Most Sacred or "Devil's" Club part 1

This week I wanted to present a very special plant that is not that common, but is truly a potent and powerful medicine.  Even though we might not have a chance to work with it directly, it is an interesting plant that illustrates the attitudes we have towards plants and how our current attitudes might be informed by the wisdom of indigenous cultures.

This plant's latin name is Oplopanax horridus.  Already a certain bias is apparent in the name in that the second-half of the name implies something horrible or horrendous.  Ironically, the first-half of the latin name is more forgiving.  It actually contains the root "panax" which is also the root of the word panacea which means cure-all.  The two differing attitudes about this plant are contained in its scientific name as well as the common names!

Most folks who have encountered this plant know it as Devil's Club.  Encountering this plant deep in a shady, wet forest and placing your hands on it unknowingly,  might very well give you an understanding of why this was the name chosen by early naturalists and settlers.  The plant does have thick, intense thorns that can break off and cause infections in the skin.  In the Pacific Northwest and up to Alaska where this plant is found, it's spiny nature does stand out compared to the lush green moist plants common in the under story of forests.


However, in this same region (Cascadia up to Alaska), this plant is considered the most important plant as a medicine and one of the most important plants spiritually.  Among a variety of Native Northwest peoples, this plant has played a huge number of roles in traditional culture for a very long time.  An ethnobotanist friend of mine who lives in the  Snoqualmie Valley watershed where I live, has shared that the name for this plant among the Snoqualmie people is Most Sacred.  So, we have Devil's Club or Most Sacred.  What an interesting insight into the psychology and cultural beliefs of the people interacting with this plant.

One could almost make the conjecture, that the name Devil's Club reflects the colonial, oppressor, destructive mindset that sees nature as something to exploit while Most Sacred reflects a more sustainable, nature-connected mindset that appreciates the value of all parts of an ecosystem and even understands that plants might be something to revere.

Obviously, this is a vast generalization, but it does really take me to the heart of why I am writing about plants, the rhythms of the seasons, and our connection to our bodies and the natural world.  I am hoping that we can all come closer to understanding this idea of a plant being the Most Sacred.

When working with students and colleagues who are studying nature connection and plant medicine, there has been a lot of anecdotal reports of people having very powerful, sometimes strange experience with this plant.  Almost everyone talks about how intelligent and alive the plant seems.  Many of my students have been able to feel a palpable energy from the plant when they put their hands near it.  This is even the case with people who do not consider themselves energetically sensitive, are skeptical about such things, or who do not have a lot of experience with these kinds of things.

A friend of mine and I were talking about this plant recently and she mentioned how every time she walks past this plant she feels like she needs to stop and pay attention to it.  Her attitude that naturally arises within is one of reverence.

The Most Sacred is in the Araliae family of plants which do include Ginsengs and Spikenards.  I find the fact that this plant is in the same family as the Ginsengs quite interesting.  In fact, stories about this plant have many parallels to the Ginsengs because the cultural context around Ginseng in its different forms is a lot broader than most people realize.  In China, Ginseng was not just prized as a Qi-enhancing medicine.  It was considered to have the very energy that we need to live a long and vital life.  It was made of fundamental life-force.  Old, wild-harvested Ginseng roots were considered potent enhancers of the spirit as well.  Recently, one of my students sampled a Ginseng Elixir in a class of mine and mentioned that suddenly she had the desire and energy to meditate all day!

A Cherokee herbalist I once took some classes with discussed the way in which American Ginseng was used by his people.  He mentioned that not only was it considered a powerful herb to consume (which could give one the energy to run up a mountain!), but that if old roots were found that they would be harvested in a ceremonial way.  Then these old roots would sometimes be hung and beaded and kept as a talisman for protection and prosperity. Apparently, these forms of American Ginseng were actually too valuable to consume!

I think it is important for us to be careful to not make broad assumptions about the similarities of medicinal properties of plants in the same family.  In fact, studies of the Most Sacred have shown that it is chemically quite different from Ginseng.  However, many people with a background in Chinese Medicine who have been exposed to fresh the Most Sacred bark or roots comment on the similarities in odor and even taste.

Obviously, there is a lot to write about this plant.  I haven't even begun discussing it's specific medicinal qualities!

I want to finish this entry by introducing a pet theory of mine.  In the last 50 to 100 years, a lot of research has been put into a plant known as Eleutherococcus senticosus.  This plant has also been known more commonly as Siberian Ginseng.  It has been researched a lot in Russia and is said to have similar properties to Ginseng, both American and Asian.  Apparently, there is quite a bit of controversy around this name as it is not really a Ginseng (Panax species), so now it is some kind called Eleuthro.


Whatever you call this plant, what is known about it is that it has long spiny thorns that grow on it, and when you compare the medicinal properties between Eleuthro and the Most Sacred you find a lot of overlap.  My theory is that these two plants are more closely related than we realize and probably have similar chemical make-ups.  They are probably part of a group of plants that are "Spiny Ginseng-like" plants.


Next week, I will write specifically about the medicinal uses of the Most Sacred, but I will try and do so in a way that is respectful of the deep cultural traditions around its use.