Midsömmar Apothecary & Luminarium

11/11/2025

This is a copy of a message originating with David Winston, esteemed herbalist, author, founder of an acclaimed school of herbal studies, and one of the original cohort of herbalists who founded the American Herbalists Guild some 40 years ago.

Please, note the jarring statistic: 82% of new herb books on Amazon are evaluated as AI generated, and rife with error. Please be cautious when seeking information, remebering that this misinformation will now be used as source material for escalating and repreated error, spread by ChatGPT generated articles and posts, and armchair influencer “experts.”

Thank you to David Winston, everybody’s-favorite-herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, and Oliver Rathbone of Aeon Books for sounding the alarm.

Dear students and colleagues,
My dear friend Rosemary Gladstar sent this email from British publisher Oliver Rathbone to me this morning and I wanted to share this disturbing information. A reporter from Canada used an AI detection program and found that 82% of new herb books listed on Amazon for the year 2025 are AI generated. They are repetitive, filled with errors and in some cases using names similar to real herbalists (Rosemary Gladwell) to fool and rip off unsuspecting customers. Hopefully if we get this information to as many people as possible, we can help protect people who want to explore herbal medicine from this unethical and possibly dangerous scam.
blessings david
David Winston, RH

Dear Rosemary,
I’m writing because I wanted to draw your attention to a worrisome article that affects everyone in the herbal medicine community, and I suspect you’ll share my concern.
Recently, Originality AI, an AI detector, published an extensive study of available herbalism titles on Amazon (https://originality.ai/blog/likely-ai-herbal-remedies-books-study) and found 82% of them were created by AI. Of course, no AEON titles were found to be AI generated (as you know, we only publish authentic works), but that’s not the concern here. Instead, what’s alarming is how the proliferation of such works puts all herbalists at risk.
Certainly, herbal practitioners have faced a lot of societal prejudice and legal obstacles, and it’s taken significant collective work to earn the respect and trust of the wider public. Unfortunately, the explosion of computer-generated herbalism books containing not just false but also dangerous advice may lead to a larger backlash against all herbalists.
Obviously, we cannot single-handedly stop this. But we can push back against this machine logic, and we’d love your help with taking the first step.
We’ll be crafting a statement that includes responses from our authors and others about the dangers of AI herbal texts, and we’d be honoured if you’d send us a short (25-100 word) statement regarding how AI herbal texts affect you and the wider herbal medicine community. We’ll then collect these together and ask you to help us publicise it once it’s published.
Many thanks for taking the time to read and consider this matter.
All the very best,
Oliver Rathbone
Publisher
Aeon Books
oliver@aeonbooks.co.uk


DW-CHS | P.O. Box 417 | Riegelsville, PA 18077 US
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Is the Herbal Remedies book you’re reading on Amazon real or an AI-generated fake? Discover the concerning impact of AI on herbal remedy books published on Amazon in 2025.

11/09/2025

The season is upon us, along with this first snow. ❄️ Here, we have Flower Oil Ear Drops, Nasal Oil, Worst Sore Throat Ever, Elderberry Tonic, Love Your Peaches, Chesty Cough, Elder Compound and Cold Season. All of these have a place in the herbal home medicine chest, supporting immune function, supporting healthy respiratory system tissues, and reducing general misery! We have all sorts of useful strategies for fending against and managing seasonal ailments, and are offering classes for folks that want to know more on the how-to of it, along with some of the science that shows us the smarts of traditional ways. (Interested? Use the newsletter signup post, pinned to the top of the FB page, or message us for it.)

Need to stock your shelf with preparations? Just private message or email the address in our profile- and we’ll get a box on its way. 🌲

10/26/2025

From our friends at ❤️

We’re loving on you. 🌟 Thank you for the conversation at the counter. We always enjoy your visits.

10/08/2025

How many people are lucky enough to have friends that gift us with mushrooms? Maitake and lion’s mane are my very-favorites, and ‘tis the season. Shannon Pump foraged this big girl at the *perfect* moment. Mushroom foraging people are a special tribe. 🍄

10/07/2025

Thank you, Milla! We’re glad you’re doing so much better. ❤️

🌲🌟🐝

10/07/2025

This is Binkhaven, an historic Norwegian homestead in Ephraim, exquisitely and lovingly restored by Elliot Taillon, who generously offers guided tours to the public several times annually through the Ephraim Historical Foundation.

Not only were we provided with an introduction to the history of rosemaling, a Norwegian folk painting tradition, in Norway, the United States and even Door County, we also had the opportunity to view several particularly rare carved pieces that are the only ones in existence outside Norway. Like an increasing number of other countries, Norway is now making it illegal to transport recognized cultural treasures beyond their borders.

Absolutely ~ take a look at the Binkhaven website for more information, and sign up for the Ephraim Historical Foundation newsletter, so you’ll know when the next opportunity to tour this extraordinary private residence arises. Thank you again, Elliot. 🌲

10/05/2025

We just poured a batch of Giant of Gills Rock. It’s tasty stuff, and potent with anthocyanin-rich heart, immune and longevity supporting berries, including some fabulously plump and perfectly ripened aronia from .

We’re lovers of lore and folk ways. We know there’s always more to the story of remedies and being well than chemistry, biology, pharmacology. Our relationship with plants, other beings, and places, is key. 🌲

“Do you know that Door County has its own epic strongman? Allen Bradley arrived in Hedgehog Harbor in the 1850s and became a folk hero for his raw strength and gentle nature. He was said to wield 300 lb salt barrels nonchalantly, cut 7 cords of maple in a day, and his jaw was so strong men could hang from his beard. In honor of hard work, grit and storytelling, we offer traditional berries of Scandinavia and the Great Lakes, mulberry, aronia, hawthorn & rowan, all builders of blood & strong hearts.“

09/22/2025

Lots of folks know Daisy as the resident greeter and hugger at the apothecary. She had a surgery, and she’s set up with a cowgirl pillow, to keep from nibbling at the stitches. This hasn’t been easy for her, but she sure is sweet about it all. She’s taking it easy at home with Rowan for a few days. Meanwhile, I’m closing early to get work done at the lab on this rainy, sleepy day. 🌟

09/22/2025

For all you folks that ask me about herbal education, I strongly encourage subscribing to the Matthew Wood Institute of Herbalism for an extraordinary library of teachings by Matthew Wood, Phyllis Light and others. 🌺

09/07/2025

Look at this lovely basket from Emily Di Iulio! Emily’s a gardener, forager and maker-of-things. Here we have turkey tail, a useful medicinal mushroom that happily grows in our Upper Great Lakes bioregion. If we’re lucky, we’ll encounter some when foraging in our workshop at Monday & Tuesday. 🌲

09/04/2025

Is there anything softer than the late afternoon sun in September? Yesterday was suddenly fall, all at once. A little bit chilly and a little bit windy, and the first blush of color arrived, suggesting a crimson year for our trees. We were closed, replenishing the shelves and going on a little wander, looking for just the right places to take our class for next week’s Forage & Ferment workshop at . It’s quiet downtown, and lots of local shops took a little break this week. We’ll be open at 1:00 today, labeling and re-arranging. Come on in if you need something. There’s a heckuva respiratory hack and cough going around while this season changes. We’ve got all sorts of assists. 🍋🍒🍯

It looks like there are still seats open for the Forage & Ferment Workshop, on Monday, September 8 and Tuesday, September 9, 2025. 🌳