Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica
Start your herbal education on strong foundations.
"Materia Medica" is your complete list of herbal allies ready to assist in times of need!
The most important part of herbalism is the plants themselves!
Get in-depth with more than 90 of the most versatile and prominent plants in contemporary herbalism in this fun course.
Katja and Ryn make learning herbalism as easy as watching TV!
This course includes:
🌿 Over 50 hours of videos about how to work with and identify more than 90 plants
🌿 Printable PDF quickguides
🌿 Recipes and activities
🌿 Answers to your questions fast - next-day answers when you submit questions in writing, and twice-a-week LIVE Q&A sessions with Ryn and Katja, where you can ask your questions in person!
🌿 Lifetime access, so you can learn at your speed. And, every time new material is added, you get it for free, automatically - we're currently in the process of adding 25 hours of new content!
Learn each new herb as if it's a new friend - because it is!
You'll learn all the ways that we work with each herb, and how it can help you. Detailed safety information, plus how to know which herb to pick for which person - and more!
The complete list of everything you'll find in every chapter!
Welcome to Materia Medica!
Live Q&A sessions twice a week!
Mountain Rose Herbs + Foster Farms discount codes
How to use this platform
How to use Closed-Captioning
The "What's New" button on your dashboard
How to use the Discussions feature
Meet our Friends!
Chatting in the Community Space
Use of Course Material (Intellectual Property)
Every Body is Different
Materia Medica Orientation & Introduction
How to Read Materia Medica Entries
How To Read Materia Medica Entries
Herbal Actions Glossary
Full Set of Monographs
Sourcing Herbs
Starter Herbs List
Gardening and Wildharvesting
Don't let your herbs just sit there!
Plant ID Resources
Herb of the Week or Month
Herb of the Week/Month [printable]
A Plant Sit Meditation
Activities with Kids
Safe Experimentation
🌿 Herb Safety in Pregnancy 🌿
🌿💊 Herb-Drug Interaction notes for Materia Medica
Herbs in the Garden & the Wild
Growing Your Own Herbs
Growing Your Own Herbs [audio]
Growing Herbs from Seed
Gardening with Store-Bought Seedlings is NOT Cheating! :-)
Herbs and Sustainability, or: "Why I Hesitate to Promote Wildcrafting"
Herbs and Sustainability [audio]
When to Harvest Herbs
Dehydrating Your Own Herbs
Dehydrating Your Own Herbs [audio]
Working "in the round"
Ginger - Zingiber officinale
Ginger [audio]
Ginger - Materia Medica entry
Ginger: Herb of the Week
More about Ginger with plant identification
Ginger Activity
Ginger-Chamomile Cookies
Ginger Growing Notes
Ginger Quiz
Cinnamon - Cinnamomum verum & C. cassia
Cinnamon [audio]
Cinnamon - Materia Medica entry
Studies about Cinnamon & Type II Diabetes
Working with Cinnamon Safely if You're a Medicated Diabetic
More on Cinnamon with Plant Identification
Cinnamon Activity
Cinnamon Recipes
Cinnamon Growing Notes
Growing Cinnamon at Home?
Cinnamon Quiz
In addition to the videos, we provide features to accommodate all the different ways people like to learn, so you can internalize the information easily!
Lifetime access - so you can review the content as many times as you like, forever!
Weekly live Q&A sessions with Katja and Ryn - to ask your questions directly, live and in person! (They're even archived, in case you miss one!) This course has 1 year of live Q&A support.
Ask questions anytime - we're always just a click away: you can ask any questions in the integrated discussion forum, and we're committed to personally answering your questions, usually within 24 hours
Printable PDF materials - if you like to follow the videos along on paper, or keep them handy for a quick reference
Downloadable MP3 files - so you can review the content while you commute, workout, garden, ... anytime!
This represents the actual time of video instruction and live Q&A, as well as the time allocated for your capstone assignment, quizzes, and other assignments & activities required for completion of the course.
