Blue Flag suddenly becomes hard to source
I got a phone call from Tim who runs one of Australia’s leading Natural Medicine dispensaries The Hierophant
‘We can’t seem to source Blue Flag; do you have any?’
(Blue Flag is Iris versicolor a herb that is marvellous in treating deep seated glandular dysfunction)
As it turns out, I do actually. A relic from the times when I was trying to create a botanical ark of medicine plants.
(I reached peak herb at 135 species until the drought forced me to rationalise)
The Hierophant has contacts with a wide range of commercial suppliers in Australia so it’s a serious matter when they cannot source a herb.
So, what’s going on?
Looking behind the bottle on the shelf
Let’s look deeper, behind the bottle on the shelf. What’s there...?
In this case nothing
The herb has started to slip out of commercial availability like so many other herbs we know of.
Maybe it’s not a popular seller anymore...
Commercial manufacturers need to earn income and commercial realities means low volume inventory gets dropped. Or perhaps no one is growing or harvesting anymore due to harsh economic realities…
It’s hard to find out the complete story.
It’s only a short step from there for it to be dropped from the academic curriculum for students.
Then it just does not exist, except in old books
We are not talking about an evil world conspiracy here …
It’s a chain of consequences playing out herb by herb before our eyes.
And are we asking why … or just shrugging or shoulders and looking for an alternative to get us by?
What’s my take on all this? … Is this actually an opportunity?
Coming from my horticultural background I am always wondering how do we grow these medicinal plants.
I think biologically which means interdependent systems, an ecology you could say. All the parts relate to each other in some way and are mutually supportive.
But that’s not how society today functions, where everything has been atomised, decoupled from its natural relationships.
I see lots of opportunities here for growers to step into this gap and fulfill demand and keep the herbs available to Herbalists & Naturopaths.
For doing this in a way where everyone is treated fairly and earns right livelihood.
Bringing back our connection to medicinal herbs in a tangible physical way by actually growing them.
Going beyond the reputations many herbs have of being ‘hard to grow ‘or ‘it doesn’t grow here’ etc.
What can you do…
So, if you are interested in growing medicinal herbs in some way be it a backyard or half acre then there is Herbology Hub.
Wanting to sell your plants and receive a fair price rather than prop up a dysfunctional economic system then there is Herb Connect
That’s why I founded Herbology Hub - to pass on growing skills to interested people and diversify our sources of medicinal herbs.
It’s important to keep our medicine making skills alive and have diverse sustainable sources of plants to make medicine from.
Head on over to the website and have a look at what you get in the membership
