In My Garden, You Will Find: Lonicera involucrata (Twinberry)

Just a baby, this Willamette Valley native is a lovely addition to the garden we are creating.  Its black berries will ripen in late summer, which our backyard birds will love.  One of my favorite features of the twinberry are the pairs of yellow flowers that give way to a pair of black berries, hence the name "twinberry." 

I plugged this plant into the handy dandy Native American Ethnobotany database and found that many different Native American tribes used the bark as a pulmonary aid for cough and congestion.  The poultice of chewed leaves or toasted bark were used as a salve for itching or open sores, even to treat venereal diseases like gonorrhea.  Juice from the berries was used to soothe sore eyes.  The Kwakiutl Indians used the bark for sweatbaths and even rubbed it on their breasts to help stimulate milk production.  It was used to soothe sore muscles and as a treatment for arthritis and rheumatism.  These are just a few highlights--there are many other uses listed!  Check out the link above.

It gives me great joy to learn about the medicinal uses of plants.  Even if I don't use my backyard native plants as medicine, having the knowledge about how they can be used is important to me.  As I continue to learn, I plan to experiment over the coming years, especially with the various berries several of our native plants will be producing.

I still love this video on elderberry by Rosemary Gladstar, and have watched it many, many times.  I hope to buy Rosemary Gladstar's book, Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide. 

What is growing in your garden?  What medicinal properties do your plants possess? 

x o, Karli

Leave a Comment Backyard Habitat, Birds, Environment, Gardening, Healthy Living, Medicinal Plants, Native