By Katherine Schlosser
Though declared the most widespread of juniper species and appearing widely across the United States, there are eighteen states in which Juniperus communis does not grow as a native: NJ, DE, MD, WV, KY, MO, IA, NE, KS, OK, AR, TN, AL, MS, LA, TX, or HI. Those states may have other juniper species, or cultivated plants, but Juniperus communis is not native to their soil (Flora of North America)
Robert P. Adams identifies 18 Juniperus species in the continental U.S. with an additional five varieties and three forma (Adams, 2019). The Flora of North America includes 13 species. Globally, the number is higher, primarily in the Northern Hemisphere.
These perennial evergreens grow from one to four feet tall, generally in a shrub-like form sprawling across rocks or soil and occasionally—especially in the northeast—growing upright to as much as 30 feet tall or more. Seed cones mature in one to two years and will last for several months beyond maturity. Each cone bears 1‒13 wingless seeds.
Well-known to us as the flavoring in gin, juniper species have been known in this country for many years for a multitude of purposes, from culinary, medicinal, and insect control to ceremonial and utility uses.
Several Indigenous Peoples tribal groups tied boughs of juniper to the tops of their homes to discourage lightning strikes (Murphey, 1990). Juniper bark and leaves were considered sacred and used ceremonially (Kavasch, 2005).
Medicinal uses were broad, including for treatment of high blood pressure, as a diuretic, and to improve the appetites of the elderly (Garrett, 2003). A salve was made of the oil from the cone, mixed with fat, to protect wounds from flies. Smoke from the burning wood or leaves was inhaled to treat colds and to repel insects. Tea was given to induce a speedy delivery, and in 14th-century Europe, in the midst of Black Death (bubonic plague), juniper tea was used to sterilize bandages (Harrington, 1967).
We have learned from history; and studies on the properties and efficacy of juniper essential oils continue, looking particularly at the antiseptic and antibiotic possibilities. The Food & Drug Administration has approved an oral medication to treat fungal infections (Cabello et al., 2010).
There are many recipes for using juniper berries, which can now be found in the spice section of many grocery stores. While some may find the taste a bit strong or resinous, others find it adds wonderful flavor to meat dishes, vegetables, and even baked goods.
The scent of gin is prominent in crushed berries, which blend well with cheese and fruit. The berries (actually cones) can be eaten raw, but are most often dried. Even then, it is suggested that not too many be eaten at one time. Just a few will flavor enough meat or game for four people.
The essential oil of juniper is composed primarily of monoterpene hydrocarbons such as α-pinene, myrcene, sabinene, limonene, and β-pinene, lending some familiar lemony, spicy, and piney scents.
We learned from Indigenous Peoples to dry, then powder, the fruits, using the powder much as we do black pepper. Others teach burning the leaves, pouring boiling water over the ashes, straining the liquid, and using it as a flavoring.
The wood of juniper trees is strong and has been used, in spite of its often small size, for long-lasting craft items for household and kitchen use.
There was a time, prior to my HSA membership, when I dismissed Juniperus communis for landscape use, seeing it most often used commercially where it seemed to attract trash. I know better now that, in well-kept landscapes, it is lovely, its history is interesting, and its culinary uses delightful. I no longer have need for contraceptives or speedy deliveries, but a bit of gin once in a while might be good for aching knees after a day in the garden.
Medicinal Disclaimer: It is the policy of The Herb Society of America, Inc. not to advise or recommend herbs for medicinal or health use. The information in this presentation is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as a recommendation or an endorsement of any particular medical or health treatment. Please consult a health care provider before pursuing any herbal treatments.
Photo Credits: 1) Juniperus communis, Londonderry, New Hampshire (K. Schlosser); 2) Gin and tonic (cyclonebill, Openverse); 3) Juniperus communis cones (MFP, Wikimedia Commons); 4) Crushing juniper berries (far closer, Openverse).
