduced to them by taking my free herbal jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book

Warrior, healer, and protector—could this common roadside plant be nature’s ultimate ally for both body and spirit?

In this episode, herbalist and educator Carolyn Jones shares about a plant often called the “mother of all wound healers”—yarrow (Achillea millefolium). I was so excited that she chose to discuss this plant, as it’s my herbal ally for the year and one I hold close to my heart. Although I’ve worked with yarrow for many years and already know it well, it’s such a multifaceted herb that, like a dear friend, there’s always more to learn about it.

Carolyn certainly didn’t disappoint, as she went well beyond commonly-known ways to work with yarrow for physical ailments. Her discussion of how yarrow can help to strengthen and heal us both spiritually and emotionally was so powerful and insightful, I know I’ll be mulling it over for quite some time.

The recipe that Carolyn shared with us is such a thoughtful, beautiful way to work with yarrow—with the intention not of getting rid of some challenge or affliction, but instead of calling forth a strength we might want to invoke: courage. You can download a beautifully-illustrated recipe card for her Medicine for the Soul: Courage Blend here.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► Five herbal preparations for working with yarrow, and the strengths and benefits of each

► How flower essences are prepared—and how yarrow flower essence can help to heal emotional wounds

► Yarrow’s history of ritual use for spiritual protection

► How yarrow’s blood-moving qualities make it uniquely supportive for relieving certain types of pain

► and so much more…

For those of you who don’t know her, Carolyn Jones is the founder of the Healing Project and serves as the coordinator of the Herbalists Without Borders’ Healing Project Mobile Clinic. A dedicated community herbalist and holistic health educator, she holds certifications in aromatherapy, flower essences, reflexology, and acupuncture detoxification. Carolyn is also an accomplished author and bereavement chaplain. Her published works include Pick Up Your Bed and Walk, a self-care guide for those pursuing a healthier lifestyle through herbal support; Incantations, an affirmation guidebook; and Medicine for Your Soul, which explores the trauma-informed healing potential of flower essences and hydrosols in combination with essential oils.

I’m delighted to share our conversation with you today!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

Working successfully with herbs requires three essential skills. Get introduced to them by taking my free herbal jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book

What if the “ordinary” marigold in your garden was actually a sacred plant with centuries of healing tradition behind it?

In this week’s episode, Texas-based herbalist Lauren Peterson shares how she first learned about the medicine of yauhtli (Tagetes lucida), an herb hiding in plain sight all around her. Commonly referred to as Mexican tarragon or Texas tarragon, this cheery little marigold is a common landscaping plant in Texas, and yet it has so many medicinal gifts (and it is oh so fragrant and delicious, too!).

There are many ways you can work with yauhtli, but Lauren’s favorite way to prepare it is an infused honey. This sweet, wonderfully aromatic preparation really makes it easy to take your medicine—and it’s so good, it even made my usually-reserved handsome French husband exclaim with delight!

Lauren shared her recipe for Yauhtli Infused Honey with us, and you can download your beautifully-illustrated copy here. (And if you don’t already grow yauhtli, this episode just might inspire you to go out and buy some seeds!)

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► Six medicinal gifts of yauhtli

► Three tips for growing yauhtli in your garden

► Why infused honey is one of Lauren’s favorite ways of working with yauhtli (and many other herbs!)

► How yauhtli compares to other marigolds—plus two ways to work with common garden marigolds (Tagetes erecta)

► The importance of forming community and making connections with other herbalists

► and so much more…

For those of you who don’t know her, Lauren’s passion for plants grew from her desire to deepen her connection with the natural world and nurture relationships that allow healing to take place. She began her herbal studies with Austin, Texas based Sacred Journey School of Herbalism in 2014, and now is a teacher and admin for the school. Lauren founded White Deer Apothecary in 2015 and continues to craft local herbal medicines, teach medicine making classes, guide plant walks, and work with clients one-on-one. Her favorite place is to be outdoors, in the kitchen, and on the dance floor.

I hope this interview with Lauren inspires you to look at the common plants around you in a whole different way. Who knows, maybe you’ll find your new favorite herb peeking at you from behind a rosebush in your neighbor’s front yard!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

Working successfully with herbs requires three essential skills. Get introduced to them by taking my free herbal jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book

Have you been missing this amazing and underrated mushroom? Chances are if you’ve ever gone out in the woods in North America, you’ve walked past the mushroom red-belted conk (Fomitopsis pinicola)—though you may not have noticed it. This ubiquitous, yet often-overlooked mushroom may not be well known among herbalists, but it certainly deserves to be! As this week’s podcast guest, Logan Keister, describes, there are so many benefits to working with red-belted conk, from aiding digestion to reducing inflammation, and so much more.

