Arcturus Primitive Skills Institute

Medicinal Plants

Medicinal Plants is where you learn the natural remedies that actually work when modern systems fail. These are the plants that calm pain, heal the wounds, fight infection, soothe the lungs, settle the stomach, and support the body when you don’t have a pharmacy to rely on. Every plant is field‑tested, Michigan‑relevant, and taught with real‑world application in mind. If you want the skill to walk into the woods and come back with medicine you can use, this is where that knowledge becomes real.

Wheeping Forsythia: Medicine of the Yellow Flower

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Wheeping Forsythia

Weeping Forsythia (Forsythia suspensa) is a hallmark of spring, and one of the first bloomers to catch my eye each season. I typically spot this plant alongside Snowdrops early in the year. It has been valued in traditional medicine since ancient times for its numerous health benefits. The yellow blossoms can be eaten raw, though they are bitter. However, the flowers make a pleasantly flavored tea. Below are some of the plant’s medicinal uses:

• Anti-inflammatory properties: Weeping Forsythia contains compounds such as phillyrin and forsythoside, which help reduce inflammation throughout the body.

• Respiratory health: It can reduce inflammation in the air passages of the lungs (bronchiolitis).

• Antibacterial properties: The plant inhibits the growth of bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus.

• Antiviral benefits: Prepare a tea using the flowers and consume it when dealing with colds, the flu, or other viral infections. Gargling the warm tea can also soothe a sore throat. Additionally, it boosts the immune system, aids in tonsillitis relief, and reduces fever.

• Allergy relief: In spring, I use this plant along with Purple Dead Nettle to alleviate allergies.

• Heart health: The plant contains oleanolic acid, which supports heart muscle function and helps regulate blood pressure.

• Pain relief: Weeping Forsythia’s analgesic properties are effective for relieving pain and headaches.

• Topical applications: Prepare a fomentation or wash with the plant for antiseptic use. The tea can be used to clean wounds, cuts, burns, rashes, and other skin problems.

• Support for internal organs: The plant is beneficial for liver health and can help regulate blood sugar levels.

Methods to Prepare Weeping Forsythia for Medicinal Uses:

  1. Tea: Use a tablespoon of fresh or dried yellow flowers and steep them in hot water for 10–15 minutes. This tea helps with fever, sore throat, and inflammation.
  2. Tincture: Fill a mason jar with dried fruits and leaves, then cover them with vodka or brandy. Seal the jar and let it sit for 4–6 weeks, flipping it upside down once a week. Afterward, strain and store the liquid. This tincture offers potent medicinal benefits, boosting your immune system and aiding in fighting infections.
  3. Infused oil: Place dried flowers in a jar and cover them with almond, olive, or coconut oil. Let the jar sit for 4–6 weeks, then strain and store the oil. This infused oil can be used for topical applications, including burns, wounds, and sunburns.
  4. Syrup: First, prepare a tea using the flowers as described above. Strain out the flowers and mix the tea with honey. Store the syrup in the refrigerator for up to one month. This syrup is effective for treating coughs, colds, the flu, other viruses and lung ailments.

Unleashing the Power of Yucca: Nature’s Secret Weapon for Survival and Sustainability

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Yucca (Adam’s Needle, Yucca filamentosa) is a plant that can be found from the South up to the eastern United States, as well as in northern regions like Michigan and Canada. The root contains saponin, which can be used to make soap for washing the body, hair, and clothing. The stalk produces edible white flowers that can be eaten raw or cooked and are said to taste like a bitter artichoke. The flowering stem can be cooked and eaten much like asparagus, but it should be harvested before it grows taller than asparagus. The leaves can serve as paintbrushes. When processed, they yield inner fibers that can be turned into cordage for binding, ropemaking, basket weaving, and even clothing. The dried stalk can be used for a hand drill or as a spindle for a bow drill. To make friction fires, cut the stalk near the base and hang it to dry.

Yucca is known for its pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties and has been used to treat conditions such as arthritis and joint pain. The root can be beaten into a salve or poultice and applied to sores, skin diseases, and sprains. It also has sedative effects that can aid sleep and antiviral qualities. The root has been used to treat gonorrhea and rheumatism. The saponins in the plant are toxic to fish; Native Americans once used large quantities of them in bodies of water to stupefy and kill fish, causing them to float to the surface. Adam’s Needle is a bushcrafter’s best friend in the wild!