References
Adams, Robert P. 2019. Juniperus of Canada and the United States: Taxonomy, Key and Distribution. Lundellia 21(1), 1-34. https://doi.org/10.25224/1097-993X-21.1
Cabello, Peláez F., et al. 2010. The discovery of enfumafungin, a novel antifungal compound produced by an endophytic Hormonema species biological activity and taxonomy of the producing organisms. Syst Appl Microbiol. 23 (3): 333–343. doi:10.1016/s0723-2020(00)80062-4
Flora of North America, Juniperus communis Linnaeus, Sp.Pl. 2: 1040. 1753 FNA, Family List, FNA Vol. 2, Cupressaceae, Juniperus. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200005424
Garrett, J. T. 2003. The Cherokee Herbal: Native Plant Medicine from the Four Directions. P. 79. Bear & Company, Rochester, VT.
Harrington, H.D. 1967. Edible Plants of the Rocky Mountains. P. 242. University of New Mexico Press.
Kavasch, E. Barrie. 2005. American Indian Wild Foods and Recipes. Dover Publications. Reprint of Native Harvests: Recipes and Botanicals of the American Indian, Random House, 1975.
Murphey, Edith Van Allen. 1990. Indian Uses of Native Plants. Meyerbooks, IL. Reprint of 1958 publication by Mendocino County Historical Society. Pg. 50.
In her 32 years of HSA membership, Kathy has served in positions at the local, district, and national levels. While on the National Herb Garden Committee, she spearheaded the NHG fundraising project with the publication of The Herb Society of America’s Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking with Herbs (LSU Press, 2007). As the initiator of the Native Herb Conservation Committee, she oversaw the establishment of GreenBridges™, the Notable Native Herb™ project, and the HSA Fuzzy Butts Bee Observation Day. She has been awarded the Gertrude B. Foster Award for excellence in herbal literature and the Helen De Conway Little Medal of Honor. She has been involved in plant conservation in North Carolina for 35 years and has written for local and national publications. She is currently working on a second book.
Chives, 
Due to the sulfur compounds in chives, they have been used as insect repellent in gardens throughout history. It is particularly effective against Japanese beetles. Despite their sulfur smell, chive flowers attract bees and other pollinators to the garden. In a study conducted by the UK Insect Pollinators Initiative’s Agriland Project in 2014, chives were named as one of the ten highest sugar producing plant species for pollinators (Memmott, 2014). It also has been found that the juice in chive leaves is effective in combating some fungal infections and mildew, giving another great benefit to having it growing in the rose garden since roses are susceptible to fungal pathogens. 
Chives are also a good addition to rock gardens, with their roots keeping dirt from washing out from between the rocks. They would be a nice addition to fairy gardens with their green spiky stalks and purple flowers. Chives can be grown indoors on a sunny window sill for convenient use in cooking. When harvesting chives, it is recommended to cut the stalks just above the soil line to promote new growth of stems and bulbs. Stems should be cut several times during the growing season. 
Chives have been used as a medicinal plant for 5,000 years. It is said that Marco Polo brought chives to the west from his travels to China where they’d been used as a medicinal and culinary plant for 2,000 years. The Romans used them to treat sunburn and sore throat, as a diuretic, and to reduce blood pressure. Pliny the Elder, in his book 
Today, according to researchers, chives and other members of its family are being looked at for their usefulness in medicine. According to Varinder Singh et al., “
It seems that as I continue my career in horticulture, there are plants that I come back to over time. With my recent move to Wyoming, I have come back to a lot of plants that are familiar from my childhood in western South Dakota. One of those is rubber rabbitbrush, Ericameria nauseosa. When I first learned it, it was Chrysothamnus nauseosus, but taxonomists assigned it to a different genus. I first knew it from visits to Badlands National Park where it grew as a low, billowy shrub among the desolation of nearly white decomposed Pierre Shale. 
Fast forward to last fall when I arrived in Cheyenne to look for a new home. It had been a dry year, as they often are here, and anything that was not watered frequently was dormant and brown. Rubber rabbitbrush, however, had burst into bloom with its golden flowers covering each defiantly green shrub. I passed by one home with much of its front yard devoted to the shrub, and upon close inspection, I discovered that the stems were an attractive shade of green. The ones I knew from South Dakota had gray stems. It turns out there are two subspecies—Ericameria nauseosa ssp. consimilis has green stems and is more western in its distribution, while Ericameria nauseosa ssp. nauseosa has gray stems and is more eastern.
