People have always been looking in the nature for cures for the complications they had. In almost all ancient cultures, plants have had an important role, either in medical or in another sense.

Throughout history, knowledge of medicinal plants and their applications, expanded gradually, so that today there is already a lot of data in favor of treatment using plants. Related to many natural remedies and plants, scientific studies were made, and thus activity of many plants has been scientifically verified. Of course, the herbs can not compete (in all segments) with the artificial products of the pharmaceutical industry, but in many ways they can help, and in many cases, they represent a healthy and cheaper alternative.

In addition, by collecting plants in nature, one obtains additional benefit of the time spent in the natural environment, which by itself positively affects health.Depending on the places in which you will search for plants, equipment can be relatively simple or more complex. The essential equipment would be strong garden scissors, a knife, small garden shovel, something to put your collected plants in, and a manual for identification if you are just starting with this hobby.

Of course, the equipment can be more complicated if you will go “hunting” in more demanding areas, such as mountains. With all the specified equipment, some other basic hiking equipment should be taken, such as tools for navigation (compass, GPS), enough water for drinking and food. In any case, I would recommend taking a camera, not only for taking pictures of plants, but also for the environment which is usually wonderful, especially if you are going to the mountains.

It’s also a good idea to keep notes of where you found medicinal plants. For that purpose, a standard map of the area in which you pick plants can be used. That way you can simply mark places where certain species have been found.

And finally, I’d like to stress one thing. Wherever you find certain types of plants, do not collect all of them, but always leave at least a few, so that they can reproduce on the same location again. You are not the only one who is looking for medicinal herbs, and it would be unthankful to pick everything for yourself.