187: Natural Healing Show with Catherine Carrigan and guest Robert Dale Robert187: Natural Healing Show with Catherine Carrigan and guest Robert Dale Robert
UK Health Radio Podcast
Catherine Kerrigan talks with herbalist Robert Dale Rogers about mosses, their spiritual message of humility and their surprising medicinal and ecological roles. The conversation highlights traditional uses, modern research and why these tiny plants might matter far more than most people realise.
45:19•16 Aug 2026
Moss Medicine: Humility, Healing and the Hidden Power of Tiny Plants
Episode Overview
- Mosses are ancient, rootless plants that absorb moisture from the air and play a quiet but vital role in forest ecosystems.
- Indigenous traditions have long used mosses for practical and medicinal purposes, including wound care, nappies and sanitary products.
- Certain liverworts and mosses show strong antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activity, with potential to support heart health, chemotherapy and antibiotic therapies.
- Spiritually, moss highlights humility and interconnection, reminding humans they are part of nature rather than separate from it.
- Moss gardens and peat-based treatments may support relaxation, reduce stress and contribute to both human and planetary wellbeing.
“I think it teaches us to, to recognize that we are all part of everything. And so I would say humility is the word that comes to mind first.”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? Here, the focus shifts to a different kind of dependence: humanity’s reliance on nature, and how tiny plants like moss might be key to our health and the planet’s future. Medical intuitive healer and author Catherine Kerrigan chats with veteran herbalist and botanist Robert Dale Rogers, who shares wisdom from his 65th book, *Moss Medicine: Indigenous Wisdom and Modern Pharmacology*.
With over 50 years of herbal experience, Robert breaks down what mosses and bryophytes actually are, why they’re so often ignored, and how they may offer powerful medicinal benefits. You’ll hear him explain why mosses are “very small plants that have been around with us for hundreds of millions of years” and how their lack of roots forces them to draw moisture from the air, making them unique ecological players.
He contrasts them with fungi and talks about long-standing uses such as sphagnum moss in wound care, sanitary products and peat baths for arthritis and inflammation. There’s plenty here for anyone curious about holistic healing. Robert shares stories of indigenous teachings, flower essences, and how paying attention to plants can make someone a better healer. Spiritually, he sums up moss in one word: “humility”.
As he puts it, “I think it teaches us to, to recognize that we are all part of everything. And so I would say humility is the word that comes to mind first.” The conversation also touches on environmental health, from moss gardens that create calm, to moss’s role in carbon dioxide capture and oxygen production. For practitioners and budding herbal entrepreneurs, Robert hints at huge untapped potential in moss-based remedies, from heart support to aiding modern therapies.
If you’ve ever walked past that soft green carpet under your feet without a second thought, this episode might make you pause, kneel down, and ask: what is this humble plant trying to tell me?
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