Earthen Hearts — Lomatium Root.

When the long, hot days of a southern Idaho summer begin to cool and the sunlight shifts to softer tones and earlier evenings, I know it’s almost time to head north and harvest wild Lomatium dissectum. A robust member of the wild parsley family, Lomatium contains precious medicine within its gnarled, fist shaped taproot. Used topically, its resin helps heal and soothe dry, cracked skin and persistent conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Taken internally, it is a powerful immune system booster.

By late October, the root has drawn down all the phytonutrients collected during the summer months by its fernlike fronds and sturdy flower stock, and is ready for harvesting. My favorite patch of Lomatium grows high up in the mountains above a particularly beautiful stretch of the Salmon River. I look forward to visiting each fall—the lanky flower stalks nodding their lacy seed heads at me in the crisp autumn breeze like old friends welcoming my return. 

I am patient and selective in my choice of which roots to harvest. The plants let me know if they are ready, and I never take more than is needed. Lomatium is notoriously difficult to unearth, preferring to post up in rocky, hard-packed earth that chisels more easily than it digs. But the strong, healthy patch I visit grows in soil that gives way readily to my spade—as though they want to be lifted from the ground to share their medicine.

At the end of last season’s harvest, I stood among the nodding flower husks to offer a prayer of thanks to the resinous roots. Eyes closed, I was overcome by a beautiful vision—all the Lomatium beneath my feet were pulsing in unison with golden light, each one connected to the next by a thick golden thread, like a vast network of earthen hearts beating a warm, steady rhythm down the mountainside and out into the world. 

When incorporating Lomatium root into my products, I do my best to honor the healing energy and magic contained within this powerful plant. I hope that each time you massage Vanilla Healing Cream into your skin or take in a dropper full of Lomatium Root Tincture, you experience the restorative radiance of that golden light.