Logan also explains in detail one of his favorite ways of working with medicinal mushrooms: as a long-extracted mushroom powder, full of all the goodness of these amazing fungi. This preparation can be expensive to buy, but luckily it’s really easy to make yourself! We’ve got a beautifully-illustrated recipe card for Logan’s recipe for Mushroom Extract Powder to share with you; you can download your copy here.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► Four tips for identifying red-belted conk (and what to do to be sure the mushroom you’re finding isn’t a lookalike)

► How the red-belted conk interacts with and benefits other species living in the forest

► Six medicinal gifts of red-belted conk—and the type of person who may especially benefit from its support

► How medicinal mushrooms work together with your body to help prevent and heal from cancer

► Why mushrooms are best consumed cooked

► and so many other reasons to make mushrooms a part of your daily diet!

For those of you who don’t know him, Logan Keister is a clinical herbalist, educator, medicinal herb farmer, and permaculture designer, born and raised in the coniferous forests of Noti, Oregon. He has worked with many clients with a diverse range of health concerns over the years and helped them to address their concerns using the vitalist approach to herbalism. He currently resides in Noti, Oregon where he runs his own small business, Noti Botanica, where he sells herbal remedies, offers holistic health consultations, and shares his teachings on herbalism.

Logan received his training in clinical herbalism and botany at the Columbines School of Botanical Studies, the Matthew Wood Institute of Herbalism, and the School of Evolutionary Herbalism. He also has a B.S. in Horticulture and a Permaculture Design Certificate from Oregon State University.

I’m thrilled to share our conversation with you today!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

Working successfully with herbs requires three essential skills. Get introduced to them by taking my free herbal jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book

Once beloved in root beer and medicine cabinets, sassafras was later banned as dangerous. So...is it poison or a powerful plant ally?

In this episode, we’re diving into the wild and winding story of Sassafras albidum—a tree deeply rooted in Southern culture, traditional herbalism, and kitchen magic. From thickening gumbo to flavoring root beer (before it was pulled from shelves in the 1970s), sassafras has played many roles—and stirred up plenty of controversy.

Herbalist Matthew Hunter joins me today to shine a light on this misunderstood tree. He shares his favorite ways to work with sassafras, including his recipe for homemade sassafras root beer (yes, it’s safe—and yes, it’s delicious!). You can download a beautifully-illustrated recipe card here.

Matthew also brings a refreshingly unique perspective. Unlike many herbalists who’ve loved plants since childhood, he started his herbal journey with zero interest in the plant world. He just wanted to “get it over with”—but somewhere along the way, the plants worked their magic. Now he’s a devoted advocate for his local flora and an inspiring teacher in his own right.

If you’ve ever wondered about sassafras’s past, its potential, or how to use it today, this episode is for you.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► How to identify sassafras trees, both by sight and by smell

► The history of sassafras use in the United States (and a surprising reason why it went out of fashion!)

► Nine medicinal and culinary gifts of sassafras

► Why a cup of hot sassafras tea is so great on a hot summer day

► Tips for propagating sassafras trees – and why harvesting them can actually help more trees grow!

► and so much more…

For those of you who don’t know him, Matthew Hunter is the founder of Legacy Wilderness Academy, a school dedicated to teaching Southerners how to harvest clean food and natural medicine from local wild plants. Matthew has been foraging for over ten years and is the creator of several online foraging courses, including Medicinal Plants of the Southeast and The Southerner’s Guide to Foraging. He’s currently on a mission to film every major edible and medicinal plant in the Southeastern US. Matthew leads foraging walks in his local area in northeast Louisiana where he lives with his wife, daughter and son.

I’m delighted to share our conversation with you today!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

Working successfully with herbs requires three essential skills. Get introduced to them by taking my free herbal jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book

I am so excited to share this conversation with Dana Hutchinson! I really identified with her herbal path – like me, as a young person she suffered from a debilitating autoimmune condition, and it was through her search for healing that she found herbalism. As a clinical herbalist herself now, she offers so much hope for others in similar situations.

Dana had so much to share about one of the first herbs that she worked with to help her overcome her illness, jujube dates (Ziziphus jujuba). This delicious, nourishing herb has so many gifts! Here are just a few ways jujube dates can benefit your health:

► As a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants

► Nourishes the blood, promotes healthy circulation, and supports the liver

► As a gentle ally for dealing with emotional trauma and a dysregulated nervous system

To learn more about jujube’s medicinal benefits, be sure to check out the entire episode!

