Usnea Salve | Wild Medicine That Works

I’m liking this lichen. Usnea grows only where the air is clean, and folks have used it as a natural antibiotic long before penicillin was a thought. Today I'm turning it into a high-potency healing salve with just three simple ingredients. Usnea is a slow-growing lichen that falls after a good wind, and that’s when I gather it here in the Alabama woods. I’ll show you how to identify it, how to harvest it without hurting its cycle, and how to dry and prepare it so it keeps its strength. 🌿 Two small tricks make this salve more potent and more easily absorbed, and I’ll walk you through both. • The first is blending your oil with rendered lard for deeper absorption. • The second is a slow, low double-day infusion that works like a pump to pull out more usnic acid. Once the infusion is ready, we melt in the beeswax, pour it into jars, and check the final texture. This salve comes out thick, smooth, and easy to spread. I use it the same way I’d use a store-bought antibiotic ointment on cuts and scrapes. Make sure you look into Usnea and see if this kind of folk remedy is right for you. I’ll be sharing the Usnea tincture soon and we’ll talk about whether the double extraction earns its keep. Welp, that’s all I got for y’all this week. I sure do appreciate you watching, and if you like what I’m doing, I’d love it if you hit the like button. And if you really like what I’m doing, consider subscribing to the channel. Until next time, I’ll see y’all later. For more details on today's salve and a free PDF download of the recipe: https://hummingcatfish.com/%f0%9f%8c%... #hummingcatfish #folkmedicine #naturalremedies 00:00 - 00:25 - Intro 00:25 - 01:49 - Harvesting Usnea 01:49 - 02:38 - Preparing Usnea 02:38 - 05:04 - Oil Infusion 05:04 - 06:06 - Strain & Add Beeswax 06:06 - 06:30 - Finished Salve 06:30 - 07:10 - Final Thoughts 07:10 - 07:22 - Outro