The species name refers to the smell of the foliage when crushed. It is described as pineapple-like by some and as foul and rubbery by others. While the scent may depend on the sniffer, the fact that the whole plant contains rubber in high amounts is beyond doubt. As early as World War II, it was studied as a potential domestic source of rubber when much of the world’s rubber production fell into Japanese hands. It is a small source of industrial rubber today. Perhaps one of the factors limiting its use as a source of rubber is the long time of six years that it takes for the plant to reach a stage of maximum rubber content. Curiously, the rubber found in rubber rabbitbrush is not in the form of latex; it is rather in the form of solids in the inner bark and outer ring of xylem just inside the bark. Ericameria nauseosa ssp. consimilis may have up to 4% rubber by dry weight, double the amount for Ericameria nauseosa ssp. nauseosa. The rubber from rubber rabbitbrush is also free of the proteins that cause problems for those with allergies. 
I was interested to learn why rubber rabbitbrush is only of minor commercial importance. It turns out that guayule, Parthenium argentatum, was designated as “the official crop for domestic production of rubber” (Bowers, 1990) even though it is not as cold hardy as rubber rabbitbrush. Even plants cannot escape politics. Perhaps it is the six years needed to reach peak rubber production. It may also be the quality of the rubber, which is judged by the molecular weight of each carbon chain; longer chains and higher molecular weight are desired. Rubber rabbitbrush does not have the highest molecular weight (Ma, 2019), and that may be why it is not widely grown or harvested for commercial rubber.
The leaves and trichomes also contain about 35 percent resin by dry weight. The resin contains aromatic (in the hydrocarbon ring sense, not in the olfactory sense) terpenoid compounds that could be used in manufacturing plastics. Some of the terpenoids may be used as nematicides and insecticides (Finley and Neiland, 2013).
There is a wide median just outside the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens in the middle of Carey Avenue. Upon arriving in my position as Director, I was told that the City of Cheyenne had a thought that this expanse of turf should become a water-wise landscape with native plants. Of course, rubber rabbitbrush is one of the plants that comes to mind. Its deep root system and ability to withstand high pH and salinity make it one of the few plants that might succeed in this tough spot. The soft, billowy texture created by the fine branching habit and tiny leaves in summer, the stunning and bright yellow flowers that cover the shrub in late summer and early fall, the fluffy seed heads that follow and persist well into winter, and the stunning green stems make it lovely in every season. It is heavily used as a pollen and nectar source by native bee species, because it produces so many flowers when very few plants are in bloom.
Rubber rabbitbrush may grow as tall as six feet. Plant Select® has selected a compact cultivar called Baby Blue that tops out at 28 inches if the species is too tall for you. Because it can recover quickly from hard pruning and blooms on new growth, you can also cut it back nearly to the ground in late winter or early spring to keep it in bounds.
The cranberry, 
Flowers bloom in May and June on the stolons and terminal ends of the vine. Because the flower pollen is too heavy to be carried by the wind, pollination is dependent on native bees and honey bees. Fruit matures after about 80 days, and harvesting begins at the end of September and extends into October. To harvest the berries, the growing area is flooded. Then, the plants are “beaten” with specialized equipment causing the berries, which have four small air pockets in them, to float to the top. (These air pockets also make fresh cranberries bouncy.) The floating berries are corralled into one area and then harvested using conveyor belts. This “wet harvesting” method is used for berries that become cranberry juice and sauce. 
About 5% of berries are “dry harvested” and packed for use as fresh fruit. Dry harvesting is done by mechanized “combing” of the fruit from the vines (Cranberry Institute, n.d.).
The Pilgrims named the berry “crane berry,” because the unopened flower resembled the head, neck, and bill of a crane. The name was later shortened to cranberry. Some also called it “bear berry” because bears liked to eat the berries.
Elizabeth Lee, in New Jersey, made and sold the first cranberry sauce in 1917. Due to the success of her sauce, Bog Sweet Cranberry Sauce, she partnered with two other growers and formed the company Ocean Spray in 1930.
