Lanny Kaufer Finds Healing in Nature

Lanny Kaufer managed to keep the opus about his life’s work rather apolitical. But there’s no denying that Western medicine’s century-old ignorance of the health benefits that grow naturally in our own backyards — a contrast to the industry’s utter reliance on synthetic pharmaceuticals — is what drives this herbalist to share his knowledge every day.

“America now spends $12 billion a year on herbs and herbal supplements,” said the author of the recently released Medicinal Herbs of California, the first field guide ever focused solely on the Golden State’s many beneficial plants. “It’s certainly popular, and it’s popular for the same reasons that these plants were handed down for centuries through the oral traditions of Indigenous people: Because they work.”

But Kaufer does not rely on tradition to prove that point. Unlike most other field guides, his book includes a 12-page bibliography and more than 350 citations of verified research about the efficacy of plants such as yerba santa, elderberry, and stinging nettle to bolster his medicinal suggestions.