It is reasonable to plan about twice that much time to complete the work: this is because most students like to watch the videos more than once, review their notes, and many students complete more than the required activities. You might also enjoy joining a study group in our Student Community, and you might choose to work on extra activities together as a group to help you internalize all that you've learned.
Regardless of how long it takes you, there is never any pressure! You have access to this material for life, and in fact, when we add updates and new materials, you receive it all for free, automatically!
If new material is added after you have received your certificate, we are happy to send you a new updated certificate to document the additional time when you complete the new material.
We want to make this course as accessible as possible, so there are two ways to enroll.
If you prefer a monthly payment plan, we made it super easy - just $20/month!
You'll get all the videos, activities, printables, and more for a new herb every week for 23 months!
This is great if you're on a budget, or if you prefer to focus on one thing at a time. Each week a new herb will unlock, like an adventure, so that you always have something new to work on!
we offer payment plans to make our courses more accessible. a payment plan carries a commitment to complete all of the payments.
If you prefer a one-time tuition payment, you can do that for $400, which saves you $60!
You can access all of the content in this course immediately.
This is great if you know that you like to skip around in the material, so that you can find what you need in the order you need it.
$400 one-time payment - save $60!
Either way, your access never expires, and you get free updates for life!
I am no spring chicken :) As such, deciding to study herbalism at a later stage in my life was something that, although I knew was the path for me, I was hig...
Read MoreI am no spring chicken :) As such, deciding to study herbalism at a later stage in my life was something that, although I knew was the path for me, I was highly skeptical of. I looked through so many schools and various courses and each one sounded great! Then I came across Ryn and Katja. As soon as I watched the first introduction video, something clicked. I saved up and bought this first module, the Materia Medica. I have loved every minute of every video. I am so pleased with the way they both teach and I simply cannot sing enough praises for the two of them. Their vast knowledge and true passion for what they do is evident in this course. I cannot wait to venture further in my own studies.
Read LessI learned so much in this module. I'm so glad I decided to take it as a part of the herbalism 101 bundle. Katja and Ryn make learning extremely accessible an...
Read MoreI learned so much in this module. I'm so glad I decided to take it as a part of the herbalism 101 bundle. Katja and Ryn make learning extremely accessible and I appreciate how sensitive they are to environmental, social and economic injustices when talking about herbalism. I'm looking forward to the medicine making portion of the bundle and feel like this gave me a really good foundation. I highly recommend it!
Read LessI have thoroughly enjoyed this program and look forward to continuing my herbal education. It has been so informative and completely enjoyable!! Thank you ...
Read MoreI have thoroughly enjoyed this program and look forward to continuing my herbal education. It has been so informative and completely enjoyable!! Thank you Katja & Ryn!! :)
Read LessI bought this as an early Christmas gift to myself. I unwrapped it slowly never wanting it to end . I learned so much but what’s more is that I’m motivated t...
Read MoreI bought this as an early Christmas gift to myself. I unwrapped it slowly never wanting it to end . I learned so much but what’s more is that I’m motivated to keep learning. My hunger for herbal knowledge seems to be growing! Thank you for the content and unlimited access to the videos , I will revisit often!
Read LessThe Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica Course was awesome! Sooooo many plants, I found I would learn about a plant then walk outside my front door and see it ...
Read MoreThe Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica Course was awesome! Sooooo many plants, I found I would learn about a plant then walk outside my front door and see it growing. Ryn and Katja made the content enjoyable and easy to understand and really fueled a desire and got me stoked to know and understand the plants more. I am looking forward to taking the Community Herbalist Program soon. Grace Bisaro
Read LessI joined this class after listening to the free podcast for a few months. Katja and Ryn's approach to Herbalism is fun, practical, and unique. As an individu...
Read MoreI joined this class after listening to the free podcast for a few months. Katja and Ryn's approach to Herbalism is fun, practical, and unique. As an individual who has trouble with traditional approaches to learning, the Materia Medica class was refreshing, easy to follow and challenging at the same time. What I learned here helps with my aromatherapy classes and vice versa.
Read LessI absolutely adored this course. The combination of video, audio file, text and short quiz for each herb is such a brilliant idea and for me was just the pe...
