Jess Turner of Olamina Botanicals is on a mission to promote understanding between ordinary plants and people, while rekindling a connection with our better-informed ancestors. We tagged along as she harvested plants for her First Aid Spray - join us.
Photo by Nancy Neil
The short ingredients list in Olamina Botanical’s First Aid Spray reveals four medicinal plants that are easy to find, growing in gutters or abandoned lots: plantain, chickweed, bidens, and feverfew.
“It was important for me to make the ubiquitous herbs that grow abundantly in my bioregion the basis of my First Aid Spray,” says Jess.
Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is most-often used for migraines.
“All of the herbs in my First Aid Spray work really well at keeping microbes in check, soothing inflamed tissues and speeding our body’s healing processes.
The use of a tonic and tincture can seem mysterious to the uninitiated, becoming a special-occasion treatment that languishes in a cupboard, only to be forgotten.
Jess tries to overcome this abundance of caution by making her treatments irresistibly attractive to the senses, including fragrance and taste.
Her approach is practical: “Let’s rediscover the ways our ancestors harnessed the power of some so-called weeds to bring ease.”