First Flower-Erodium cicutarium, Witch's comb and Cowboy's Needle

My heart slept in cold for winter. i almost forgot full moon rises.

I look up and remember Ancha white with snow.

i know that in the moist, fertile earth now there is a becoming.

i mark time, for  change is my and our nature. i forgot sorrow, there is work to be done and medicine to be made.

The first ones are special, like so many years ago first kiss.  Body firm yet alive like wet earth giving with a dynamism of roots that spring back.

Her breath like apples and close to her a spicy ripeness like licorice Glycyrrhiza lepidota, woody and earthy full. A perfect carrot scent like fresh osha. Her hair the color of red silty mud, or a tincture of Mahonia bloodroot, Berberis haematocarpa

clear water catches the eye.

Every direction there is green growth, mountains forever.

At the tops of the sycamore there abouts cottonwood swells up at tips tender edges.

Underneath is this little one, pink green, tiny and easy to miss. 

Family: Geraniaceae

Erodium cicutarium subsp. cicutarium

Alfilerillo de pastor, Peine de la bruja, Aguja de vaquero ...(witch's comb, cowboy's needle) Later she will comb her hair and when she's done riding we may mention the cowboy, her friend for plans and seasons to come. 

As bioregional herbalists we examine the water in the rain and the plants especially the medicinal plants as they come through the round of spring time. Ambrosia spp, bitter and sweet resembling estafiate as it pokes through January's earth, looking forward and back like it's namesake, Janus.

In the area that is spoken of by the Gila River, by the salt River, and by the sky islands that sing into the sky. Speaking medicine gardens as they fall and rise through this place.  Cañagre, Rumex hymenosepalus

We look for the signs first in our hearts and then where our hurts breathe and sleep on the ground moist with rain the first flowers of spring.

When the days enlarge and the nights decline. We know that at this time new things will happen and we bless them this plant is the first, or one of the first flowers of spring time in my bioregion.

-translated from Spanish...."dried, 2 tbs cup astringent, diuretic and hemostatic used for uterine bleeding(tea), The root and the leaves have been used to encourage milk production.

Externally, the plant is used for cleaning insect bites, bites and other skin infections. Animal experimentation on this plant has shown to induce the production of interferon and antiviral effects. The infusion is used in gargles against infection of the tonsils, toothache, swelling of the throat, swollen gums, and astringent."

This is a direct quote from Los Remedios by Michael Moore, "As a urinary tract herb, a strong cup every few hours for mild bladder and urethra in fractions with sharp pain. A strong cup of the team relieves premenstrual water retention. Secondary uses: it's astringency makes it helpful for sore throat's, nausea, and diarrhea, as well as an effective wash for infected scratches and abrasions. It is one of the more widely used baths for arthritis. Preparation and dosages. Simple tea up to four times a day. Standard infusion 3 to 4 fluid ounces to four times a day. Toxicity: little. Usefulness: high." 

REFERENCES:

-Los Remedios:Traditional Herbal Remedies of the Southwest

Michael Moore, Red Cranebooks 1992

-Saul Casteñeda Dìaz, "Usos de la Vegatación Forestal Fanerogámica de San Miguel Pipilloa, Tlaxaca, México"

-translated from Spanish

Sroka Z, Rzadkowska-Bodalska H, Mazol I. Antioxidative effect of extracts from Erodium cicutarium L. Z Naturforsch [C] . 1994 Nov-Dec; 49 ( 11-12 ): 881-4 .

Zielinska-Jenczylik J, Sypula A, Budko E, Rzadkowska-Bodalska H. Interferonogenic and antiviral effect of extracts from Erodium cicutarium. II. Modulatory activity of Erodium cicutarium extracts. Arch Immunol Ther Exp (Warsz) . 1988; 36 ( 5 ): 527-36

Zielinska-Jenczylik J, Sypula A, Budko E, Rzadkowska-Bodalska H. Interferonogenic and antiviral effect of extracts from Erodium cicutarium. Arch Immunol Ther Exp (Warsz) . 1987; 35 ( 2 ): 211-20