You’re in for a treat! In this episode, I had such a delightful conversation with joAnna Sanchez, who has been “beckoned by the plants,” as she so lovingly puts it, for decades. She shares such hope for the world, gained through her work with the plants and relationships with other students of nature, and her positive attitude is infectious – I found myself just beaming after speaking with her!

I was thrilled that joAnna chose to speak about  Lobelia inflata, a plant that she has been working with closely for many years. She had so much to share about it – not only its medicinal benefits and tips for working with it, but also some fascinating history of this often-maligned herb. joAnna included her recipe for Lobelia Acetract, and you can download your beautifully-illustrated recipe card for this traditional preparation here: https://bit.ly/3Dm78DL

Lobelia is a diminutive plant with some big effects! Here are some of the ways lobelia has been worked with both historically and in modern days:

► As a respiratory antispasmodic, to help with asthma and coughing

► To relax the nervous system, reducing muscle twitches and tics

► To help stop smoking and give support with nicotine withdrawal

To learn even more about lobelia’s benefits, be sure to check out the entire episode!

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► Why lobelia is infamous in the herbal world (and why, despite its notoriety, it’s such an amazing plant!)

► Why you should only work with lobelia in low doses

► What makes lobelia a great plant for herbal skeptics

► An old-fashioned but still relevant herbal preparation for lobelia

► and so much more…

For those of you who haven’t met her, joAnna’s herbal journey began in the natural foods industry in 1979; she later served as clinician in private practice for 13 years. She was, and remains, a voracious reader of all things botanical. In 1997 joAnna wrote five texts and started teaching coursework at Sonoran University, where she began what is now likely the largest plant medicine garden in the Southwest. 

joAnna launched her own herb school for personal interest and professional training, and has trained a host of herbalism educators. She is a passionate educator, plant hunter, gardener, and conservationist herbalist. joAnna has a calling to remain personally experiential with her relationship to the plants, and to practice the preservation of herbal traditions.

I’m so excited to share our conversation with you today!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

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On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods & Remedies That Heal and co-author of the bestselling book Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine. She's a registered herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild and teaches many popular online courses. Read about how Rosalee went from having a terminal illness to being a bestselling author in her full story here.