Did you know that fresh rosemary adorns Las Vegas parking lots? Or that you can get raw protein from crunchy pods straight off the landscaper’s beloved screwbean mesquite tree?

Nevada is home to many plants you’ve seen a hundred times without realizing they have culinary or medicinal value—and you can cultivate them in your own backyard. With knowledge and sun, you’ll be on your way to homeopathically addressing headaches, pain, digestive issues, allergies and other ailments, whether through tinctures, infused oils, salves, poultices and teas or just old-fashioned munching. But if you’re not a green thumb or don’t have space to grow your own, you can head to family-owned Herbally Grounded. For a dozen years it has provided locals with organic products and more than 50 locally made supplements.

Staffer Tatiana Arce comes from a Native American background and embraces the use of plants and herbs for their medicinal qualities, personally using aloe vera, nettle leaf, cramp bark, slippery elm and more to attack health problems and promote wellness. She and others at the herbal outpost impart that we’re surrounded by natural food and medicine, even out here in the desert. In fact, Herbally Grounded offers monthly classes, stressing that it’s essential for plant consumers to purchase them properly or grow their own, as foraging or wildcrafting is illegal on public land.

The long list of native species recommended by the shop is backed up by Charles W. Kane’s Herbal Medicine of the American Southwest, and the following were selected for their abundance in the Las Vegas Valley. Most of these plants are available for purchase in some form at Herbally Grounded.

Larrea tridentata: Commonly called creosote or chaparral, this antimicrobial plant was historically used by Native Americans and Mexicans to prevent and treat infection, although it’s also touted for anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Kane dubs it “the medicinal hallmark of the southwestern deserts.”

Ephedra viridis: Mormon Tea or Brigham Tea, a straw-like bush all over Las Vegas, is believed to relieve sinus congestion and, in limited capacity, to drive bronchial dilation thanks to traces of pseudoephedrine (found in many cold medications). And devotees say it reduces inflammation, soothing everything from canker sores to urinary-tract irritation.

Juniperus osteosperma: This fragrant native of Red Rock Canyon has leaves and fruit equally potent when used medicinally, Kane says. It’s said to soothe chronic cystitis and nephritis, and to help with eczema and psoriasis when applied as an oil or salve.

Pinus monophylla: Besides bearing nuts used as a food source by settlers of the Great Basin (and which I find delicious in pasta), this plant is believed to have similar health benefits to the juniper, and they’re often used in conjunction. Pine pitch, made from pine resin, is an old-school cold remedy.

Acacia greggii: The seed pods have a distinctive onion flavor—and astringent properties employed against skin irritation caused by insect bites, sunburns, scrapes and abrasions.

HERBALLY GROUNDED Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. 4441 W. Charleston Blvd., 702-558-4372, herballygrounded.com.