 

Wild foraging in july

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Today in late July I did a plant walk, in which I found Ghost Pipe, Mullein, St. John’s Wort, and Rose Campion. I posted a YouTube short giving a brief overview of their medicinal qualities. I will admit I was a little surprised to find Ghost Pipe this late in the season as I usually find it growing during the first week of July. I use Ghost Pipe during my July classes and make an infusion from the plant. This tea is a powerful tool against pain. Rather than a standard pain-killer, Ghost Pipe works by raising your bodies pain-tolerance. During a summer class two years ago, I had a woman attend who suffered from neck pain that was the result of a past car wreck. She volunteered to drink the Ghost Pipe tea and reported how it relieved her neck pain. This plant also has medicinal properties that act as an anti-anxiety medicine. Ghost Pipe makes the most powerful medicine when made into a tincture. Mullein has many uses, most notably it is used to treat lung ailments. This can be done by smoking the leaves or inhaling steam from the plant. The leaves can be used as TP, or as a makeshift bandage. Make a poultice from the leaves and apply it to a cut or wound, then wrap the poultice in place with a bandage. Wrap Mullein leaves around a sprained ankle to reduce swelling. St. John’s Wort is used widely in Germany as an antidepressant. This plant can also be used for kidney and lung ailments. Start building triangle formulas by combining St. John’s Wort with Mullein for lung problems. St. John’s Wort also has wound healing properties. Start building another triangle formula by combining St. John’s Wort with Mullein and Rose Campion to treat wounds. Rose Campion is best used for healing wounds. It can also be used for digestive issues and respiratory problems (another ingredient for a medicine to treat lung ailments). I enjoy experimenting with various triangle formulas. Just make sure you get a positive ID of the plant before you use it! I will see you in the wild.

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Purple Dead Nettle: The First Spring Medicinal Every Forager Should Know

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Today (April 2024) I did a video on the edible and medicinal uses of Purple Dead Nettle (PDN) as part of my series on Youtube called the Bushcrafter’s Pharmacy. PDN is an early plant, usually arriving in April. Due to it being an early plant it is a harbinger of spring. PDN usually is seen growing soon after Snow Drops. I will give you three places local to me where I find it growing: the softball field across from the cemetary off of Dowling Street in Montague, MI. I also spotted it growing on the ridge behind the wesco in Montague. In Whitehall, MI I have found it growing nearby the bike path behind the White Lake Library on the south end of Whitehall, as well as in forests. PDN has a square stem, giving a forager a clue that this plant is in the mint family, and because it is a mint it has carminative properties. The plant only lasts 6 weeks, April through May. The top of the leaves are a dusty purple color and become more green the further you go down. As the plant grows older, it goes from purple to more of a soft pink color. The flowers typically range from purple, pink and white. The leaves grow opposite each other and are heart-shaped. The plant is edible, but not tasty. It is packed full of nutrients and will keep you alive if you have to eat it on the fly. If you do have to eat it, try to make a salad out of it and other plants and ingredients. Then try to find some salad dressing. Medicinally, the whole plant is astringent and is therefore good for wet conditions (like bleeding). It is also diuretic making it good for kidney problems and UTIs. The plant is also styptic meaning it stops bleeding. The plant is antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory. These properties make PDN a good plant to choose for making a poultice for wounds. To make a poultice, mash it up with the butt of your knife or other implement. In a past class I used the butt of my atlatl, a technique that was used by ancient indigenous people. Once the plant is mashed up, apply the poultice to your cut or wound, then secure it in place with some type of make-shift bandage. If the plant is a little too dry for a poultice and it does not stick together, add some water to it from your canteen, or make a spit poultice by chewing it then applying it to your wound. In my video I used a cut strip of cotton t-shirt as my bandage. In my opinion, the most interesting thing about PDN is that it has antihistamine properties and can be used for allergy relief. As an allergy sufferer, I was glad when I first learned this about PDN. To make allergy medicine, I have found tinctures to be the most useful. To make a tincture using PDN, chop up the leaves of the plant, place them in a mason jar, then fill it to the brim with 180-proof grain alcohol. Seal it and let it sit for about 6 weeks. Once it is done, take 1-2 ml three times per day. This is why I call PDN the Claritin of the forest. In preparation for hard times, it is wise to stock up on allergy medication and PDN. PDN is an immune system modulator making it useful against colds and flu. It has an anti-inflammatory effect in the lungs. Although I have yet to try it, I would imagine PDN would work well with Mullein for lung ailments. If you need a laxative, make a tea out of PDN and drink it. Or you can use PDN to make a salve for any skin conditions. The plant is also nervine, meaning it calms the nerves. If you get a chance this early spring, try working with PDN. If you want to learn more about wild plants and survival skills, you have come to the right place. Go to my shop page and select the classes subcategory. I hope to see you at my class very soon. Train as if your life depended on it, because someday it will. I will see you in the wild! -Art

