Walking with Jim Duke in his Green Farmacy is a treat for an herbalist's sweet tooth. Dr. James Duke, for those of you who may not know him, earned his Ph.D. in Botany from the University of North Carolina, and is a world-renowned for his numerous publications on botanical medicine, including the CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. He is notable for developing the Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases at the USDA. He is the author of the ultimate compendium on healing herbs, entitled "Green Pharmacy." In his "retirement" he is an adjunct faculty member of the Tai Sophia Institute (where I am Faculty Emeritus). This working botanical laboratory is a stone's throw from the school: 90 plots of land actively growing healing herbs. Specimens are arranged by illness: from Alzheimers and Arthritis to Sciatica and Vaginosis.
Wearing a huge woven sombrero to ward off the sun, Dr. Duke met us in the small driveway sporting bare feet, and a big walking stick which was used not so much for ambulation but for reaching plants and pointing out the herbs growing on the hillsides. This softspoken gentleman farmer with the slow southern drawl is a walking database on herbs, chemistry, pharmaceuticals, and diseases. We strolled for over two hours, with Jim pointing out the plants that are used as spices (all the plants here are medicinal, and today's featured plants are used to spice up culinary recipes, which was the theme of today's tour.) Reaching for samples of each plant, we tore off pieces, smelled them, "bruised" them (smashed them between our fingers), and chewed them. (I felt better immediately!)
In this haven, chairs and tables dotted the landscape to provide sunny and shady spots for scattered groups engaged in hands-on study. A black snake rested on a hot rock at the side of the pond lined with the mucilaginous herbs, undaunted by the two-leggeds walking by. Content to share the space, I wondered if this wild thing had learned to be tame enough to rest in the knowledge that nothing here could hurt him.)
This visit is one of many offered by the community education department of Tai Sophia Institute. Each season brings a different tour, with different themes. If you want an amazing experience in the Green Farmacy, go to the school's website: www.tai.edu, and look under the community programs link and sign up for one of these popular Herb Walks. Right here in our backyard we have a natural wonder well worthy of your time and small donation.
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