Herbs with Rosalee

Is dandelion primarily a liver herb? Is it too bitter to enjoy every day? And is it only useful in the spring? In this conversation, we explore four common myths about dandelion and the many ways this familiar plant can support our health throughout the year. ► Myth #1: Dandelion is primarily a liver herb. Discover why dandelion's effects go far beyond the liver, including its role in bile product...

Think raspberry leaf is just for pregnancy? Think again! This familiar backyard plant has gifts for everyone, from supporting menstrual and prostate health to nourishing the body with an abundance of minerals. In this episode, I'm joined by Leanne Hatfield, a physician turned farmer and herbalist, to explore the many gifts of raspberry ( Rubus idaeus ) beyond its familiar role in pregnancy. As Lea...

Why dandelion? Honestly, you told us! After Nettle Immersion, we asked what plant you wanted to spend time with next, and dandelion came out on top. We couldn’t have been happier, because this is a plant both of us love so much we have it tattooed on our bodies. Dandelion is scrappy, generous, and everywhere. It’s often the first plant people ever get to know as medicine (it was Mason’s gateway he...

Enrollment for my new online course, Herbal Heart Health, closes tonight! In this course, my friend Rich Mandelbaum and I explore how herbs can support heart health, from high cholesterol and blood pressure to arrhythmia, congestive heart failure, and stroke recovery. You’ll learn how to choose appropriate herbs for different people, understand lab work, and navigate herb-drug interactions with gr...

What do you get when you combine a mysterious berry, a bottle with David Bowie on the label, and an herbalist determined to get everyone dancing? In this episode, I sit down with my good friend Mel Kasting to discuss aralia berry ( Aralia racemosa ), an herb that I admittedly knew almost nothing about before our conversation! Mel fondly refers to aralia berry as “dance berry” because of its remark...

Is garlic overhyped for heart health? You’ve heard it can help balance cholesterol, but does it actually work? And how do you use it to get results? In this video, I explore how garlic works, why preparation matters, and what research says about garlic’s effects on cholesterol and heart health. ► Learn how crushing, chopping, or mincing garlic helps form allicin, a compound behind many of garlic’s...

Hey friends, Rosalee here! I wanted to make sure you knew that I’m co-hosting a free webinar with my friend and fellow herbalist Rich Mandelbaum. We’ve teamed up to talk about 3 Advanced Ways Herbalists Work with the Heart . Sign up for the free webinar here: https://freeherbwebinar.com/ Heart health is one of the most common reasons people turn to herbalists, and chances are someone you love is t...

Hawthorn is one of my favorite herbs, and I get a lot of questions about it! In this video, I answer three of the most common ones. Should you use the berries or the flowers and leaves? Can you safely harvest hawthorn from trees in your neighborhood? And what should you know about using hawthorn alongside heart medications? We’ll explore different ways to prepare hawthorn, practical tips for respo...

Many gardeners are familiar with borage: those gorgeous, starry blue flowers that bees absolutely adore. But what if there’s more to borage than just a pretty face? In this episode, I sit down with Bridget Giuffrida to discuss the many virtues of borage ( Borago officinalis ). During our conversation, Bridget shares how she loves to work with borage as a cooling, soothing ally for the skin, emotio...

Marshmallow ( Althaea officinalis ) is one of those plants that can be easy to overlook. It’s gentle, pleasant, and uncomplicated—but that simplicity is exactly what makes it so useful. In this episode, Amy Boldt and I explore what makes marshmallow such a versatile plant ally, along with some of the ways she has come to work with it over the years, from cold infusions to adding the powdered root...

Have you ever tried an herb that everyone swears by, and it did nothing for you—or even made things worse? Good news: it all comes down to energetics, and once you learn to see people and plants through this lens, you’ll be able to choose the right herbs with confidence. Over the last few weeks, I’ve asked you to send in your questions about herbal energetics—and send them in you did! In this epis...

How do we actually know what’s in our herbs? Herbs rarely come with nutritional labels, and how a plant is grown, harvested, and stored can dramatically change what ultimately ends up in your cup. There are two ways we can learn more about what our herbs contain. We can turn to tested data, including resources like Dr. Duke’s Phytochemical Database, but we also have another incredibly useful tool...

