(4) Opposite or Whorled Leaves 4 Archives

Cleavers: Edible, Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

January 20, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Cleavers, Galium aparine, a common, clinging, weed to both Europe and North America used medicinally on both continents for many of the same ailments such as to cause urination, relieve inflammation, help gonorrhea and used for skin conditions. The young shoots are edible and the fruit can be roasted into a coffee substitute. The plant was also used to strain milk due to the barbs on the stem and leaves. Milk was poured over the plant and the barbs would catch straw and the animals hairs.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Cleavers 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. 909-910

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 342-343

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. 42

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 36

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 219

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany. Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 241-242

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 152-153

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. 50-51

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

Teasel: Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

December 22, 2015 by Mike 5 Comments

Teasel, Dipsacus fullonum, is a spiny plant with an ominous past. The Iroquois considered the root poisonous and used it accordingly to poison an enemy and even the innocent. The water gathered in the base of the leaves was used as a wash for acne and to cool inflammation of the eyes. Modern herbalists are looking at the plant as a possible treatment for Lyme Disease. The plant was also used as a brush and the stalk has been experimented with as a spindle for fiction fire in conjunction with a clematis fire board.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Teasel Sources:

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

Beneficial Botanicals; Useful Plants for Our World. Web.

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 226-227

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 201

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 160-161

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

Wescott, David. Primitive Technology; A Book of Earth Skills, Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1999. pg. 45

Cut-Leaved Toothwort: Edible, Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

December 3, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Cut-Leaved Toothwort, Cardamine concatenata, this spicy plant was once used as a folk remedy for toothaches. If you have a spicy palate, it may be worth checking out. The flavor has been compared to horseradish or wasabi but please only harvest where this plant is abundant. Medicinally, it has been used by the Iroquois as a hallucinogen, an ominous love medicine that is similar to their hunting medicine, and for headaches. The roots were used for fishing by adding a little water then mashing the roots up, you would then leave your hook and line in the solution over night and add a little juice to your worms. Apparently fish like spicy foods. For divination, let the root float in water and tell it what it is to be used for.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Cut-Leaved Toothwort 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.

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 154

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 136

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 162-163

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. 100-101

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