You’ll also hear all about how Dana works with jujube to support clients with the autoimmune condition lichen sclerosus (the same illness that started her on her herbal path), including her fantastic recipe for Lichen Sclerosus Decoction. You’ll find a beautifully-illustrated recipe card for it here.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► What makes jujube such a helpful herbal ally for a wide variety of health conditions—including poor circulation, autoimmunity, and nervous system burnout

► Tips for sourcing jujube dates

► How to prepare jujubes to maximize their medicinal benefits

► Why jujube dates are often beneficial to include in immune formulations

► and so much more…

For those of you who don’t know her, Dana is a registered herbalist and mentor with the American Herbalist Guild and is the owner of Wildflower Clinic, a Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western clinical herbalism health center in Golden, Colorado. Dana and her team pride themselves on TCM diagnosis where they interpret the pulse, nails, skin, and tongues of clients in the autoimmune, infertility, and emotional trauma space, both in-person and virtually.

Dana is also a faculty member at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism and an advanced course educator at the Herbal Academy. The Wildflower Clinic is one of the only herbal clinics in the world that alternatively supports the autoimmune condition lichen sclerosus, with botanical, lifestyle, and supplemental recommendations that have helped hundreds of women reach remission.

I can’t wait to share our conversation with you today!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

Working successfully with herbs requires three essential skills. Get introduced to them by taking my free herbal jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at

I’ve been looking forward to this interview with Lorna Trigg for a while now! Lorna’s herbal path was strongly influenced by the practices of the indigenous people who lived near her childhood family farm in South Africa, and she has such a creative and unique perspective that I just had to learn more from her.

Lorna shared about a plant that she has known since childhood, the beautiful passionflower (both the Passiflora edulis she grew up with in South Africa, and the Passiflora incarnata that called to her as an adult here in the United States). She shared her insights on what passionflower is perhaps best well-known for—its benefits for sleeplessness, which I took advantage of the very night after the interview!—as well as many other gifts of this gorgeous plant.

Not only does passionflower make great medicine, it has delicious fruit, too! I can’t wait to try them in Lorna’s recipe for Soothing Passion Flower Custard Cups. You can download your beautifully-illustrated recipe card here.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► How the growth patterns of passionflower echo its medicinal benefits

► What makes passionflower such a wonderful herbal ally during menstruation

► How to work with passionflower to calm a busy mind and get better sleep

► The fascinating relationship between ants and passionflower

► and so much more…

For those of you who don’t know her, Lorna’s formative years were steeped in her grandmother Verster’s and her mother Willie’s teachings and guidance as a way of life, looking at the natural world of plant allies as the norm for food and healing.

Lorna grew up in the tropical rainforest terrain of South Africa’s southern tip, and spent summers inland on the savannas of the family farm. She watched and learned from the children of the tribal people how and what plants to use for food or medicine while out in the fields with the sheep and cattle. The tribal Sangomas, which are the shamans and medicine men and women, held a fascination for her. She peeked into their huts and saw bundles of dried herbs, seeds, furs and horns used for divination and healing. And so it began, imprinted from an early age, her curiosity sparked.

I’m thrilled to share our conversation with you today!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

Working successfully with herbs requires three essential skills. Get introduced to them by taking my free herbal jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book

I was so excited to talk about St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) with this week’s podcast guest, Kyle Denton. St. John’s wort is one of my all-time favorite herbs, and Kyle told me he’d be sharing a few things about it that you don’t commonly hear. He certainly didn’t disappoint! Kyle discussed mythological and poetic aspects of the plant, how he understands it via the lens of the doctrine of signatures, and the science behind potential contraindications of St. John’s wort (hint: how you take the plant matters!). His enthusiasm and love for this plant was infectious – believe it or not, he even got me to sing!

Kyle also shared his version of a favorite way of working with this sunny herb: as an infused oil for topical use. (And if you’re in the Northern hemisphere, right now during the longest days of summer is a great time for making this medicine!) You can download your copy of Kyle’s recipe for Apollo’s Radiance Anointing Oil here.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► How Kyle uses the doctrine of signatures to interpret many of the healing properties of St. John’s wort

► How working with St. John’s wort can help heal certain types of pain and bring presence, motivation, and joy back into your life

► A surprising way that St. John’s wort can make life easier for parents of young children

► How to work safely with St. John’s wort and avoid potential contraindications

► and so much more…

For those of you who don’t know him, Kyle Denton is a Wisconsin-based community herbalist, medicine maker, and coherency theurgist, devoted to nature’s healing virtues. As founder of Tippecanoe Herbs, he crafts remedies, consults with clients, collaborates with practitioners, and teaches through Root Radical Herbal Academy, blending vitalism, Ayurveda, and traditional Western herbalism. Innovating with sound diagnostics, he pioneers "sonic bloom" herbal tone-ics, harmonizing wellness with vibrational precision. Beyond the clinic, he wanders wild spaces, gathering inspiration. Yet, his heart’s highest calling is as a father and husband, nurturing his family with the same plant-powered passion that fuels his work. A life rooted in nature, knowledge, and nurturing—Kyle cultivates care for every leaf and lesson.

I’m delighted to share our conversation with you today!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

Working successfully with herbs requires three essential skills. Get introduced to them by taking my free herbal jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book