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AHPA publishes good stewardship harvesting brochure for yerba mansa
December 4, 2025
AHPA publishes good stewardship harvesting brochure for yerba mansa
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has released a new brochure highlighting good stewardship harvesting practices for yerba mansa (Anemopsis californica), an herbaceous perennial native to the American Southwest and parts of Mexico, traded for the medicinal properties of its roots. Produced as part of AHPA's ongoing educational efforts for the herbal community, the brochure is available for free download on the AHPA website.
“In a time of intensifying habitat degradation and loss, yerba mansa faces critical threats. This legendary medicinal plant needs voices like the American Herbal Products Association's good stewardship harvesting brochure that provide essential education on sustainable harvest practices, advocating for its ability to thrive as part of our ecological systems and cultural practices,” said Dara Saville, Founder and Director of the Yerba Mansa Project, and author of The Ecology of Herbal Medicine.
“The AHPA good stewardship harvesting of yerba mansa brochure invites those who work with this desert riparian botanical ally into a shared practice of care,” added Lauren Nichols-Sheffler, Senior Sourcing & Purchasing Manager for WishGarden Herbs. “As interest in mansa continues to grow, these guidelines support ethical harvest, help protect fragile wetland habitat, and honor the cultural and ecological relationships that sustain this plant. By approaching each stand with respect and reciprocity, we help ensure mansa remains resilient and abundant for generations to come.”
AHPA Project Scientist Holly Chittum led the brochure's development in collaboration with Lauren Nichols-Sheffler (WishGarden Herbs, Sustainable Herbs Initiative) and Dara Saville (The Yerba Mansa Project, author of The Ecology of Herbal Medicine), Nate Brennan (Foster Farm Botanicals), and Steven Yeager (Mountain Rose Herbs).
AHPA has previously published good stewardship harvesting brochures for American ginseng, black cohosh, goldenseal, oshá, saw palmetto, and Boswellia.
