Herbal
Wisdom
Institute

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Medicine Plants of the Southwest

Explore medicinal plants of the Sonoran Desert and desert Southwest through the lens of bioregional herbalism, traditional plant knowledge, and practical clinical application.

  • Class Date + Time

    August 12, 3:30PM PST

  • Class Duration

    2.5 Hours

  • Class Location

    Google Meet

  • Materials Provided

    Handouts

    Did you know that 60% of plants native to the Southwest are medicinal or edible? 

    In this class, we’ll take a closer look at a curated selection of native and bioregional desert plants, including their identification features, medicinal actions, preparation methods, traditional uses, harvesting considerations, and appropriate applications in modern herbal practice. We’ll also discuss how desert plants’ survival strategies, energetics, and ecological relationships can deepen our understanding of their medicine.

    Designed for students of herbalism, this class offers a grounded introduction to working with the plants of the desert Southwest while encouraging a deeper relationship with place, season, ecology, and ethical harvesting.

    You'll Explore:

    • Identification tips for key medicinal plants of the Sonoran Desert and desert Southwest
    • Medicinal actions, energetics, preparation methods, and practical applications
    • Traditional, historical, and contemporary uses of desert plants
    • Plant adaptations, ecological relationships, and how environment shapes plant medicine
    • Safety considerations, contraindications, and responsible use
    • Ethical wild harvesting principles and bioregional approaches to herbal practice

    Sustainability + Stewardship

    Herbal Wisdom Institute and all of its instructors are dedicated to land stewardship and respectful collaboration with land and the plants we work with. We teach conservative, geocentric wild-harvest principles and methods and have zero tolerance for irresponsible harvest and use of wild plants and places. 

    This course emphasizes sustainability, intuition, and stewardship, guiding you not just in how to identify herbs, but how to build a meaningful relationship with the land and the medicine it offers wherever you are.

    Jennifer Ribaudo
    Instructor

    • desertmoonbotanicals

    About

    Jennifer is a clinical and bioregional herbalist, educator, and founder of Desert Moon Botanicals, a small-batch herbal apothecary and education practice rooted in the Sonoran Desert. Her work is shaped by clinical training, field study, ethical wild harvesting, and many years spent learning from the plants and landscapes of Arizona.

    Before turning her focus to herbal medicine, she spent 30 years in corporate Information Technology and served in the U.S. Army. Those experiences continue to shape the practical, organized, and systems-minded way she teaches. She completed her Western Herbalism training at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts under JoAnn Sanchez, RH, AHG, and continues her education through mentorship, travel, fieldwork, and direct observation of plants where they grow.

    Read more about Jennifer
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