Kings Crown (Western Roseroot)

Rhodiola integrifolia grows where almost nothing else can, clinging to windswept ledges and scree slopes from the Rockies to the Arctic tundra. Peoples living in these harsh, high places traditionally valued its fleshy roots as both food and tonic, digging them in the fall and treasuring them as a source of strength through long winters and hard climbs. It has long stood as the North American cousin to Rhodiola rosea, the famed roseroot of Scandinavian and Siberian herbalism, and has traditionally been used in a similar way, to help the body cope with cold, exertion, and fatigue. Modern herbalists still gather it from the wild or grow it in rock gardens, carrying that alpine tradition forward.