Devils Club

Yesterday I walked into the woods...

I journeyed there with my partner of nearly two years and our puppy of nearly two weeks.  We were not long journeying before we reached the home of Devils Club, a damp and muddy trickle of water where this water loving plant thrives.  I said hello to the shoots growing up there, giving gratitude as we passed.  We walked further into the woods, our new dog fighting over the ferns and under logs to keep up.  The destination of this climb was the top of a hill, where a beautiful and large stand of Devils Club grows.  As we neared the top of the hill, the sun began to emerge from behind its cover of clouds.  It seemed as if the plant was welcoming us to its home.

There is a distinct pungency--a volatile and uplifting quality--to Devils Club.  I can see this in the character of the plant as reflected in its morphology, its scent, taste, and environmental niche.  Devils Club possesses a phenomenally unique smell, warm and earthy, with a spicy, almost sharp and prickly taste.  The plant grows in tall spiky stalks that can reach up to fifteen feet high.  It propagates when these stalks fall to the ground.  The fallen stalks become roots, and allow for new stalks to shoot up.


The root of this plant is strong medicine, and is used in a variety of different ways for a many different ailments.  It is commonly used to treat coughs, colds and respiratory ailments.


When we reached our destination at the top of the hill, I felt a sudden urge to leave my partner for a moment, and journey over off in a direction I had never been before.  I asked her pardon for my sudden departure and took off with our pup--Luna--following.  Ducking beneath the bows of a large cedar, I disappeared into the forest, following subtle impulse to move.  Jumping over logs and parting my way between the large sword ferns, I came to the edge of a deep grove in the landscape, carved by years of seasonal water-flow.  




There before me was the largest and most prolific territory of Devils Club I had ever encountered.  Thirty feet on either side of the slight trickle of water was completely covered with Devils Club.  In that moment, I could not escape a powerful sense of wonder.  This plant has had an involvement with humanity long before recorded history.  Its uses as a medicinal plant have been understood by native populations for generations innumerable.  The spirit of this plant has initiated many humans into a collaboration with nature, has cured a vast array of diseases, and its use as a tonic and plant ally have improved the quality of life for people across many boundaries.  There, in that dark, cool, muddy waterway, surrounded by Devils Club, I felt inspired to the point of awe.


I harvested a small piece of root in a way that encouraged future growth for the plant.  Taking only what I needed, I gave thanks for the amazing medicine that Devils Club undoubtedly is.  Devils Club is known to be an adaptogen, immunomodulator, blood sugar regulator, and a tonic for the lungs, yet the reputed uses of Devils Club range much further.  It is said to have had success in curing and treating cancer, diabetes, and arthritis, and many have used the plant to strengthen and balance the body--mainly through its tonitonifying and nourishing effect on the adrenal glands.  The smell of earth rose to meet me when I gathered this powerful medicine, and the pungent, aromatic smell greeted me as I cut into the root. 


I am amazed at the multitude of successful uses attributed to this plant.  It makes me wonder at the way I usually see the world... There seems to be much more complexity then I am normally aware of.  It seems to me, that if one plant can be used so successfully, the dominant perspective of Western Medicine--with its isolated and fabricated constituents as the primary mechanism for treatment--is a very limited vantage point.  There seems to be so much wonder and mystery in the way this plant can heal us humans.  As we pile back into our car, the smell of Devils Club beautifully colors our ride home...