My initial foray into the production of lactucarium was hampered by one main issue, the lack of harvestable material. This has changed this season (Spring 2021). I recently moved into a new house. When I did a walk through inspection about 6 weeks ago the lawns were all mowed and the gardens manicured as you can see in the photo below. The date we moved … Continue reading Lactucarium : The Journey Continues.
Aaaaargh. My daughter (bless her soul) was cleaning the house today (again with the blessings) and she “cleaned up” all the dried sap/latex/resin I had collected. Aaaaargh. To the beginning I go. The main plant I have been collecting from has grown considerably taller. By about a third perhaps. (7 bricks taller maybe). The plant has also sprouted a few more growing tips. I found … Continue reading Lactucarium. Parte the Thirde.
I have come back to my wild lettuce plants to see how my lactucarium is coming along. The sap has dried into brown scabs on the stalk of the plant. There seems to be fewer areas of dried sap than the cuts I initially made. It is these brown crusty bits that I will harvest and later process into a tincture. I missed the fist … Continue reading Lactucarium : La Segunda Parte
I have previously written of the herbal extract known as lactucarium (1) produced from the wild herb Lactuca virosa. This plant, also known as wild lettuce is an edible plant whilst still young and tender. As it ages it becomes too prickly and bitter to eat. Much like other plants of its ilk (dandelion, cats ear, sowthistle) it produces a sticky white sap (or latex). … Continue reading Lactucarium
I recently came across a term that I had never heard before. Plant Blindness. The term was coined in 1999 by botanists James Wandersee and Elisabeth Schussler. They described it as “the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment”. William (2003) puts a little more into it “Plant blindness is a form of cognitive bias, which in its broadest meaning, is … Continue reading Dandelion? Identifying Wild Plants
Masa Americana 