Your tongue can tell you more about an herb than you might think. In this episode, I explore one of the most useful skills in herbalism: learning to listen to the language of taste. The five flavors—bitter, sweet, pungent, salty, and sour—each have so much information to offer about a plant’s qualities and actions in your body, giving you a practical way to understand herbs (instead of trying to m...

I once heard from a woman who had been studying herbs for two years and had gathered an entire cabinet full of them. But when her mom caught a cold, she stood in her kitchen with the kettle on and couldn’t bring herself to make her a cup of tea. She was afraid she might get it wrong. If you’ve ever felt that way, I want you to know that your caution isn’t a problem. In fact, I think it’s the exact...

Plantain was the first herb I ever learned, almost twenty years ago, and it still amazes me. It grows in sidewalk cracks, driveways, trails, and other disturbed places, which makes it incredibly easy to overlook. But once you understand plantain through the lens of herbal energetics, this humble plant starts to look very different. In this episode, I’m busting three common myths about plantain and...

Rosemary is probably best known as a culinary herb, but there’s so much more to this familiar plant. Once you understand its warming, stimulating energetics, many of rosemary’s seemingly unrelated uses start to make sense. In this short episode, I’m sharing three surprising ways to work with rosemary as medicine and showing you how herbal energetics can help you understand why a plant works the wa...

Pokeweed is poisonous—but that’s not the whole story. What if knowing how to work with this potent plant could turn fear into respect, and even put a delicious wild green on your dinner table? As many of us learned growing up, poke ( Phytolacca americana ) is a plant that deserves a healthy amount of caution. It is poisonous, after all! But AC and Isaac Hill have spent years learning how to work w...

Butterfly pea is beautiful enough to steal the show—but what if its real magic has nothing to do with its color? In this episode, I’m joined by Clarenda Stanley (aka Farmer Cee), who completely changed the way I think about butterfly pea flower ( Clitoria ternatea ). I’ll admit that before this conversation, I mostly thought of butterfly pea as the plant that turns your tea an incredible cobalt bl...

There’s something almost impossible to ignore about bee balm ( Monarda spp. ). Its flowers burst open like fireworks, its aroma is unmistakably spicy, and when you taste it, you can feel its warmth almost immediately. But this is where bee balm gets especially interesting: despite its intense hotness, it can be an excellent herb for actually dispersing heat. In this episode, Ashley Elenbaas and I...

Hibiscus is tart, cooling, beautiful—and so much more than just a refreshing summer drink. Hibiscus ( Hibiscus sabdariffa ) may be best known as the star ingredient in the tart, ruby-red beverage called jamaica or sorrel, but there is so much more to this beautiful plant! In this episode, Rebecca Fils-Aimé takes us beyond the familiar drink to explore hibiscus as food, medicine, and cultural tradi...

Some herbal blends become such a regular part of my life that I honestly don’t know what I’d do without them. Take Heart Tea is one of those blends. Here, I share a beautiful tea that nourishes both the heart and the nervous system, especially during rough or stressful times. ► Why tulsi is the backbone of this blend and how I think about its ability to bring both clarity and steadiness ► How hawt...

What if a plant we spend so much time pulling off our trees and walls is actually a forgotten medicinal ally? Common ivy ( Hedera helix ) has a complicated reputation. It’s abundant, beautiful, and deeply woven into the European landscape, yet many people think of it as an invasive to eradicate rather than something to learn from. In this episode, herbalist Luke Ó hErodáin reveals the forgotten me...

When wildfire smoke fills the air, supporting the lungs is only part of the picture. Here, I share the three-part strategy I use when formulating an herbal tea for smoky days. ► Support the lungs. Learn why I turn to plantain, a soothing demulcent herb, to help calm irritated respiratory tissues and why recent clinical research supports its traditional use. ► Support the heart. Wildfire smoke has...

Kava has been praised, feared, celebrated, and misunderstood. So what's the real story behind this remarkable plant? Kava ( Piper methysticum ) has a reputation that's hard to ignore. Some people swear by it for easing tension and helping them unwind, while others know it only through headlines about safety concerns and controversy. In this episode, herbalist and author Rachelle Robinett joins me...

Could the secret to better digestion be hiding in your compost bin? In this episode, clinical herbalist Heather Luna makes the case for an herb that most of us literally throw away. She reveals why orange peel ( Citrus x sinensis ) has become one of her favorite everyday herbs—and why it deserves a place in your kitchen instead of your compost. During our conversation, Heather explores many of the...