Page 274 - Lost Book Remedies

The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies

mild diuretic properties that help remove excess fluid windstorm is a great way to get fresh lungwort lichen
from the body. Best used as a tea for digestion. that has blown down.

Harvesting: Note: lungwort lichen is protected in Warning: Do not use lungwort lichen if you are
some areas. Check your local laws before harvesting. pregnant or breastfeeding, as safety is unknown.
Lungwort lichen grows very slowly and will not grow in
heavily polluted areas, so it is becoming threatened in Recipes. Lungwort Lichen Tea. Ingredients: 1
many environments. Harvest it carefully and do not tablespoon dried lungwort lichen, 1 cup boiling water,
1 teaspoon raw honey, optional for sweetness.
take the whole plant. Only harvest in environmentally
clean areas. The upper tissue edge must remain on the Pour the boiling water over the herb and let it steep for
tree to regrow the lichen. Use a knife to slice off the 15 minutes. Strain and add raw honey, if desired.
outer lobes of the lichen, leaving the upper tissue at-
tached to the tree. You do not need a large amount. Dry Lungwort Tincture: Please follow our guide for a
double-extraction like the one on page 39 or page 268.
the lichen and store it in a sealed glass jar with a tight
lid. Place the jar in a cool, dry place. Gathering after a For most of the ailments above I use a dual-extracted
tincture of Lungwort Lichen.

Reishi Mushroom,

Ganoderma lucidum

The reishi mushroom is found on dead or dying trees,
old stumps, and logs. They are quite easy to distinguish
if you know your mushrooms well. They are also called
ling zhi, the mushroom of immortality, and varnish
conk, as they look like they have been painted with a
clear coat of varnish or clear nail polish. Many places
cultivate reishi for commercial use.
Identification: Always consult with an expert be- Reishi Mushrooms, photo by Eric Steinert [CC BY-SA 3.0]
fore using any mushrooms you find growing wild, Edible Use: While reishi mushrooms are technically
though reishi mushrooms don’t have any poisonous
look-alikes. The cap of this polypore mushroom is fan edible when cooked, they have a bitter taste and are
or kidney-shaped, red to reddish-brown, and has a wet, very tough, so they are rarely eaten. They can be used
varnished look when young. This shiny, reddish, bright to season soups and are then strained out.
yellow or white cap is the first identifying feature of Medicinal Use and Adaptogenic Herb: I pri-
reishi mushrooms. As they age, they become tougher, marily use reishi mushrooms in their double-extracted
turn more of a reddish-brown, and the spores drop. tinctured form (page 39/268) to make available both
These spores can end up on the top surface of the the water-soluble and alcohol-soluble components. If
mushroom, making the cap lose its shiny luster. The you are only consuming reishi as a tea or a tea/cof-
pore surface on the underside of the mushroom bruises fee/hot chocolate-mixture you are missing out on a lot
brown. The cap can grow to be a foot across and up to of the medicinal compounds. I take my reishi tincture
2-inches (5 cm) thick. It may be attached to a stem, but every day.
not always. New growth appears along a whitish edge.
The underside of the cap does not have gills. Instead, It is an excellent adaptogenic herb. Adaptogens help
our bodies deal with the negative aspects of stress, such
tiny brown spores come out of tiny pores on the under-
side. When stems are present, they are 1 to 6 inches as inflammation, hormonal imbalances, increased cor-
tisol levels, fatigue, and low energy levels. They help
(2.5 cm to 7.5 cm) long and almost 2 inches (5 cm)
thick. They can be twisted or irregular, angling to one with quality of sleep, adrenal fatigue, and with immune
function.
side of the cap. Like the cap, they are varnished and
colored.
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