CSPH 5423: Botanical Medicines: Foundations and Practical Applications

This course is taught in person. Check the Schedule Builder for in-person meeting dates and times. Course will not be offered fall 2024.

Credits
1.00
Prerequisites
Graduate Students, undergraduate students (with junior status or above), or instructor consent.
Instructors:
Close up of green ferns

Course Description

Plants heal. From first aid remedies to solutions that calm, regional plants have been used for centuries to cure and treat. Healthcare professionals who are informed about botanical medicine will arguably be positioned to be truly patient centered. In this course, students will practically learn about local medicinal plants from an expert herbalist through oral history and hands-on experiential activities. Current literature will complement case study exemplars to demonstrate the benefits, uses, and considerations of numerous medicinal plants. Eclectic and western herbal medicine will be reviewed, and students will gain skills to gather, process, and apply selected local plants and herbs as ointments, salves, tinctures, and essences.

We will engage in plant walks and identification in this course, and spend our experiential day on an herb farm in southern Minnesota. Students should expect to walk during each class session, and should note that there is an all day off-site field visit that will require personal or student group transportation approximately an hour outside of the Twin Cities.

Lise Wolff is a Registered Herbalist and teacher, with over 25 years of clinical experience. In this brief clip, she guides us through the process of identifying fresh spring Day lily (Hemerocallis fulva). Lise invites us to use our senses to experience the plants and teaches us that herbalism is not only about medicine but also about enjoying the edible plants all around us. 

Contact [email protected] for additional information.

Course Format
In person
Semester Course Offered:
  • Fall

CSPH 5423 Course Flyer (PDF)