About this episode
This week on Everything You Didn't Know About Herbalism, we are joined by Christopher Parker, the self-taught mycologist with 30 years of experience in mushroom cultivation, wildharvesting, and herbal medicine making. Join us to explore: Christopher & Katherine Parker's new book, The Mycelial Healer: A Comprehensive Guide to the Cultivation and Traditional Uses of Medicinal Mushrooms Growing up through the changing seasons and breathtaking landscapes of Southern Appalachia The domino effect that transforming floodplains into food forests could have Unique and creative ways to get medicinal mushrooms into your diet Making fungi cultivation accessible for all As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at podcast@mountainroseherbs.com to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism. Learn more about Christopher below! ⬇️ 🍄 Christopher Parker is a farmer, educator, and myco-culture keeper from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. For more than 30 years, he has cultivated gourmet and medicinal mushrooms in the Southern Appalachians, blending Indigenous forest-tending traditions with modern mycology science. As co-founder of The Forest Farmacy , a working farm and applied eco-mycology school, Christopher trains farmers, growers, and land stewards to regenerate soil, restore forests, and build livelihoods based on food sovereignty. His approach combines ancestral wisdom with hands-on cultivation, teaching people to grow mushrooms not just as a crop but as a practice of reciprocity and ecological repair. Christopher maintains one of the most diverse fungal culture libraries suited to the Appalachian bioregion and is dedicated to passing on these living genetic materials, along with the stories and skills that give them meaning. His work champions fungi as both food and medicine, and as partners in creating resilient communities. At the core of his teaching is a simple truth: humans are not separate from the forest—we are keystone species. Through careful tending, mushrooms serve as a bridge connecting people and place, culture and ecology, past and future. 📚 Get your hands on Christopher's new book! 📚 The Mycelial Healer: A Comprehensive Guide to the Cultivation and Traditional Uses of Medicinal Mushrooms ~ 📓 Find herbal education opportunities at Christopher and Katherine's Eco-Mycology School! 📓 The Forest Farmacy ~ 🍄 Want to learn how to grow your own medicinal mushrooms? 🍄 Check out the Beginner Mushroom Growing Course, by The Forest Farmacy! ~ 🌾 Join Chris for a LIVE webinar on turning farm waste into food, medicine, and profit 🌾 Start your Regenerative Mushroom Farm | Wednesday December 3rd 6pm EST ~ ⬇️ Check out Christopher's video interview below! ⬇️ https://youtu.be/uJjIfNiEcDY ~~~ Mountain Rose Herbs is a purveyor of the highest quality organically grown herbs and spices, teas, essential oils, & botanical goods. You can find our organic botanical offerings on MountainRoseHerbs.com . Join our community! Subscribe to the Mountain Rose Herbs newsletter Subscribe to Mountain Rose Herbs on YouTube Follow on Instagram Like on Facebook Follow on Pinterest Read the Mountain Rose Herbs blog Follow on TikTok 🌿 Strengthening the bonds between people and plants for a healthier world. 🌿