Recent research shows that cranberries can be healthy in other ways. Some research suggests that they can prevent bacterial infections that cause ulcers in the stomach. They also may help slow the buildup of dental plaque. Cranberries have two dozen antioxidant compounds, which help protect cells from damage that can lead to serious diseases such as cancer and heart disease (WebMD, 2020). Cranberries also contain salicylic acid, which can help reduce swelling and prevent blood clots from forming. 
Cranberries are a popular accompaniment at holiday meals. A meal of roasted turkey is not complete without the sweet tanginess of cranberry sauce. About 20% of cranberries are consumed at Thanksgiving. It is interesting to note that cranberries are more tart than lemons and also contain less sugar than lemons (Alfaro, 2021). Adding a quarter teaspoon of baking soda can help reduce the tartness of cranberries and, therefore, reduce the need for extra sugar. 
cranberries are used to make sauces and jellies. When cooking fresh cranberries, they should only be cooked until the skins begin to pop. Chopped fresh cranberries make a colorful addition to salads. They can be a zingy substitute for cherries or pomegranates as well. Fresh cranberries can be frozen and kept in the freezer for up to a year. Frozen cranberries do not have to be unthawed before using. The Cosmopolitan drink is made with cranberry juice. White cranberry juice is made with cranberries that have not yet ripened.
In a recent GreenBridges™
Fast forward to this past spring. When the weather started warming up, I noticed more pollinators busy in the garden collecting nectar from the early blooming plants. THEN, I noticed the number of butterflies that were enjoying my garden. Oh my gosh, for several weeks, I would go out into the garden and literally feel like I was in a butterfly house at a botanical garden! The butterflies swarmed around me as I worked in the beds. It made my heart so happy! I wish I had made a video, but I was living in the moment. There were different swallowtails, gulf fritillaries, skippers, hairstreaks, Eastern tailed-blues, sulfurs, American painted ladies, viceroys, buckeyes, and some I did not recognize. I enjoyed their presence immensely. Even though that period was totally glorious, I still have good numbers of the winged beauties visiting daily. 
My granddaughter and I enjoyed raising swallowtail and gulf fritillary caterpillars this summer. We released 47 swallowtails and nine fritillaries. The swallowtails slowed down after having eaten every morsel of parsley, dill, and fennel in my garden. I saw more fritillaries at that time of the season as they voraciously attacked the passionvine. By the end of the summer, those vines were leafless, but that’s fine with me. I know they will be back next year to provide for the new generations.
Though just about over, this has been a spectacular gardening season. I truly believe that each of us can make a difference right where we are. The effort is so worth it!
While doing research for a presentation on herbal uses of native plants, I decided to look more into a plant I’d learned about in herb school, sweet flag (
Abenaki: 
Both species are perennial, grow in zones 4 to 10, have 1’–3’ tall iris-like leaves, and can spread 1’–2’. They bloom April through June, and like full sun to part shade. The inflorescence is a green spadix with no spathe (a spathe is a hood-like structure, like the white part of a peace lily). Both 
This chemical distinction is important, because β-asarone has demonstrated procarcinogenic tendencies (meaning it could metabolize into a cancer causing compound), and the FDA has banned the use of “calamus, calamus oil, or extract of oil in food,” although these studies used high levels of isolated β-asarone and not “suggested doses of the whole plant in terms of mg/kg of body weight” that an herbalist would recommend. However, since 
Colonists also used 
Olbrich Botanical Gardens is a 16-acre, free admission public garden in Madison, Wisconsin, in the heart of the ancestral lands of the Ho-Chunk people. The Ho-Chunk, or “People of the Sacred Voice” historically lived in southern Wisconsin, from the far southwestern corner of the state along the Mississippi River nearly up to Green Bay. This is fertile land with rolling hills and scenic bluffs where the Ho-Chunk lived in permanent villages. In fact, their oral tradition simply states, “We have always been here.” 
Especially in Olbrich’s Herb Garden, it’s vitally important that we grow, show, and interpret plants that all types of people identify with. Herb lovers know that edible plants can act as a universal language, uniting people and making them feel at home across cultural borders. In this spirit, the Herb Garden has hosted many creative collaborative gardens over the years. Most recently, an Indian-style garden created with owners of an Ayurvedic spa oozed tropical flair with ginger and turmeric, eggplant, bitter melon, and elephant ears. 
