Before You Pull Pennywort, Listen to This - with April Punsalan

Everyone’s trying to get rid of it—but around the world, it’s treasured as medicine. What if pennywort could change the way you see your backyard?

Pennywort (Hydrocotyle spp.) is one of those plants that many people overlook (or actively try to remove!). Yet across the globe, it’s commonly harvested and enjoyed as both a nourishing food and a traditional remedy. In this conversation, herbalist and botanist April Punsalan shares how this unassuming, persistent plant became one of her most meaningful allies.

Drawing from her background with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and years of hands-on experience with wild plants, April brings a unique perspective that blends ecology, science, and intuition. She explores pennywort’s rich chlorophyll content, its role as a fresh, nutrient-rich herb, and why she prefers working with it in simple preparations that feel more like daily nourishment than “taking medicine.” Along the way, she invites us to rethink our relationship with the plants growing all around us—and to consider what we might discover if we slow down enough to truly notice them.

April shares a simple, vibrant way to bring fresh plant nourishment into your daily routine with her Hydrocotyle Chlorophyll Refresher. You can download your beautifully illustrated recipe card for this delightful, energizing drink here.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► Why pennywort is so widely used around the world (even though it’s often seen as a weed in the US!)

► What makes fresh pennywort preparations uniquely potent—and why drying may reduce its benefits

► How the botany and habitat of pennywort can help clue you in to its health benefits

► Several ways pennywort can support your health—providing benefits for the skin, the urinary system, the brain, overall vitality, and more!

► Why herbalism is as much about connecting with plants as it is about their medicinal uses

► and so much more…

For those of you who don’t know her, April Punsalan is a botanist, herbalist, author, and founder of Wild Herb Academy, an online school devoted to ecological remembrance and plant-based healing. A former botanist for the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, she spent years protecting endangered plants before answering a deeper call to teach.

April’s lifelong relationship with plants led to degrees in botany and more than twenty-eight years of studying medicinal and edible species. Today, she weaves together botany, ethnobotany, Ayurveda, and intuitive plant wisdom, helping people reconnect with the Earth as stewards, healers, and conscious participants in the living ecosystem worldwide today.

Whether you’ve been pulling pennywort out of your garden or walking past it without a second glance, I hope this episode inspires you to pause, look closer, and maybe even begin a new relationship with this humble plant.

----

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

Would you prefer watching this episode? If so, click here for the video.

You can find April at WildHerbAcademy.com.

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

Working successfully with herbs requires three essential skills. Get introduced to them by taking my free herbal jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

----

Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods & Remedies That Heal and co-author of the bestselling book Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine. She's a registered herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild and teaches many popular online courses. Read about how Rosalee went from having a terminal illness to being a bestselling author in her full story here.