Have you noticed the Baltic people's love towards nature? Probably. But maybe you have also heard that it doesn't stop just with hiking in the forest or bog, not littering in the city or countryside or every second person having some kind of summer house away from the big city. In my opinion, one of the main reasons why Latvians and Estonians have and still love going in nature is SNACKS. No, not those kinds of, there are (usually) no vending machines in the forests. But it surprises me every year when I find out about more edibles and drinkables found in the forests and meadows around my country house or just a few hundred meters from almost any highway.
I have started to call this my herb-foraging summer, although I have not gathered even a half of the things I could or would like to. After all, it takes some planning, free time, gas to get out of the city and luck in finding a good place that has the herb you're looking for. And it's not like they are ready to forage all summer, no no no - the most valuable herbs sometimes bloom one week only and because of climate change, you never know when it's ready to pick, if you don't see it around you daily.
Come explore my summer 2024 of Herb-foraging in Latvia and Estonia.
The summer starts early - in spring. Some plants come out only in early, fresh meadows before any other meadow flowers have taken up the space. One of those is Gaiļbikši (lv) or cowslip. In Latvian it means "pants of the rooster" and just try to change my mind that it's not the best name for this plant. I dedicated an early May weekend to get out of Tallinn and scout for it. It was not easy, I went off the highway on smaller roads looking for free meadows with yellow spots on them. Suddenly, I saw a meadow with a huge boulder and decided to stop. It turned out to be Kiviloo Nõiakivi - a witch's rock. And just like a spell, it had brought me to what I was looking for - several spots of the rooster's pants enough to fill my little bag. I said thank you for the guidance to the rock by throwing a coin I had with me on top of it. If this raises questions - you just have to leave something in return to the rock, especially one of the witches for providing you with the best herb for cough, otherwise the witches may come to haunt you - better safe than sorry.
Now a bit about the herb cowslip or gaiļbiksīte. Usually, it blooms at the end of April, beginning of May, but it might be just one week, so look out for it then! It has been long mentioned in Latvian folk beliefs as a herb that helps to relieve heavy breasts. Not what you imagined though. A heavy feeling around the breasts is what appears in the case of pneumonia or a heavy, long-going cough, infused by viruses of the flu, or nowadays also covid. And the folk customs are proved right by science - pharmaceuticals have found that this herb really can help to cure coughing and especially help with expectoration (tnx google translate) after a sickness that has accumulated throat mucus. The easiest way to use it is to make a tea from the blooms of the herb - "mix 150 ml of hot water with a teaspoon of blooms, wait 15 mins, make anew one and use three times a day".
(a description of this and many other useful plants can be found in the amazing book by my friend and pharmacologist Inga Sīle https://www.janisroze.lv/lv/gramatas/pratam-garam-un-kermenim/netradicionala-medicina/arstniecibas-augi-no-ticejumiem-lidz-musdienam-99392.html )
Subscribe for the next stories as I catch up on the other foraged herbs of this summer, including a midsummer special!