Coltsfoot, nettle, cleavers and guelder rose — Kathie Bishop’s choice herbs to forage as we come into spring.
March in the UK is really the beginning of Spring proper, the beginning of the month marking the start of meteorological Spring and around 20th seeing the vernal equinox, when both day and night are of equal length once again — a time of balance. New shoots and growth are undeniable. Vital energy rises from the earth, and we see the shift towards the aerial parts of medicinal herbs, holding much potential for the growing year ahead. Spring cleaning is the name of the game in March.
Foraging is an ancient way to connect both with how our ancestors lived, the plants themselves and their healing, as well as the world around us. Whenever we forage, it is best to do so in a safe and ethical way, so please don’t set off before you’ve read and digested our article A Guide to Safe and Sustainable Foraging, also remembering to pick ‘above dog height’!
With that in mind, medical herbalist Kathie Bishop shares some of her favourite medicinal plants to harvest in the March wilds in the UK.
Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)
The bright, sunny, easily-identifiable flowers of the lung-restorative herb coltsfoot, bloom in early Spring, before the leaves come, making March the perfect month for foraging the distinctive coltsfoot. Liking clay soil and sloping banks with recently churned earth (1), building sites might be the perfect place to find it, if you can access it safely and without trespassing!
Although already alluded to, the latin binomial name for what we call coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara, gives us a hint for one of its primary uses. ‘Tuss’ refers to coughing, and Tussilago literally means ‘to drive away coughing’. Coltsfoot is what’s known as a trophorestorative of the lungs. Priest and Priest, in their seminal work Herbal Medication (2) define trophorestoratives as mildly relaxing and gently stimulating herbs specific to restoring the tissue and function of the mentioned organ, being suitable for long-term use for this job.
This means that coltsfoot is an ideal herb for prolonged use with bronchitis and other chesty, lung-based conditions with cough.
Coltsfoot is also an expectorant, meaning that it helps bring up and clear mucous from the lungs and airways. The flowers are great for irritant coughs and the leaves for phlegmy coughs (1).
On this point, it is worth adding a caution here when foraging, to stress the importance of correct identification. It can be easily mistaken for closely related, but poisonous, Butterbur (Petasites spp.), as it has similar leaves (1).
It is important to note that coltsfoot contains trace amounts of a class of photochemical called pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), which have proven to be controversial due to hepatotoxicity concerns and have received a lot of bad press in recent years as a consequence (1). For safety, it’s best to consult with a qualified herbal practitioner before taking coltsfoot internally, especially if you are or may be pregnant, breastfeeding, have a known liver condition, if the herb is to be prescribed for children or an extended duration.
While we needn’t be frightened or avoidant of a herb due to information that raises our awareness of potential risks, it serves as a good reminder that herbs can be potent and should always be used with respect and, very importantly, knowledge.
Coltsfoot also contains mucilage tannins, triterpenes and flavonoids (3).
If you are cleared to proceed, Coltsfoot flowers and or leaves can be used as an infusion, tincture or made into a syrup. As an infusion it can be taken as 1 teaspoon of dried herb to a cup of water 1–1½ cups a day (3). Combines well with elecampane (1).
Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Following on from chickweed in February, nettle is the second of the triumvirate of herbs holding space in the season as ‘Spring cleaning’ herbs. Nettle is a depurative herb. It is a perennial, and March is the perfect time to take advantage of its new Spring growth. Being a perennial, the nettle plant will still have its leaves and growth from last season. However, in March, it’s the new, lighter green, fresher leaves we are looking to work with.
Another common name for nettle is stinging nettle, and it’s worth noting that when harvesting nettle you may want to wear thick gloves. This is because of the little histamine-filled hairs on the stem which sting us on contact (initiating a histamine reaction in the epidermis — the sting). While these are at their fiercest in the summer, please do exercise caution with the fresh new growth.
Nettle has long traditional use as a nutrient-dense, ‘building-up’ plant, useful for example in anaemia, during menstruation or for a child that is failing to thrive, and can be freely and easily foraged, washed, and added to stews and soups. It is believed to contain numerous vitamins and vital minerals, such silica, iron, vitamin K, calcium, vitamin C. It’s a wonderful haemostatic (stops bleeding) and re-mineraliser where excess bleeding has occurred, for example in haemorrhage (4).
