Wildflowers as Food and Medicine in Mongolia

Reindeer are saddled up and resting in a field of rhododendrons
in a spring camp, West taiga.

With a population of 3.5 million people, Mongolia is the most sparsely populated country in the world.  About half of the people reside in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. The rest, numbering 600,000 to 700,000, live as nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists. Most herding families across Mongolia have two to or more types of animals (sheep, goats, yak, cows, camels), but the Dukha of Huvsgol Province have only one, reindeer. Of the two dozen or so Indigenous reindeer herders worldwide, the Dukha are also the most southerly located.  

Beautiful meadow in the mountains of the West taiga.

Like all herding families in Mongolia, the Dukha move their animals to fresh grazing lands several times a year. As semi-nomadic herders, families too relocate cyclically from the towns to the taiga and back for various reasons (school, work, health care. etc.). In general, school aged children and some community members live in the sum (government center) during the school year while others stay in the taiga with the reindeer, periodically rotating as needed. Then, when school ends in June, most families reunite for a time altogether at the summer camps, living in urts (tepees) alongside the reindeer. In the sum, the Dukha purchase food and other necessities for their taiga stay and take the goods with them to the spring camp by horse, motorcycle or SUV. Once there, the reindeer are packed with the food and household goods (and literally the 'house') for migration to the high elevation summer camps where travel by vehicle is not possible.

See also Summer Migration in the Taiga

In town all types of fresh vegetables, canned meat, and staples like sugar, flour, and rice are readily available. However, out in the taiga, when the Dukha's store bought food supplies run low, they can rely on their traditional knowledge of plant foraging and products of their reindeer (mainly milk, sometimes meat) for sustenance. The benefit of the summer diet is that everything is fresh, natural, and high in vitamins and minerals. While the the children spend time in the summer camp with their extended families they are also in close connection with the wider community, nature, and most importantly, the reindeer. Throughout the summer, from their parents and elders they acquire cultural and traditional knowledge that has been passed down through the generations.  

A field of wildflowers in July. At this time, the reindeer are grazing in the mountain area while the other animals are down on the steppe. These fields, left to grow untouched all summer, will be used for winter grazing.

Between 2016 and 2023, I made four visits to the the spring and summer camps of the Dukha researching beliefs about foraging and plant use. In sum, it was clear that "through foraging and plant use, The Dukha balance relationships with the land and spirits, benefit from better nutrition and physical activity, utilize the healing qualities of indigenous flora, and foster the intergenerational transfer of language and traditional knowledge" (Hatcherson, 2024).*

Children playing in the East taiga summer camp.

While the research delves into the specifics of how the Dukha forage and use local plants, and the health benefits of their traditional diet, words alone cannot portray the colorful beauty and bounty of the taiga in full bloom. I hope the following few photos can serve as a 'companion piece' to the article, showing you a peak at  summer in the Mongolian taiga. 

The red tips shown here at an autumn camp in late August is Sanguisorba officinalis (Great Burnett). Locally the plant is known as Sud Uvs. The flowers are dried and steeped in hot water and used as a decoction for children's stomachache.

This beautiful blue flower, Aquilegia glandulosa (Siberian Columbine) was photographed in late July close to the East taiga summer camp. Known locally as Zurkhen Tsetseg the dried petals are known to be "good for the heart."

This plant is the Rosa acicularis (Prickly Wild Rose). Locally it is called Nokhoin

         Khoshuu (Nose of dog). Dried and mixed with tea, it is good for fatigue.

  Lonicera caerulea (Sweetberry Honeysuckle). Known locally as Chonin Eleg (wolf's liver),
the berry is said to be good for the liver.

Dianthus superbus L. is known locally as Sogoon Sumon (uterus of a
female elk). It is dried and used as an infusion kidney and womb problems.

Rhubarb is chopped, cooked, mixed with sugar and
spread on bread. It also has medicinal purposes.

         Rhodiola rosea known locally as Altan Gaganuur. A decoction is
            made from fresh flowers or dried root, used for broken
bones, arthritis, and joint pain. 

Bergenia crassifolia (commonly called Elephants ears),
    known locally as Baagain Chikh. Used to make
tea and it is good for a stomachache.

Siberian chives, known locally as 'Manganei.'

Flowers drying inside an urts. The yellow flowers petals in the pink sling are Potenilla fruiticosa, or Shrubby Cinquefoil. It is known locally as Tayanii Shar Tsetseg, translated as the'yellow flower of taya.' A decoction can be made from the dried flowers that is good for diarrhea.

It is also good for tooth pain, the kidneys, and heart disease.

