Field Guide: Medicinal Plants for Winter

With the arrival of winter, we seek warmth not only in fabrics but also in knowledge. This season calls us to care for our bodies and spirits, and to turn our gaze toward plants, silent allies that help us maintain health, calm, and resilience when the cold intensifies.

The medicines that spring from this land are more than remedies: they are living memory, connections to the earth and to those who inhabit it. In a time when nature is transformed into a commodity, we choose another way of approaching it: with respect, without destroying, listening to the rhythms of nature and honoring its cycles. Thus, we invite you to recognize these plants through reciprocity.

We must remember that the use of these plants may have contraindications or require specific preparations. Therefore, we always recommend consulting with specialists before ingesting them.

To speak of medicinal plants in Patagonia today is to reweave the relationship between the land, knowledge, and care. If this content resonated with you, we invite you to share it.

Sources:
Cordero S, Abello L, & Gálvez F. (2022). Rhizome: a new comprehensive database on traditional uses of Chilean native plants. Biodiversity Data Journal 10: e80002.
Cordero R., S, Abello A., & Gálvez L. F. (2017). Field guide: Edible and medicinal wild plants of Chile and other parts of the world. Corma.
Barreau D, A. (2016). Manual of uses of native flora for educational purposes. Patiovivo Foundation.
Liu, WR., Qiao, WL., Liu, ZZ., et al. (2013). Gaultheria: Phytochemical and pharmacological characteristics. Molecules. 30;18(10):12071-108.