Materia Medica 5-week Course

Note:  This is a live, in-person class series, hosted on a farm in the 9th Ward of New Orleans.  Location and directions will be provided upon registration.

Build your knowledge of specific herb personalities in this 5-week hands-on course! We will dive deep into the identification, growing habits, medicinal use, specific indications, and flavor profile of a select group of commonly-used and bioregionally-relevant herbs.  You will come to know these plants personally and in-depth, as a start to building your own personal Materia Medica.

Materia Medica is Latin for 'healing materials.'  In Western Herbalism, the term refers to the cataloging of the body of knowledge collected about the healing properties and history of use of a specific plant.  In our modern age, with commercial access to hundreds of medicinal species, the number of available remedies can become overwhelming!  This course is designed to focus your learning away from long lists and memorization, and steer you towards a deeper sense of connection with select plant allies.

Plants will be arranged by botanical plant family, exposing the student to the basic principles and history of botanical classification and identification.  Each week we will meet a new plant family, learn its shared characteristics, and discuss the patterns we see within the the selection of herbs.  Plant families covered will include Mints (Lamiaceae), Asters (Asteraceae), Rose (Rosaceae), Mallow (Malvaceae) and more!

 March 12th - Class One: Basic Botany and the Carrot Family
March 19th - Note: No class this week!
March 26th - Class Two: Meet the Asters
April 2nd - Class Three: The Mint Family
April 9th - Class Four: The Mallows and the Heathers
April 16th - Class Five: The Rose Family

These classes are open to all levels, however, a foundational understanding of or interest in herbalism is a plus!  This course is intended as a supplement to Rosalie's Heart of Herbal Medicine courses, and past, current, and future students are encouraged to enroll to deepen their knowledge of plants introduced in that course.

Taught by Lou Carrig

Fee: Sliding scale $30-50 per class, or sign up for the entire series (5 classes) for $140-$200. 

 For more information on our Sliding Scale, please visit our About Our Classes page.