Michael Moore

January 9^th, 1941–February 20^th, 2009

In 1996, I moved from the lushness of the Haight in San Francisco to a semi-arid high plain in New Mexico at 7200 feet and out in the middle of nowhere. It was stark. No longer the smell of blooming jasmine in February or the flashes of pink fuchsia everywhere. In late winter, if there were any plant life visible at all, it might be whips of red willow poking out of the snow, or rabbit brush stalks adorned with brown flowers, dead for months. When long-awaited spring arrived and green things started appearing out of the mud created in run-off from melted snow, I still felt no closer to this wide-open expanse. The plants, my usual anchor, looked vaguely familiar, but their deep mystery upstaged the usual comforts.

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One particularly warm day moving deeper into spring, one of my fellow community members brought out a stack of plant books. Among them was a copy of Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, by Michael Moore, originally published in 1979, which I immediately devoured, and which went with me, stashed for easy access in my day pack, on explorations into the surrounding mountains of my community. By the end of the summer, after blizzards of wildflowers, and encounters with unusual plants, I realized Michael Moore had been a most trusted companion for my time there, and helped me form relationships with plants that continue to this day.

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It turns out, throughout his life, Moore was responsible for solving most of the mid-20^th century mysteries of plant life in the Southwestern United States and many in other locales. He was the author of numerous books, several of which we have here at the store. Others include Medicinal Plants of the Desert Canyon West, Los Remedios, Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West, Healing Herbs of the Upper Rio Grande, and Herbs for the Urinary Tract. He also was the founder of the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine, which has a wonderful website you can visit here.

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In the 2003 edition of Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, he writes,

“Got a problem? Buy something for it—a strategy that at its core is corrupt since it places you in the line as a consumer of a product. Very New School.  To use herbs properly, alternatively, you usually have to learn to understand your body as well as the plant. This increases your personal stature and value to yourself. This is true self-help. Very Old School.”

And very Rainbow Natural Remedies.

Thank you, Mr. Moore. May you rest in peace…