Have you ever been walking through a wooded area, or just maybe looking up in the tree tops on your own piece of land or the national forest and noticed some green fuzzy looking plant growing on the branches? Sometimes in little small plants and sometimes in great long hanging bunches. This is a lichen moss and it is called usnea. Usnea is a usable plant that can be added to your home pharmacy/apothecary. Sometimes you can find this herb laying about the ground after very windy days and on downed branches that came loose in the winds.
If you are all about natural medicine, this is one plant you do not want to miss out on collecting. It grows all over the world and can be found during any season, although easier to spot when the trees are void of all their leaves. It is as if mother earth knew when you would need it most, because during late fall through winter and into early spring is the usual times when most folks will be battling illness. This is when the leaves are gone from the trees and the usnea is easiest to spot. Pick up the usnea, or pull it off the tree branches and take it home to dry it. It can be dehydrated, dried over a heating source or in the sun.
Against certain bacteria, usnic acid is more effective than the antibiotic Penicillin
Fact
Usnea dries fast. After it is dry, you can place your usnea in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and place it on your shelf for future use. There are no poison look-a-likes and you will see it is very easy to spot this apart from other plant types because nothing grows quite like it. Usnea is used to treat all types of bacterial and viral infections both inner and outer of the body. It can be made into a tea (infusion), a tincture, an oil, a salve, whatever you like. According to what it will be used for, really, will determine what you make it into. Some years ago, I had my first go using it with my daughter and wife. After falling ill with the rapidly changing weather where we lived then, they both came ill with sinus infections and even some bronchitis and bronchiolitis.
Soon after I followed suit with a nice sinus infection, myself. I used 1 tsp. of usnea steeped in a cup of boiling water. For a nicer flavor, I added a tsp. of organic peppermint leaves from our garden. Cover your medicine infusion and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. I added honey after straining, for taste, and we all drank 2 cups a day for about 3 days and saw much improvement in that short time frame. At 1 week we were all on the climb to the top and not long after that, we were all healed completely. Anytime you deal with a sinus infection or other respiratory infection, it takes time. All that with no modern day prescriptions or doctors of any kind. Our fevers went away quickly, within that first 72 hours. Usnea is known to be a very powerful antibiotic. It is also a powerful antiviral and antibacterial herb so had no problem handling our issues.
It has been proven to be effective at staph and strep infections even! Pneumonia can not even stand up to this powerful natural medicine. If you have athletes foot, then steeping a cup of this herb in 2 cups of olive oil for 4 weeks can result in a medicinal oil that can be applied to the problem areas. In fact, this can be done with all herbs that have external uses and antiviral properties. If you want to really get the medicine to work for you, as powerful as mother nature intended, just steep a cup of usnea in 2 cups of 80-100 proof clear alcohol, such as ever clear or non-GMO vodka, for about 4 weeks, strain and jar it. This is called a tincture and will result in a very potent medicine.
Using a teaspoon, you can add about 4 teaspoons of the usnea tincture to a tea or juice and drink a few times a day. A medicine, made this way, will result in a much faster healing time and better use of your precious herb. On my home apothecary shelves, you can see usnea in a jar, usnea tincture, and usnea oil. You can see this with just about as many herbs as I can fit on the shelves, in fact, why go small?! We are talking about free medicine folks. Medicine with no side effects and with greater power and deeper history than any modern-day synthetic medicine. It is the time of spiritual awakening, evolution… a time of greater health. As we are edging very close to the fall season, 2021, it is also the season of the flu and viruses, and other illnesses, be ready in case you or a family member needs some medicine.
You must log in to post a comment.