Eir’s Hand Botanicals

09/19/2025

That about sums it up. 🍄

09/15/2025

Get wild about wild rice! It’s native to Michigan too!

09/13/2025

Have you ever seen a fairy ring? It’s a groovy phenomenon that occurs with some types of fungus in the ground that cause the fruiting body (mushroom) of the fungus to form a full or partial ring around an area. There are sciencey explanations and really interesting lore, but I just love finding them.

Extra bonus: they attract cryptids, as evidenced by this photo of my favorite Sasquatch/husband. 🍄

09/11/2025

It’s not all tea and tincture around here. I checked on this year’s wild grapes while enjoying a glass of the wild grape pyment (grape wine made with honey) we made last year. Cheers! 🍇💚🍃

09/09/2025

There are a lot of foraging posts or threads with the “can I eat this?” theme. I get it! Learning more about wild edible food is AWESOME! I love eating wild food, too.

It’s also fun to notice who else enjoys wild food. I was reaching for a ripe blackberry when I noticed a dragonfly was already there. ❤️ Bon appetit, wild friend! I also spotted a few extremely stylish caterpillars hanging out (I felt so underdressed). I also caught a squirrel friend picking blackberries! That friend was too speedy to record, but so fun to see!

Remember: the wild world isn’t all about you, but you can play a really meaningful part in conservation by just learning, harvesting responsibly and thoughtfully, and encouraging various species while discouraging others. You are a part of a really, really big picture! Observe. Look around. Listen intently. Inhale deeply. Enjoy!

And you can never “harvest” too much trash that others leave behind. 💚🍃

09/01/2025

This really is my favorite time of year. We casually picked about a pound of blackberries while we were enjoying a jaunt through some of our favorite foraging spots. We like big boletes and we cannot lie, but there were a few chanterelles, hedgehog mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and more fun friends out and about! We also grabbed a healthy bucket-full of wild grapes for another batch of wine. 🍷

I hope you’re enjoying this time of the year too! Get your Google on and look for plant and/or mushroom walks near you if you’re not sure where to start.

If you’re in the Great Lakes region, check out Will Forage for Food!

09/01/2025

It’s never too late to talk to your kids about responsibly texting about fungi. 🍄🤣

PSA: Now is the time to talk to your child about foraging.
Keep you and your child safe this fall by knowing the signs and symptoms of mush love.

08/30/2025

In a shocking turn of events, we were out in the woods today. 🤯 My favorite Sasquatch just attracts mushrooms, and we made some friends too! Being in the woods recharges my soul batteries. I hope you make time to do the thing that recharges yours too. 💚🍃

Remember: don’t eat ANYTHING you forage without being 100% sure of the identity and toxicity. Be an old forager, not just a bold forager. 😉

08/28/2025

I have a strict no-touchy policy for the milkweed at work; that’s for the butterflies! There are some big, juicy, gorgeous plants. These nerds seem to prefer the wonkiest and scruggliest milkweed specimens. There’s no accounting for taste, right? 🐛

08/27/2025

Northwest Lower MI friends: check it out! Of course it’s a day that we’ll be out of town. 😭 I hope you can go and tell me all about it!

The schedule for Herb Fest 2025 is live! Join us for a full day of immersive classes, workshops, community and plants! September 21st 9-4 🌿 Registration is live on our website, early bird pricing ends August 31st.

08/27/2025

This not-a-fungus friend is native to Michigan!

The ghost pipe (Monotropa uniflora) is not a smoking utensil used by spooky spirits. It's actually a really cool native plant found throughout most of the country.

Don't be fooled. The ghost pipe is not a fungus. Sure, it lacks chlorophyll and every time if steps into a bar it shouts "I'm a fun guy," but that's just ghost pipe trying to be funny. This mushroomy looking plant isn't dependent on light for photosynthesis. So how does it get nutrients and survive?

It's a heterotrophic organism, meaning it has to get its food from an outside source. Ghost pipe saps nutrients and carbohydrates from tree roots through an intermediate source, myccorhizal fungi. So even though ghost pipe isn't a fungi, it uses fungi to get it's nutrients! Brilliant.

Look for this ghostly flower when it blooms from June through September.

Photo at Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge by Dana M. Schelling/USFWS