Orange Archives - The Cargo Cult Café

Trumpet Creeper: Cautions

July 27, 2016 by Mike 2 Comments

Trumpet Creeper, Campsis radicans, is also known as cow-itch vine because some people experience skin redness and itching after coming in contact with the leaves. For some this is a great vine that will attract hummingbirds, protects against erosion, and can provide a quick cover for fences and other structures. For others, this vine is very invasive, can quickly spread if not kept in check, is destructive to structures and property, and can be hard to get rid of.

Trumpet Creeper can be found in moist woods, roadside fences and thickets throughout most of the United States and in Ontario Canada. This member of the Bignonia Family can grow from 25 to 40 feet high and it has a woody bark. The flowers have five regular parts, is three inches long, trumpet-shaped, and it has orange and red flowers that can be seen from June to September. The leaves are divided into seven or eleven leaflets that are sharply toothed.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Trumpet Creeper Sources:

Audubon Guides Box Set – Birds, Tree, Wildflowers & Mammals. Computer Software.Green Mountain Digital. Version: 2.3. Web. Jul 10, 2014.

Felter, Harvey Wickes, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D. King’s American Dispensatory, Vol. 1. Cincinnati: The Ohio Valley Company, 1905. pg. 460-461

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 328-329

United States Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Services. Web.

Large-Flowered Bellwort: Edible & Medicinal

May 13, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Large-Flowered Bellwort, Uvular grandiflora, is a common plant found in rich woods, especially in limestone regions. The flowers are orangish-yellow that will later turn into a triangular seedpods. The leaves are either oval or oblong in shape with a whitish downy beneath and the stem pierces the leaves. The young shoots are edible without their leafy heads that turn bitter when cooked. American Indians such as the Menominee, Ojibwa and Potawatomi used this plant for its medicinal values to reduce swelling and as an analgesic. Western herbal medicine used a poultice of this plant for wounds, ulcers and venomous snakebites.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Large-Flowered Bellwort Sources:

Audubon Guides Box Set – Birds, Tree, Wildflowers & Mammals. Computer Software. Green Mountain Digital. Version: 2.3. Web. Jul 10, 2014.

Felter, Harvey Wickes, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D. King’s American Dispensatory, Vol. 2. Cincinnati: The Ohio Valley Company, 1905. pg. 2040

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 126

Foster, Steven and James A. Duke. The Peterson Field Guide Series; A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America. 2nd. ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. Print. pg. 116-117

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 582

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 340-341

Peterson, Lee Allen. The Peterson Field Guide Series; A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants; Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977. Print. pg. 76-77

United States Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Services. Web

Spotted Jewelweed: Edible, Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

February 29, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Spotted Jewelweed, Impatiens capensis, a plant you need to know if you have ever suffered from a poison ivy rash. Crush the leaves and apply them to the exposed area before the rash appears and it might just help. I would still recommend that you scrub yourself down once you return home. Urushiol, the plant oil in poison ivy that causes the rash, acts much like motor oil when it’s on your skin.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Spotted Jewelweed Sources:

Audubon Guides Box Set – Birds, Tree, Wildflowers & Mammals. Computer Software.Green Mountain Digital. Version: 2.3. Web. Jul 10, 2014.

Brill, Steve. Wild Edibles Plus. Computer Software. WinterRoot LLC. Version 1.5. 2012. Web. Feb. 15, 2014.

Felter, Harvey Wickes, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D. King’s American Dispensatory, Vol. 2. Cincinnati: The Ohio Valley Company, 1905. pg. 1047

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 57

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 41

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 191

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 274

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 54-55

Peterson, Lee Allen. The Peterson Field Guide Series; A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants; Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977. Print. pg. 92-93

United States Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Services. Web.

Butterfly Weed: Poison, Medicinal & Other Uses

December 17, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa, also known as Pleurisy Root for its use as a pulmonary aid. The plant is potentially toxic in large doses but it has a slew of medicinal uses. The plant acts as a laxative, expectorant, tonic, to induce urination, cause sweating and relieve gas. It was used for flatulence, headaches, stomach trouble, catarrh, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia and for a bunch of other ailments. The fibers were used to make belts.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Butterfly Weed Sources:

Audubon Guides Box Set – Birds, Tree, Wildflowers & Mammals. Computer Software. Green Mountain Digital. Version: 2.3. Web. Jul 10, 2014.

Felter, Harvey Wickes, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D. King’s American Dispensatory, Vol. 1. Cincinnati: The Ohio Valley Company, 1905. pg. 288-291

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 27

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 200

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 109

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 188-189

Peterson, Lee Allen. The Peterson Field Guide Series; A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants; Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977. Print. pg. 92-93

United States Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Services. Web.

Day Lily: Edible, Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

June 23, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Day Lily, Hemerocallis fulva, is a plant of summer. The flower has six orange lobes and basal leaves. You can eat the flower buds, flowers, young shoots, seeds, leaves and roots. Medicinally, Chinese herbalists have used the plant as a sedative, pain killer and for PTSD. The leaves can be made into a good cordage.

Day Lily Sources:

Audubon Guides Box Set – Birds, Tree, Wildflowers & Mammals. Computer Software.Green Mountain Digital. Version: 2.3. Web. Jul 10, 2014.

Brill, Steve. Wild Edibles Plus. Computer Software. WinterRoot LLC. Version 1.5. 2012. Web. Feb. 15, 2014.

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 336-337

Peterson, Lee Allen. The Peterson Field Guide Series; A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants; Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977. Print. pg. 92-93 pl. 7

United States Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Services. Web.

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Web.