KAYUGA FIELD SCHOOL WEEKEND
Preliminary Plant List from Hunter Valley, Australia

Kayuga Herb Farm “Athlone”
Field School Herbarium
Dorset Rd., Muswellbrook NSW 2333.
Ph. 065 432292

19-20th October 1996

We at Kayuga herb farm (in the Hunter Valley, eastern Australia) ran our first weekend field school attended by 16 Sydney-based herb students. I thought some of our activities may be of interest to herbalists elsewhere.

The herb farm currently consists of an acre of cultivated medicinal herbs - mainly display gardens and some trial crops - enough to keep my clinic supplied in many of the staples. Our activities are now moving to several acres of creek flats, until recently cow pastures, now an array of wild and naturalised herbs (others say weeds!) with a smattering of Eucalyptus and Casuarina trees, all thriving in the good spring rains. Some of the better known herbs growing in abundance are Gallium aparine, Marrubium vulgare, Plantago lanceolata and Medicago sativa.

The first field school activity is creation of the herbarium - presently around 40 specimens being pressed, keyed out or spotted in field guides where possible. Many are local versions of better known species, for example we have "wild" sage, wild onion, wild opium poppy, wild geranium, dovesfoot cranesbill, wild raspberry, prickly lettuce and Mexican poppy. These are being progressively tested (or tasted) for energetic and texture qualities, and hopefully we'll get some analysed for constituents. Some are used as ingredients in my compound tea formulae and we are looking to other manufacturing possibilities. This is the initial species list of the herbarium.

Other activities on the weekend included field manufacturing, specifically of clivers juice (succus Galium) and fresh tincture of Calendula flowers. We also included a bush walk to the nearby "Coffin creek" and spotted several native herbs including the local Phyllanthus, Bursaria spinosa (sourse of esculin) and the aromatic Backhousia myrtifolia.

Future field schools will follow more specialised themes - they will become an integral part of the pharmacognosy course I teach as well as part of environmental education programmes (I am actively replanting native trees and helping retain and increase ecological and biodiversity values).

Despite the rain and primitive camping conditions everyone loved it - in fact many complained at the lack of this aspect of their herbal education - so we're planning for bigger and better things.

Andrew Pengelly, Medical Herbalist NHAA
Dorset Rd, Muswellbrook NSW 2333 Australia.
Ph. 065 432292. email: andrewrp@mail.enternet.com.au

Collections taken along sandy creek banks, open pastures and hillsides.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the contents of this page write to Andrew Pengelly at andrewrp@mail.enternet.com.au. If you want to comment on web design or broken links write to me, Howie Brounstein. Last updated November, 1996.
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