Cattail: The Survival Superplant With 100+ Uses

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Today I got to thinking about the many uses of Cattail. I have been to many survival schools and at one of them, the survival instructor pulled up a Cattail, peeled off the long leaves and had us eat the raw stalk. I actually did not mind the taste; I put some salt on my second helping of Cattail and it reminded me of celery. There is a reason why Cattail is known as “nature’s supermarket.” Cattail can be found in wetland areas, along streams, ponds, or even in ditches or drainage areas. I literally find it growing in the ditch in front of my house. In spring, eat the young shoots while they are edible, like I once did. The yellow pollen from the head can be used as flour. The inner part of the root can be chopped up, dried and ground up into flour as well. Mash up the root and make a poultice out of it for cuts, stings, burns and wounds. The stems contain a sap that is good for toothache and burns. Put on a sunburn as the sap has pain-killing properties. You can use the long leaves of the plants to make baskets or sleeping mats. Try braiding the leaves to make cordage. Use the fluff in a t-shirt as a type of absorbant bandage for heavy bleeding, or you could fashion it into a diaper. Cattail also makes a fine tinder that falls under the category of a flash tinder. To make good tinder, harvest a few cattail heads with the stalks attached, tie them together and hang from the rafters and let them air dry for 2-3 weeks. The dried cattail stalk has been used as a hand drill when making primitive fire or as a spindle for a bow drill fire. You can transport fire by soaking a cattail head in fat or oil, then lighting it. This fire will burn for about 6 hours. You can also use it this way as a torch. Arrow shafts can be made from dried cattail stalks. You can even build a wigwam type shelter from cattails. Come on out to Arcturus Primitive Skills Institute and I will show you these and other uses for this versatile plant. See you in the wild. -Art

Fight the Flu: Must-Have Herbal Medicines for Winter Wellness

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This winter season, fight the flu with these must-have herbal medicines. Disclaimer, I am not a doctor or pharmacist; this information is for educational purposes only. Try them at your own risk. Now, let’s dive into it. A couple of weeks ago I had the flu pass through my household. As a result, I am finishing a video about cold and flu medicine. At the beginning of the video, I was on the mend and just coming out of the flu. You can see this in my face and demeanor. The medicine I describe is best used in the cold months. Use this when you can’t find other plants (beebalm, mullein, which are other great plants to use for lung ailments). I also did this video based on the season of its making, which was late winter to early spring. In the video, I start with White Pine. White Pine is native to Michigan and can be identified by its cluster of five pine needles. The needles are packed full of vitamin C. Pound-for-pound pine needles are said to have more vitamin C than a lemon. This high vitamin C content makes these pine needles an effective immune booster that was once used to treat scurvy. This vitamin C content is what makes my medicine an immune booster to help treat colds and flu. The needles are good for treating colds, flu, fevers, and your respiratory system. To aid your respiratory system, include some thin twigs with the pine needles when you make your infusion (tea). White Pine also has vitamin A and can boost your brain health. This tree also has antibacterial, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory properties. In the video, you can see a small amount of sap flowing out of the tree. I describe how you can put the sap on cuts and use it for other first-aid applications. You can mix the sap with crushed charcoal from your fire and dead grass material to make bushcraft glue. The White Pine has other survival uses. During times of starvation, you can cut into the tree’s inner bark for food. Then cut it into strips and leave it on a rack to dry. Once dry, cut it into small sections and eat it. I recommend cutting it into a small cracker size. I admit it’s going to taste like pine sol, but it will get you through a famine. Herbalists like to talk about triangle formulas and Chinese medicine, but I am going to keep it more simple than that. Next we add Wintergreen. Wintergreen is a plant you can find on the forest floor throughout Michigan. I find it all over the ground at the location of my survival school. The leaves of Wintergreen contain methyl salicylate, which is the same chemical found in aspirin. Like aspirin, Wintergreen reduces fever, reducing pain and swelling (note how White Pine was also fever reducing and anti-inflammatory). Wintergreen can help with digestion (this makes sense, as Wintergreen is minty and minty things are often carminative) and can be used to relieve pain from arthritis, joint pain and rheumatism. Wintergreen often has a red minty berry attached, which you can eat. I have eaten these red berries many times ever since I was young. I have learned that eating one red berry is like taking one aspirin. In addition to medicinal uses, Wintergreen also simply makes a pleasant mint tea. In a 2023 class, I introduced my students to Wintergreen tea and offered to let them sample it. Afterwards, I had a student ask his girlfriend to make him a cup of the tea. I have made this tea on many occasions throughout the years and have found that the strongest medicine is made when the leaves of the plant are purple, which usually takes place in late winter to early spring. In the video, I point out a Wintergreen with purple on its leaves. In the past, I tried using Wintergreen like icy-hot and did an experiment with the plant. My knee was bothering me so I made a Wintergreen poultice and applied it to my knee. I then held it in place with a strip of t-shirt for external medicine. I then drank some tea for internal medicine. All I know is that somewhere between the two, it worked at eliminating my knee pain. Try this at your own risk. The final ingredient to my medicine involves raw honey. Raw honey helps with bronchial asthma, throat infections and in soothing a sore throat. Raw honey, like White Pine, is also an immune booster. Raw honey is also antibacterial and antifungal, which are reasons why it aids in wound healing (much like the sap of the White Pine). Raw honey can be applied directly onto cuts, wounds and is particularly effective with burns. Now, lets summarize the main qualities of our medicine. It is an immune booster and cough suppressant because of the pine needles and honey. It is anti-inflammatory because of the pine needles and Wintergreen, while the Wintergreen itself is a pain-killer. So, we have effectively created a cold weather cold and flu medicine that is an immune booster, cough suppressant, anti-inflammatory pain-killer. It is perfect medicine during the cold months when you are suffering from coughing, cold and flu. Take a sip, it also makes a wonderful tea. To learn more and to make medicine in the field, sign up for a class. I will see you in the wild. -Art

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