We also wanted to highlight the endangered Ho-Chunk language, since there are only 200 fluent speakers and only 50 are the older people who grew up speaking Ho-Chunk. At Olbrich, we are lucky to have on our staff Rita Peters, a 24-year-old college student of Ho-Chunk and Menomonee descent. Rita, known as Xoropasaignga (hodo-pa-SIGN-ga) or Bald Eagle Woman, is at the heart of the Indigenous Garden. She does everything from sowing seeds and harvesting sweetgrass to developing events and educational seminars. Rita worked with her aunt, a language apprentice, to create bilingual signage that even links to a YouTube recording of the words being spoken aloud. 
As winter approached, we carefully saved seeds for the Indigenous Garden in 2022. Our milkweed soup day in early June attracted more than 330 guests! This year we are extending the Garden’s reach by collaborating with Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison, the biggest employer of Indigenous people in our area. We hope that partnerships like these will create an ever-growing network as Olbrich continues to focus our efforts on ensuring that everyone feels at home in these beautiful gardens here in Dejope. 
Use equal parts of water or broth and milkweed flower buds. You can add other vegetables (green beans, corn, carrots) or ham/bacon. Bring broth to a boil and add milkweed or other veggies. Simmer for 30-40 minutes until milkweed and veggies are tender.
There are over 20,000 bee species in the world. Of those, close to 4,500 are considered native to the U.S., and up to 1000 are native to Texas (I typically say “over 800”). They’re currently classified into seven families, of which six are represented in Texas. Our native bees range in size from nearly an inch long down to smaller than a peppercorn. I’ve tried to limit the scope of this article to the least I can say given that “the native bees of Texas” is a broad topic well suited to the size of our state.
How many people even know native bees exist? They’ve pollinated every single flowering plant in North America until the 1600s when the honey bee was imported. They’re considered 
Some solitary bees will form aggregations where nesting conditions are favorable. While a large number of individuals may be found using the site, only a very few species are actually communal, meaning they actively help each other. Dependent on their environment, the family 
While man-made bee houses may have benefits, in order to avoid predation and reduce susceptibility to disease they should be scattered about the site rather than clustered together. Bee houses should have a guard of chicken wire, or other material with bee sized holes, across the opening to prevent predation by birds. The openings should face the sun in the morning and have protection from rain and insulation from extreme cold if they’re not placed inside to overwinter. Under the Texas Death Star, it can also be beneficial to have plants growing nearby that provide afternoon shade. Habitats should also include a source of moisture and shelter from wind. In the fall, “leave the leaves”, as well as stems and grasses, for shelter.
Here in Texas, there’s a saying: “We have two seasons – summer and winter.” That’s not quite true; but if you’re not paying attention, spring can slip right past. And the last thing I want is to miss a single day of our glorious, but ephemeral, spring. 
spectacle. 
While its ability to awaken a slumbering spring makes a lovely story, experience also proved that a blooming redbud can be dangerously misleading. According to Cherokee historian David Cornsilk, the Eastern redbud is known as 
Native Americans, along with the early settlers, also found ways for redbud to supplement their supply of food. Flowers, newly emerged leaves, young seed pods, and mature seeds are all edible. Even the twigs have a place in food preparation, being used so often to season game in southern Appalachia that the trees there are called “spicewood.” Traditionally, the flowers are eaten straight off the tree, but they have also been used for salad garnishes, teas, jellies, and pie fillings. Peter Kalm, the American agent of Linnaeus, called redbud the “sallad tree,” because its flowers were so often eaten in salads. 
As an added bonus, redbud flowers have a significantly higher vitamin C content than most common domesticated fruits and vegetables, including oranges. The flowers are also rich in anthocyanins, the antioxidant pigments that give them their magenta/fuchsia color.
So the edible redbud plant parts clearly offered beneficial nutrients to early inhabitants of North America. But that’s not all – redbud bark is rich in therapeutic tannins and is an important medicine for several Native American tribes. Infusions of the bark are extensively used for respiratory congestion, as a cough suppressant, and to treat diarrhea and vomiting. 
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