(Left) Formerly a botanist with the US Forest and Fish and Wildlife services, Punsalan launched her school in 2020 to reconnect people with the earth and share the healing power of plants. Learn more at wildherbacademy.com; (Right) Punsalan also leads foraging classes in local parks forests.
April Punsalan teaches budding herbalists how to forage for healing plants
“Encyclopedia botanica” could be April Punsalan’s scientific binomial. The herbalist infuses any conversation with the name (Latin, of course), myriad uses, and healing traits of countless plants. “We’re attracted to mulberry (Morus alba), because it’s high in minerals and vitamins, supports all body systems, and is known to be antidiabetic, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory. In Japan, they call it ‘hangover tea.’” Five minutes later, she might tell you that dune pennywort (Hydrocotyle bonariensis) is loaded with antioxidants and combats degenerative brain diseases. Or that Florida betony (Stachys floridana) is a weed here but farmed in Asia for its cancer-fighting properties. As an ethnobotanist, the founder of Wild Herb Academy studies how people around the world use and connect with plants.
The crusading 44-year-old spent most of her career working to protect rare species with the US Forest and Fish & Wildlife services. As a side hustle during the 2019 government shutdown, she made and sold yaupon tea at the Pour House farmers market. But Punsalan found that most customers didn’t know yaupon, North America’s only caffeinated plant, as anything other than a landscape specimen. “There was a disconnect. People don’t realize that the plants around them have medicine.” She reasoned that if others understood the health benefits plants offered, they’d be more inclined to protect the earth. “[They] don’t care about wax myrtle (Morella cerifera) until they’re healed with it.” (FYI, it combats urinary tract infections, she says.) In that moment, she felt called to teach.
Punsalan leads foraging classes in local parks.
Punsalan established the Yahola Herbal School in 2020 to share the healing power of plants. Early last year, she turned to it full time and refined her business model to focus on foraging and wild herbs, rebranding as the Wild Herb Academy. More than 150 subscribers from as far away as Turkey have joined her membership program, which offers bimonthly how-to videos on making tinctures, teas, personal products, and more, as well as access to a Facebook community for plant identification. She also hosts in-person classes through Charleston Parks Conservancy and monthly foraging walks on Sullivan’s Island, as well as virtual courses. “So many members have told me that foraging is life-changing,” says Punsalan, praising the practice for its potential to reduce inflammation, balance hormones, improve gut health, and regulate weight.
Foraging has proven life-changing for Punsalan in other ways, too. In November, she launched a podcast series, Wild Herbs with April, featuring interviews with inspiring people like Jalen Gordon, a self-described Gullah medicine bushman. And she’s working on a book, Wild Herbs of the Carolina Coast, slated to be published in 2025 by USC Press. In the midst of abundant growth, this green guru keeps her plant life grounded by spending time in nature with her husband and young daughter, practicing Kundalini yoga, and plucking herbs from her yard. “I’m rewilding,” she says.
Drink Your Greens
April shares this detoxing green juice recipe from her forthcoming book, Wild Herbs of the Carolina Coast. It calls for dune pennywort, which can be found growing on beaches and dunes and is full of antioxidants, flavonoids, polyphenols, and saponins that are said to rejuvenate and restore the body.
Pennywort Juice
8 medium pennywort leaves, rinsed with water
2 sprigs mint
2 cups water
1 Tbs. honey
Pulse all ingredients on high speed in a blender for 60 seconds. Strain into a glass and enjoy!
