Ethical Harvesting

“Wind,
blowing down a million years of plant medicine
brushed against me.
I flickered and was gone
insubstantial shadow in the mind of Earth.” –Stephen Buhner

Plant based medicaments have been harvested from the wild for thousands of years. Herbal training now and throughout time has always maintained a focus on how, when, where and how much to harvest of any particular plant.  There is a considerable degree of discretion required in terms of not just identification, but also what parts to harvest and at what stage of maturity. Another important consideration is whether or not to harvest at all. This question is central to the issue of ethics in harvesting.