Episode 011 - Dr. Susan Leopold on Rare Medicinal Plants

Underworld Smuggling! Anti-viral herbs! Parasitic medicinal plants! Cannabis, Ginseng. This episode has it all. My conversation is with Dr. Susan Leopold, Ethnobotanist and Executive Director of United Plant Savers. Here are some of the topics we discuss:

• Medicinal parasitic plants

• Sandalwood

• United Plant Savers

• Protections for rare plants, lack of in US

• Not aligning with other parts of the conservation movement

• Underworld smuggling

• Trade in white sage

• Migrant labor and herb harvests

• Gypsy co-ops and ramps

• Forest Grown Program

• Supporting herbal companies doing right by plants and people

• Harvesting ramps in Europe

• Federal management of medicinal plant harvest -- in Europe, lacking in United States

• Osha and disturbance

• Anti-viral herbs and coronavirus. Shutdown in trade of medicinals

• Forest service management and medicinal herb conservation. Overgrazing

• FairWild plant trade issues due to coronavirus

• Growing hemp in Virginia

• Spagyric extraction of cannabis

• Cannabinoids and Ginsenosides as diffusive herbs

• United Plant Savers Goldenseal Sanctuary

Find Susan’s herbal products at ParisApothecaryVA.com

This podcast is brought to you by Wild Ridge Plants, offering medicinal and edible native plants from locally propagated seed. Shop our mail order native plants.