Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West by Michael Moore. Museum of New Mexico Press, 1989. Illustrations, index, bibliography.
Don’t names like Mesquite, Piñon and Chaparral strongly invoke an image of the American west? Deserts and canyons support medicinal plants such as cactuses, pines, evergreen shrubs and trees, flowering annuals, biennials and perennials. By the concentration of constituents in their leaves, bark, flowers, fruit or roots these plants have provided powerful and effective medicines for many dry-climate-induced diseases and conditions from the times of Indian civilizations to the present.
Moore’s second in a series of three herbals on medicinal plants found in the western U.S. contains the following chapters: Introduction, Format Explanation, Plant Profiles, Formulas, Glossary, Selected Bibliography and Further Reading, Therapeutic and Use Index, and Plant Index. The book is a recital of natural remedy and nurture for the physical body, balancing the symptoms of chronic condition and sub-clinical, but debilitating, malady. The author’s rich personal experience and perspective as a researcher lend authenticity to the culture of gathering, preparing, and consuming medicinal herbs.
Moore’s Plant Profiles (his more than 60 – I counted seventy – herbal/botanical monographs) are complete with both medicinal effects and cultural notes, offering much more than expected facts about an herb’s advantages. Take Algerita “… if you have indigestion regularly, teeth and gum problems, and white or yellow tongue coating in the morning”, p. 14, Moore suggests, as the herb is a bitter tonic. And Cenizo “… is one of our good-tasting native teas… a cheerful, sensible, drink-for-the-pleasure teas…”, it’s good for colds and fever, p. 27. Both plants are found in specifically moister eco-regions of the lower southwest from Texas to New Mexico and Arizona. Their common names may sound unfamiliar: you may know them otherwise as Oregon Grape and Purple Sage, respectively. Whether bearing a Spanish or English common name, the one chosen to represent the herb is most commonly in use for the medicinal plant, perhaps acknowledging its ethno-botanical status. Diseases and conditions are helped by native or naturalized medicinal plants from that environment.
Most helpful are the extras, such as Moore’s Therapeutic and Use Index in which herbs for specific diseases and conditions are described. Herbal actions, even classifications such as food, fishing, and other surprising uses are included. Entries contain at least two selected plant names. For example, under Antiviral, the reader is directed to Echinacea and Tronadora, two herbs that when taken together yield an effective medicine against adenovirus and herpes simplex virus. The reader is also directed to the formula Immunostimulant #8, good for an infection, and it contains Echinacea, among three other herbs. Echinacea species is duly considered by Moore for its appearance, habitat, constituents, collection and preparation, stability and medicinal uses—the same description is given for each plant in the Profiles. But also this profile is extended to cover instructions in making an extract or tincture, constructed from dried herb to 1:5.
Many constituents listed for Medicinal Plants of Desert and Canyon West clear infections or are helpful with diabetes (adult onset), arthritis, painful urination, indigestion, or colds and flu; some of their qualities are astringent, hemostatic, disinfectant, immunologic, or tonic. The largest group of substances works directly on the intestinal tract, for inflammation, infection, diarrhea, diverticulitis, ulcers, colitis and cramps. Because they’re popularly known outside of medicinal uses, two interesting plants for intestinal distress are Agave and Jojoba. For chronic inflammation, ulcers and colitis, Jojoba leaves are infused as tea; seeds are also brewed for mucus membrane inflammation in the throat and bladder. While Agave, mentioned as a tonic, can clear indigestion, gas pain, and arthritis. Another herb for the intestinal tract, Yerba Mansa, helps with chronic inflammation, infection, ulcers and diverticulitis, and its use extends to external applications in the case of boils and cysts: it has a resinous aroma like Eucalyptus leaves.
Of the plants growing in the desert and canyon west, non-natives imported by immigrants to the region were once valued garden plants, or have become widespread weeds. Hollyhock has highly prized medicinal constituents for inflammation of the digestive and intestinal tract, kidney and bladder. And then Mallow, a weed, has mucilaginous sap that is demulcent to inflammation, both internal and external.
See an explanation of terms and the botanical names of plants from the text of Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West by Michael Moore on this page.
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