Hi! I’m Alex Crofoot (she/her)

I’m a queer cis woman, clinical and community herbalist, full-spectrum doula, mother, and the founder of Bloodroot Herb Shop.

I was born in upstate New York, among rich farmlands and birch forests, and raised with the stories and company of my Southern great-grandmother, who was a birthing assistant to her mother who was a midwife and herbalist that served the Chestnut Ridge People. This lineage of Appalachian herbalism and reproductive care continues to shape my reverence for plants, full-spectrum reproductive care, and community-rooted work.

Bloodroot Herb Shop

Bloodroot is a bioregional apothecary and community space that centers trauma-informed care, herbal education, mutual aid, and radical accessibility. Beyond handmade products, we offer:

• Sliding-scale clinical consultations
• Herbal education classes
• Free pop-up clinics
• Community-based medicine-making events that prioritize houseless folks and others underserved by conventional wellness spaces

What began as teas and tinctures made from my farm has grown into a brick-and-mortar apothecary, education center, and mutual aid hub serving the greater community. We grow and wildcraft many of our herbs, and source others from ethical U.S.-based farms. Every product is made with intention, care, and respect for the plants and the people who need them.

My Path

I came to herbalism through curiosity and my own health journey. Spending time in the wild woods of upstate NY, I found solace in the rural wild spaces the plants and a desire to learn more.

After moving to Michigan in 2014 and studying at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, I started Black Locust Gardens, an organic herb farm, plant nursery, educational farm that sold bulk herbs and products nationwide. Eventually, I built Bloodroot Herb Shop in Ypsilanti in 2022 — a dream born from years of teaching, clinical work, mutual aid, and hands on herbal work. Through the pandemic and newly postpartum I found myself isolated and alone. I wondered how I could build community and resources for others. Initially the herb shop was going to be built at Black Locust Gardens, but I wanted a wider and more inclusive community. After living in Ypsilanti and falling in love with the community I knew Ypsilanti was the perfect place to open the shop.

I also founded the Community Care Camper, a free mobile herbal clinic serving marginalized populations in southeast Michigan, and I regularly teach workshops with a clinical, animist, and harm-reduction lens.

My Work

Through my clinical practice and community projects, I support:

• Pregnancy, pregnancy release, postpartum, and all reproductive transitions
• Pelvic floor health and hormonal support
• Chronic illness and trauma recovery
• Queer and marginalized communities
• Mental Health Concerns, nervous system support specifically OCD, depression, and anxiety.
• Digestive health
• Acute care for infections, colds, flus, UTI'S,
• Chronic Vaginal infections
• HPV, Leep and more

I believe herbalism and modern medicine can work side by side. My goal isn’t just to offer custom remedies, but to create a space where people feel seen, held, and empowered to reconnect with the medicine they already carry and not judged while also taking pharmaceuticals.

Beyond the Apothecary

You can often find me:

• Pit-firing pottery
• Mothering my feral child, Moss
• Gardening and tending plants
• Writing, talking to animals

✨ Bloodroot is about relational, collective healing. Whether crafting formulas to ease anxiety, running donation-based clinics, or organizing herbal care for unhoused folks, it’s about showing up for one another and cultivating radical care through plants and community.