Grindelia with Lisa Ganora

Grindelia, or gumweed as it's sometimes known, is a warming, aromatic expectorant, a smooth muscle relaxant that can soothe a spasmodic cough...and it's abundant in many landscapes. Please join me for a discussion about this weed of many gifts with Lisa Ganora, who is delightfully energetic and obviously thrilled to share her abundant wisdom. You’ll also receive Lisa’s detailed recipe for Grindelia Respiratory Elixir.

For those of you who don't know her, Lisa began studying herbal medicine in the early 80s. After practicing as a Wise Woman tradition community herbalist, wildcrafter, and medicine-maker for a decade, Lisa returned to school at UNCA and graduated summa cum laude with multiple awards in biology and chemistry. After graduation, she focused on exploring herbal constituents; pharmacognosy and phytochemistry, in the context of Western clinical herbalism and Vitalist therapeutics. In addition to founding and directing the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism from 2012 to 2020, and managing Elderberry's Farm, a Rocky Mountain herbal education center in Paonia, Colorado, Lisa has also served as Adjunct Professor of Pharmacognosy at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, and has lectured and taught classes at numerous schools and conferences around the world.

She is the author of Herbal Constituents, in its 2nd edition, a popular textbook on herbal phytochemistry for natural health practitioners, which is used by schools and universities worldwide. Lisa also teaches distance learning courses on herbal constituents and pharmacy and formulates botanical and CBD products for the dietary supplements industry.

Listen in for:

► How the cacao tree, a friend’s advice, and dandelion root got Lisa started on her herbal path

► Why Lisa uses Grindelia in respiratory formulas and how it can serve as an alternative to oshá

► Why it’s valuable to know the constituents of a plant and how to extract them

► How we are all inextricably connected, from the standpoint of chemistry

Here is one of my favorite takeaways from our conversation:

“Instead of thinking, ‘This herb is good for this condition,’ I like to think, ‘What actions does the herb have? And then what actions do you need with this condition?’” (Timestamp: 00:49:47)

I was so thoroughly enjoying all that she had to say that I let the conversation meander longer than usual. As you listen to Lisa’s many pearls of wisdom, I think you'll agree it was a good choice. I’m delighted to bring our conversation to you today!

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Get full show notes including a transcript of this episode 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 Herbalist 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.