Read MoreI absolutely adored this course. The combination of video, audio file, text and short quiz for each herb is such a brilliant idea and for me was just the perfect match for my learning style. Katja and Ryn are so full of joy and excitement on top of their vast knowledge, that you can't help but feel inspired right along with them. I love learning with them so much and will keep learning with them until I run out of courses to take ;)
Read LessI finished Materia Medica, yay! When you first look at the list of herbs covered, it can be overwhelming. And, when you've gotten through the first few, yo...
Read MoreI finished Materia Medica, yay! When you first look at the list of herbs covered, it can be overwhelming. And, when you've gotten through the first few, you still might feel like there is NO way you will be able to retain (or understand) any of this information. But, somewhere along in the process, you start to GET IT. You might really notice this when taking a quiz - you read a question and think, 'hey - I don't remember them specifically covering this in the video(!?!)' But then...magic happens (or critical thinking, but it feels like magic) and you start to put the pieces together on your own, 'well if this herb has astringent properties than the correct answer to this question would be..." Magic! Honestly, the teaching style, the presentation, the explanation of how the herbs work in our bodies (and just how our bodies work in general), and their truly congenial personalities, make Katja and Ryn the herbal dynamic duo! You should really take this course.
Read LessThis course is well though out, enjoyable, and thorough. I am loving it! Each herb is presented in several manners to reinforce learning. For anyone consid...
Read MoreThis course is well though out, enjoyable, and thorough. I am loving it! Each herb is presented in several manners to reinforce learning. For anyone considering the course, know that it is a great value.
Read LessThis course is extremely thorough! Katja and Ryn make the more "science-y" parts of Herbalism extremely accessible and interesting. I highly recommend this t...
Read MoreThis course is extremely thorough! Katja and Ryn make the more "science-y" parts of Herbalism extremely accessible and interesting. I highly recommend this to anyone who is curious about how to work with herbs or who wants to understand why herbs do what they do.
Read LessI’m inspired by both of you, thank you!
I’m inspired by both of you, thank you!
Read LessThe Materia Medica course really changed how I was learning about herbs. By the end of the course, I was seeing so many connections between the herbs and ho...
Read MoreThe Materia Medica course really changed how I was learning about herbs. By the end of the course, I was seeing so many connections between the herbs and how to use them. I absolutely loved this course --the instruction was top notch. I rarely had questions because each module was so thorough. Katja and Ryn are so generous with their knowledge and I have enjoyed all aspects of their teaching . I've already signed up for two more courses and I can't wait to start my next course !
Read LessTwo heads are better than one!
Katja & Ryn almost always teach together. They each have particular talents and areas of interest, and their perspectives on certain issues are quite different! Together, they convey a fuller picture of the realities of herbal theory & practice than either one could do alone.
Katja is an herbalist and teacher working to help people rebuild their relationships with their bodies and their own ability to heal. She’s been in practice for nearly 25 years, but it all began with a desire to make her own “fancy tea” at home instead of paying high prices for imported blends at specialty stores. She’s kept that do-it-yourself ethic close to her heart.
Ryn has been a practicing herbalist since 2010. He came to herbalism by way of martial arts, where his first experiences with herbs were focused on getting back into the game and becoming more flexible, adaptable, and resilient. Passing that experience on to others is what keeps him motivated every day.
Together, Katja and Ryn teach everyone from children to elders, as well as pharmacy students from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Northeastern University School of Pharmacy, where they both serve as associate faculty. Ryn and Katja are the authors of Herbal Medicine for Beginners, and the creators of the weekly Holistic Herbalism Podcast.
Teaching isn't just about conveying information - there's also an aspect of being someone's "cup of tea".
So we want you to take the first 14 days to really decide if you love it or not. If for any reason you feel like this program isn’t right for you - if we're just not your cup of tea - we’ll give you a full refund. You don't even need a reason - just please let us know within 14 days of purchase.
We cannot make refunds or cancellations after the two week trial period.
we offer payment plans to make our courses more accessible.
after the two-week return policy period, a payment plan is a commitment to complete all of the payments.