Breathe easy: herbalist Kelly Bowers offers a breath of fresh air.(herbal healing)

Each day, we inhale 25,000 times, receiving and sharing that air with all life on our planet. Fortunately, the very plants that provide us with oxygen can also provide us with much-needed relief when our breathing is stressed by illness and pollution.

Here are a few of our local plant friends who can help us to breathe easy.

A popular European cough remedy, Coltsfoot's (Tussilago farfara) yellow flowers are the first blossoms to appear in the Northeast in spring. Coltsfoot is superb at resolving asthmatic wheezing and shortness of breath, and has been smoked…