The Lost Language of Plants

Today I finished reading my fun book of the last few weeks, The Lost Language of Plants.

I enjoyed much of it. Some of what I enjoyed most.

• The world does not generally operate in an evolutionary, "survival of the fittest" way. Rather, it operates on a "support and mutual benefit" way. Author Stephen Harrod Buhner offers many examples, such as pollinators (can you think of anything as mutually beneficial as a honeybee pollinating an apple tree?), or an insect that will eat the seeds of a plant, but never eat them all.
• The view of the earth, whether evolutionary/survivalist or mutual benefit, will affect how you live. If you want survival at all costs, it does not matter if you grow GMO crops or use antibiotics at every illness, even for growing animals larger, faster. But if you want mutual benefit, you look to the plants and nature for medicine.
• Various animals use plants as medicine. One scientist tracked a pregnant elephant and noted the regular diet. Then the elephant went miles away to eat an entire tree, at which point she easily birthed her baby. The local women use the same tree for the same purpose.
• Plant genetics are fluid. They change based on what is happening around them.
  Today, with the human genome mapped almost a decade ago, this should not be a surprise. We know that humans have about 20,000 genes, about 1/5 the total originally expected, based on the number of gene expressions in the body. The body changes according to what is happening around it. (One of the reasons breast milk is better than formula: the woman's body changes milk based on the immediate needs of the baby.)
  Buhner's book came out before the human genome project completed.
• Plants can communicate with humans. Be open to it.
• In the end, plants will, presumably, end up being the medicines we need, perfectly suited to us.

I read Buhner's first edition Herbal Antibiotics years ago. On the few occasions my sons have seemed to have a sore ear, I mix up the olive oil with garlic, drip some in the ear, and put them to bed with that. I've never needed a second dose.