Flower petals of the Shrubby Cinquefoil scattered in a cup of milk tea.

The Lilium martagon (Martagon Lily), known locally as Shar Tums or Zerleg Tums. 
Also known as a 'wild potato,' it is good for a stomachache and for the bladder.

Reindeer meat and flowers drying in a family urts.

    Tsuivan (Mongolian noodles with meat and vegetables). Handmade noodles are cooked 

    with meat and vegetables (like the wild potato) for a one-pot meal. This photo is from the

     east taiga summer camp and the tsuivan is made with reindeer meat.

See also When You Dine with Reindeer Herders

                Pine nuts are roasted, often by placing either inside
the edge or on the family stove.

The wood stove is carried by the reindeer during migration.

Milking reindeer.

Storing food outside on platforms to keep it safe from predators.

For a fun look at the reindeer, see also:

 Doing research at a reindeer camp in the West taiga

*Hatcherson, J. (2024). Nose of dog, eye of elk, and wolf’s liver: exploring the interconnectedness of Indigenous health and foraging among the Dukha reindeer herders of Mongolia. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 83(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2024.2343454

Little Things Found on Long Walks

The summer of 2020 presented challenges, not only was traveling around the world difficult, but so was getting around the block. The arrival of COVID 19 meant lockdowns and social distancing, with many public places closed. I am an avid traveler (more than 100 countries and territories) and besides missing trips to the airport - my happy place - in the summer of 2020 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. All went well and I am still cancer free. Though the pandemic was an obstacle, it also turned out to be a 'gift.' 

I have always liked to walk, anywhere. I find it relaxing. After my surgery in 2020, I walked around my neighborhood - very slowly - as part of my recovery. I got stronger and moved on to a small hilly park near my home, a 2 1/2 mile hike with a 300 to 500 foot elevation gain completed in a hour. A nice little workout. But even a pretty forest  can get a bit boring. I started timing myself, seeing if I could go a little faster, or at least not any slower, as I completed my circuit. Then, as I was walking this same route throughout 2020 and into 2021, I started to notice things. At first it was the obvious. The change of seasons from summer to autumn was colorful. Winter brought better views. In spring, the frogs mated in the vernal ponds, their 'peeping' like a heart beat echoing in the trees. There were the spring ephemerals and flowering trees like Mountain Laurel and Serviceberry. By summer, the oaks and maples and birch presented a roof of green blocking the sky, and after the rains colorful fungi hid among the roots, rocks, and fallen trees on the trail. I found the walk was no longer boring. And I was getting slower, very much slower, as I hiked through the woods.

I started to learn about the various flora and fauna of 'my' forest. I became very interested in finding the little things, hidden gems, of nature. It makes my walk - any walk, anywhere - much more interesting. It means I do a lot of squats as I investigate and take photos. While I have an app, I like to check identifications of species against other sources for accuracy (but still I can make mistakes). I think this is healthy not just for my body, but my brain as well. It doesn't matter really, but I hope so. So what do I see? Tiny fungi emerging from the forest floor, slime mold, bits of bone in animal droppings (whose poop is that?), insects buzzing and sometimes mating on flowers, and feathers. I see big things too, like trees marred by beavers, a shin bone of a deer, and occasional wildlife (fox, turkey, bear, deer). 

I would like to share some photos of small things, and I will be partial to slime mold. It is not a fungi, but according to AI, a "brainless organism that acts like a single amoeba or joins together into a moving, creeping mass of protoplasm to find food" - like the creature in the 1958 film, "The Blob." I take pictures only with my phone and depicting scale is sometimes difficult, but some of the things seen here are really, really small. 

Yes, 2020 was challenging, but the upshot is I think I am more fit in mind and body than before. A recent study shows that it is not how many steps you take, but how long you are out walking that keeps you healthy. Good news. I also learned that, if I can't go abroad, traveling around my neighborhood can still be pretty fascinating. 

Tubifera ferruginosa (Red Raspberry Slime Mold).
(Twenty-four hours after taking this photo I went back and it had already disappeared.)

Arcyria cinerea

Fuligo septica (Dog Vomit Slime Mold) 

Stemoitis splendens (Chocolate Slime Mold)

Lycogala epidendrum (Wolf's Milk Slime Mold)

Probably frog bones from owl droppings

Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa (close look at Coral Slime Mold)

Another view of Coral Slime Mold

Hygrocybe miniata (Vermillion Wax Cap)

Marasmius capillaris

Xylobolus frustulatus (Ceramic Parchment, a crust fungus, another unusual favorite).

Cladonia with acorn.