The art and science of herbal medicine is about helping people and people helping themselves.  Using plants as a medium we are able to alter health/disease patterns.  How this is done can take a myriad of forms.  The fact that people have been reliably using plants for this purpose for a very long, long time, is easily obscured or at least marginalized in the face of high-tech, scientifically proven (whatever that means), glitzy "medical advances".  The trick is separating the grain from the chaff and not getting bogged down in frivolous side roads.

Using plants in order to provide relief for a suffering individual is at the heart of any herbalist's practice.  That plants influence us physiologically is of no dispute, but the details of how and why some of the plant kingdom effect us is what needs elucidation.  For those of you who are searching for practitioner, hands-on oriented information you should find the following pages illuminating.

Beyond the written material posted for educational purposes this site also serves as a display for the private practice of, and course of study conducted by herbalist Charles Kane.

Complicated
Really there is a patch-work of influences and philosophies affecting today's herbal affairs.  Currently herbal medicine, as it is practiced in America (and to some degree western Europe/Australia) falls into a number of divergent camps.

The Pharmaceutical/Drug Model
In a nut-shell, take the ideology behind conventional drug therapy (antibiotics for an infection/anti-inflammatories for inflammation/hypoglycemic agents for elevated blood glucose levels/etc.) and plug in standardized botanicals.  Herbs like Ginkgo, St. John's wort, and Garlic are as popular today because of this trend.  MDs and Naturopaths recommending or dispensing herbs usually fall into this group.  It's a morph of steely allopathic medicine and the counter-culture.

Classic and Neoclassic
Within practitioner-oriented herbalism, there are adherents to traditional western forms, such as Thomsonianism and Eclecticism, and eastern forms like Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda.  A myriad of hybrid "systems" exist, some actually improving upon the classical.  All to often though a type of cherry-picking occurs; the resultant stew is flavored with spices from around the world.  Maybe a good idea at the time, but in the end, diluted and hard to follow. 

Let's Make a Buck
Product lines; multi-level marketing; herbs from the Rainforest; herbs from an "untainted and pure" third-world country.  This modern-day equivalent to the traveling medicine show of the past is rife throughout the alternative medicine field. Some of these products are of decent quality, but promoted shamelessly.

Shamanism/Plant Spirit Medicine Types
Let's face it, adherents of herbal medicine can be "out there", although due to the field's popularity there is now a growing segment of "normal" individuals.  Still any herbal conference or related event is like Woodstock without the music and drugs.  There is a lot of weirdness in the field...not just different, but WIERD.  And why is it that all the "shamans" and "medicine men" are white and come from middle class, suburban upbringings?  It's like white kids trying to be black with the clothes, music, and the talk.

The Public
Hopeful that something will work, that something will ease the discomfort of the body (or mind).  Less concerned with the presentation; but is it effective?  Willing to try, but only with a minimal amount of effort.  Can't really be blamed, most of us have known easy times.

1. Use the Google search function; it connects only to information within this web site.
   
   
2. Search for plants (ex. Taraxacum officinale or Dandelion) or ailments/conditions (arthritis/indigestion). Entering the plant's scientific name will bring more results, especially connected photographs.
   
   
3. There are hundreds of individual medicinal plant monographs and related photographs on this site. They can either be searched for, or scrolled through: go to the "Publications" tab, then "Medicinal Plant Profiles" or "Photographic Index".
   
   
4. What makes this information unique? It is the difference between someone who flies airplanes first, then writes about the experience and the individual who only writes. He has no first-hand experience; he digests and regurgitates only what he has read through other sources. This last statement sums up 90% of the material on-line or in print regarding herbal medicine.

YOU DID WHAT!?

Yes, that's right, at nearly 40 I joined the army (infantry). From Ft. Benning, Georgia (fire ants, "what's a power-jumper drill sergeant?", stumbling to Honor Hill) to "FOB Patriot" at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina (didn't I just do all of this at Ft. Benning?), finally to eastern Afghanistan, I spent nearly 2 years in a strange comedic tragedy of my own choosing.

Just like as a man I will never be able to fully understand the experience of childbirth, I will never be able to fully communicate an understanding to those of you who have not had a war-time experience. Understated but true, trading gunfire with the Taliban is not for everybody; and usually the ones who think it is for them, well its not for them either. The ones who are repulsed by the whole idea (war, fighting, conflict), yes you, could probably stand to learn something.

I took over one thousand photos while in Afghanistan. Locals, military, plants, animals, buildings, a little bit of everything. I purposely have not put up anything I deem as compromising to the welfare of the US men and women still there, or blatantly voyeuristic - wounded, bodies, blown-up HUMWV's, etc.

Pictures can say a thousand words, so here are some that I think speak out. Most of them are taken from the turret, which gives an elevated vantage point.