>>Are there any respected modern science-based herbalists who tell us to follow the Doctrine of Signatures? Somehow I doubt this. :) Yes - but not the doctrine of signatures as you mis-state it! Bradley Bennet, an ethnobiologist at Florida International University, has a view of the doctrine that is based on actual scholarship, not on repeating old ideas of what the doctrine was or wasn't... his ideas are given more credence among herbalists than your simplistic rejection: The Doctrine of Signatures (DOS) is found throughout the world. Most dismiss it as a "primitive" or "prescientific" idea. Despite its long history, the doctrine has had little critical review. A careful evaluation of signatures suggests four things. (1) There is no evidence that morphological plant signatures ever led to the discovery of medicinal properties. Considering DOS in this manner is unproductive and largely untestable. (2) Signatures are post hoc attributions rather than a priori clues to the utility of medicinal plants. (3) It is productive to redefine signatures to include organoleptic properties associated with therapeutic value. Plants with strong odors or bitter tastes, for example, commonly are found in pharmacopoeias. (4) DOS should be considered for what it primarily isÂa way of disseminating information. DOS fundamentally is a mnemonic and, therefore, is exceedingly valuable in traditional cultures. People who rely on finding and using plants need to know a about thousands of plants. A mnemonic system is valuable to such herbalists and hunter-gatherers. Nothing wrong with also using a taxonomic key sometimes, now that they have been invented. ... but even modern taxonomists develop heuristics, rules of thumb, and unusual analogies to help them quickly and efficiently recognize plants. The famous Stephen Jay Gould of Harvard discussed the tendency to misunderstand and arrogantly dismiss the doctrine of signatures in "The Jew and the Jew Stone." Although he subscribed to some of the unsubstantiated beliefs about the doctrine, his approach to it is still rather different (and more useful) than yours, eric. "I question our usual dismissal of this older approach as absurd, mystical, or even prescientific (in any more than a purely chronological sense)...But how can we blame our forebearers for not knowing what later generations would discover? We might as well despise ourselves because our grandchildren will, no doubt, understand the world in a different way....If we dismiss such former systems as absurd because later discoveries superseded them, or as mystical in the light of causal systems revealed by these later discoveries, then we will never understand the antecedents of modern views with the same sympathy that Croll sought between weapon and wound and that Kircher proposed between human organs and healing plants."

About the only thing I know is to buy plants with caterpillars on them! It is a challenge to find plants that haven't been treated in some way. I've killed a lot of caterpillars trusting plants are safe. It's a chance we take. It's either the cats die because of lack of food, or you try to help them out by purchasing plants, and they die from eating the plants. Pussytoes grow wild in woods, so you might check out some areas. I find them all the time when I'm out in wildlife areas. I hope you find something. I know how frustrating it is to have too many cats and not be able to provide for them. I've even advertised on our local lep site for homes. A dealer contacted me wanting to take them. DUH! Sandy

iamabirdnut, Since you are in an area that experiences extreme heat during the summer, you might try growing some of the host plants in an area that gets some dappled sunlight part of the day, rather than full sunlight all day long. Even though many of the plants I've planted say full sun, I've found that many of them do much better for me if given a break from our summer sun. I live in North Little Rock, AR but was raised in OKC so I'm quite familiar with the extreme summer weather in your area. Another suggestion, if you don't already mulch, is to provide a deep mulch, which will help keep the roots cooler so the plants don't become so heat stressed. I have started Pearly Everlasting seed this summer but the seedlings are small and still in their germination pots. It was so hot this year, I just didn't want to take a chance in planting them in the garden until we had cooler daytime temps, plus, for me, they seem to be slow growers this first season. Next year I will know more about how they perform here and will be sure to post my results. Pearly Everlasting seedlings started 5-15-2011; pretty pitiful but still alive after our many 100+degree days. American Lady (I think) in my garden; this is what prompted me to plant the Pearly Everlasting seed. ~Mary

ya think - You are correct, I should not stoop to the tools level and thus will ignore the most recent posts from the angry appliance dealer, mschuma, and a few others. Let me just say - if people want to disagree, thats their choice. But when they choose to insult me, well then they shouldn't expect an all rosy retort. However - to make it clear, the two comments my "screw you" comment was directed at from the initial thread were: Man I love stories about greed and stupidity. and Oh, please! Don't get me going! People who turn the world upside down looking to save the last few bucks on some expensive appliance or luxury car and then go ballistic when things don't go to their satisfaction are one of my major dislikes Which were so far off base and completely missed the point of my post. In fact, on the initial thread that had some 80+ replies - I only posted twice. Yes just twice - the original post and a second one which said: Wow - this thread has gotten a bit crazy since I started it. I am not going to respond to a bunch of comments now (especially those smart-ass ones questioning my intelligence and intentions) - I will do so at a later time. I purposely did not name names in the thread other than asking for contact info at Bluestar / Signature, because I wanted to make sure to speak with all parties involved so I could make sure I fully understood all aspects of this from each party before I posted anything that potentially would impugne someone's reputation / integrity. That is why in my initial post - I said "without going into full details". Since then, I have spoken with the manager of the local appliance dealer, Mike for Indoorxs (who since he posted here, I have no problem now mentioning) and have a message in to someone from Signature. Once I hear from Signature, I will come back with an update and will provide more details. Not sure how my original post or my followup got anyone's panties in a bunch but as promised I came back to fill in the rest of the story for those who were interested. I appreciate their feedback on this thread and I am sorry some trolls have tried to hijack this thread by personally attacking me. I have posted on a number of other threads in this forum to be helpful to others. I believe sharing my experience in this particular case would also be helpful. Its too bad some folks don't feel that way