Native medicinal plants play a prominent role in the biological and cultural worlds we inhabit everyday. As iconic landscapes of the Southwest evolve, observing plant interactions with their environment can inform our understanding of botanical medicine and illustrate the impacts of economic land use and climate change. Observing plants’ ecological relationships provides insights about how they can act as healing agents in the land and for people, too. We will explore this concept through the examples of several native medicinal plant species growing in different habitats of our region.
Ms. Saville is an herbalist and community educator and author of The Ecology of Herbal Medicine: A Guide to Plants and Living Landscapes of the American Southwest, scheduled for publication in March 2021. She lives in Albuquerque, NM.
