what kinda plants are good for tea and native to the southwestern us
I live in south florida, and never really thought to look up plants in the southwest, especially ones that could be used in tea, so I took a few days to do some searching before answering this. That being said, PLEASE look up any of these plants listed in case I missed some crucial information and it turns out they shouldn’t be used or have side effects or something, especially if you take any medications or are pregnant/breast feeding/on birthcontrol/on any kind of hormone treatment.
Damianita- the stem and leaves have been used in tea to help with respiratory issues and skin infections. Purple Sage/Texas Ranger/silverado sage- the flowers and leaves are used for tea, have mildly sedative effects, and were often used for respiratory issues. White sage and black sage can also be found in the southwestern us and used for tea. Creosote bush- the waxy leaves are used for tea, but the whole plant has been used in various ways for various things, like fever, as a painkiller, for sinusitis, on the skin as an antimicrobial for cuts, smoked, etc. Sagebrush- isn’t actually sage, it’s in a similar classification of Mugwort, it tastes really bitter and probably has as many iffy side effects as mugwort, so tbh I wouldn’t even go for it, but I figured i’d list it since some people do still use it for it’s medicinal purposes, of which there are many. Ephedra nevadensis- the tea from this is sometimes called “Mormon Tea,” not to be confused with other types of ephedra plants that contain ephedrine. It’s used as an astringent (reduces body secretions like mucus) and can be helpful for colds, but wouldn’t be good for you if taken often. Honey Misquite- the seeds and twigs are used Prickly Pear- also called cactus tea or nopal tea. The Opuntia cactus has red fruit on it called prickly pear, and you can use the nectar from the prickly pear and just add it to hot water, or you can dehydrate the fruit and use that. Agave- not really for tea, but the nectar from the leaves is used as a sweetener which can be added to tea.
