over 12 years of articles & videos

Conference attendees got to explore a high(ish)-elevation mixed aspen-conifer forest ecosystem.In addition to many edible and medicinal plants, there were also some fungi to appreciate, including this Russula aeruginea.

Red Belted Conk (Fomitopsis schrenkii) "sweating" on the side of a log. The liquid drops are released by growing conks, which are undergoing rapid metabolism, in a process called guttation. The drops are a bit pungent and sour-tasting. I was seeking a couple young conks to make a salve for tense, sore muscles and joint and nerve pain that I'll be...

My latest article is out : )  See it here!    

Read it in the Late Summer issue of Edible New Mexico (pages 42-46):   https://www.ediblenm.com/late-summer-2023-four-corners/

Photoessay in Denver Westword Boletes, the Vomiter, Fly Agaric, Shaggy Mane, Toothed Jelly Fungus, Agaricus, and more...    https://www.westword.com/restaurants/mushrooms-grow-colorado-forage-edible-poisonous-16931728

My article in Edible New Mexico magazine about preparing cooked powders of wild mushrooms that you can use year round in the kitchen.   Read it here : ) 

My article in Edible New Mexico magazine that shares a few ways to use Fir needles in the kitchen. See it here : ) 

Content (c) Dr. Anna Marija Helt, Osadha Natural Health, LLC.  Permission to republish any of the articles or videos in full or in part online or in print must be granted by the author in writing. The articles and videos on this website for educational purposes only & have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This...

Wood Ear Mushrooms      Auricularia      Jelly Ear     Wild Mushrooms

California Poppy    Eschscholzia californica   Wild Plants   Calming Herbs    Pain Herbs

Red Belted Conk (Fomitopsis schrenkii)     Artist's Conk (Ganoderma applanatum)         Aspen Bracket (Phellinius tremulae)

Shaggy Mane Mushroom               Alcohol Inky Cap Mushroom

Wild mushrooms            Bird's Nest Fungi

Originally published in Plant Healer Quarterly, Vol. IX, Edition IV (Winter 2019/2020)   A 2026 update! Researchers as of 2025 and 2026 have finally published about endophytes that either synthesize or else induce increased cannabinoid production (in hemp, for examples).  Visit pubmed.gov and search for "endophytic" and "cannabinoid."     ...

Amanita vaginata    Grisette

Urtica dioica   Medicinal plants   Gardening    Wild plants

All images (c) Anna Marija Helt/Osadha Natural Health, LLC. Not to reproduced without written permission.   Looks like mushroom season is happening after all, despite a dry fall/winter/spring. Thank you, monsoons! These are Suillus kiababensis growing under Ponderosa Pines, with which they have a mycorrhizal relationship.And the underside,...

Easy and fun to do, mushroom spore printing is also an important step in mushroom identification. Spore prints are when you collect spores en masse from the mushroom cap. By doing that, you can see spore color, which would otherwise be impossible without a microscope.    

Wild Rose      Pedicularis     Lousewort      Rocky Mountains   Medicinal Plants