Though best avoided by those that need to eat a low histamine diet, due to its histamine content, it can be helpful for those suffering with allergy such as seasonal hay fever, urticaria and dermatitis when taken orally (5).
It’s also a diuretic, meaning that it stimulates the flow of urine and helps remove fluids from the body. Nettle can also be useful in arthritic conditions, gout and rheumatism due to it depurative, cleansing function.
The easiest way to take nettle is via a water infusion of the fresh tops, As previously mentioned, adding to stews and soups is also a great idea. It can be taken freely, except in rare cases of allergy, or if you are following a low histamine diet.
Cleavers (Galium aperine)
Cleavers (or Cliver’s) makes 3 — our third ‘Spring cleaning’ herb! A wonderful and deep lymphatic cleanser and alterative, its stems have a cheerful chimney-sweep appearance with rosettes of leaves around the stem at intervals, and sticky hooks along the stem, leading to one of its common names, sticky willy. Traditionally, it is a much beloved game of children in the Spring to pick the plant and stick it to each others’ clothes.
The late and rightly-celebrated herbalist, Christopher Hedley said of cleavers that if you take it for 90 days in the way described below, it will “restore true colour to the skin and make (you) so beautiful that everyone will fall in love with you” (1). Now there’s a recommendation! It’s also helpful for chronic skin conditions such as dermatitis, eczema and acne.
It can also be used in a mix for painful urination, and for enlarged lymph nodes.
The best time to work with cleavers is from March to early May when it is at its strongest new growth. It is also one of the only plants that is happy to grow amongst nettles so can be picked at the same time as the new tops of nettle (1), and perhaps added to food together.
The very best way to take cleavers is to make a cold, overnight infusion of the fresh arial parts of the plant, making for a refreshing cucumber-like flavoured drink. The next best way is a fresh plant tincture (1), and vitalistically the plant is cooling and moistening. Traditionally, cleavers has been used externally as a poultice for hard swellings, a poultice being a pack of (in this case fresh herbs) herbs wrapped in muslin and applied to the skin as needed (4).
Guelder rose / Cramp bark (Viburnum opulus)
As the focus of Spring moves its attention to the aerial parts for medicine, we shouldn’t forget that bark can be medicinal too. Cramp bark, or guelder rose as it is also known, is a large, native shrub with red berries that grows easily in damp soils (1). Primarily known for easing period pains and heavy menstrual bleeding, it has a broadly similar action to its American cousin, Black Haw (Viburnum prunifolium) — the main difference between the two being the colour of the berries (1).
The bark is used and can be carefully and respectfully stripped from the trunk of the shrub, never removing a full circumference, and chewed if needed out on a walk, but it’s very important to be really sure of identification here. If you’re not sure, then don’t do it!
With its anti-spasmodic, muscle relaxant, astringent, and sedative actions (4), it is a wonderful choice for painful menstrual periods. However, it can also be used clinically for a number of other conditions where muscular cramping plays a role, such as angina, spasm in the digestive tract or bladder, muscles cramps on exertion (4), or tension headache (5). Of course, if any of these are on-going issues its always best to work with a professional herbal practitioner to ensure you’re taking the best herbs for you.
It’s worth noting that, due to the effects on the smooth muscle of the uterus, cramp bark shouldn’t be taken in pregnancy or if you think you may be pregnant unless specifically under the supervision of a medical herbalist. Also, large doses may cause giddiness due to its blood pressure lowering effects (1).
Aside from using the bark fresh from the shrub out in the wild, it is normally taken as a tincture of the fresh bark, but can also be made as a decoction, using 1–2 teaspoons per cup, having half a cup a day (4). Tincture of cramp bark can also be added to creams for spasmodic back or neck pain (1).
References
- Hedley C, Shaw N. Plant Medicine: A collection of the teachings of herbalists Christopher Hedley & Non Shaw. Ed by Waddell G. 1st ed. Aeon; 2023.
- Priest AW, Priest. Herbal Medication: A Clinical and Dispensary Handbook. The C. W. Daniel Company Ltd; 2000.
- Kuhn MA, Winston D, Herbal Therapy & Supplements: A Scientific & Traditional Approach. Lippincott; 2001.
- Bartram T. Bartram’s Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine. Constable and Robinson; 1998.
- Bone K, The Ultimate Herbal Compendium: A Desktop Guide for Herbal Prescribers. Phytotherapy Press; 2007.
