(3) Alternate Leaves Archives - The Cargo Cult Café

Tall Coneflower: Edible & Medicinal

May 6, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Tall Coneflower, Rudbeckia laciniata, is a sunflower plant of moist thickets that you can’t miss and it offers both edible and medicinal benefits. The flowers are yellow and has a disk that is a greenish-yellow knob. American Indians ate the shoots, leaves, and stem. Medicinally, the plant is diuretic, tonic and balsamic and the blossoms were used as a burn dressing.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Tall Coneflower 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. 671-677

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. 142

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 30

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 495

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 376-377

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

Round-Leaved Ragwort: Poison & Medicinal

April 4, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Round-Leaved Ragwort, Pachera obovatus, formally known as Senecio obovatus is a common flower of spring and early summer. Many ragworts contain a highly toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, these alkaloids are hepatoxic meaning it damages the liver. This specific species of ragwort has not been identified for any medicinal purpose by the American Indians.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Round-Leaved Ragwort Sources:

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.1748-1749

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 52

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 142

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 526-527

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 378-379

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

Spiny-Leaved Sow Thistle: Edible & Medicinal

March 28, 2016 by Mike 1 Comment

Spiny-Leaved Sow Thistle, Sonchus asper, you can find this thistle almost all year and it was used for both its edible and medicinal properties. You can find it in fields, waste places and even in your garden. The leaves can be prepared much like dandelion leaves. They can be eaten raw, added to salads, or cooked and added to soups, stews and sauces. Medicinally a leaf infusion was used to cause urination and open obstructions. The Navajo considered the plant poisonous.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Spiny-Leaved Sow Thistle 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.

Culpeper, M.D., Nicholas. Culpeper Color Herbal. Ed. David Potterton. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1983. Print. pg. 180-181

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 373-374

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 115

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 538

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 370-371

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. 86-87

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

Field Chamomile: Medicinal & Cautions

October 7, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Field Chamomile, Anthemis arvensis, is very similar looking to German Chamomile but it lacks the pineapple scent and flavor but it does still have similar medicinal properties. This plant may both cause allergic reactions and cure them. The flowers can be made into a tea and used for a variety of ailments such as: colds, colic, fever, flu, headaches, diarrhea and insomnia (which I suffer from regularly). The oil is antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-allergenic.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Field Chamomile 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. 211-212

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 380-381

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

Purple Coneflower: Medicinal & Cautions

August 5, 2015 by Mike 2 Comments

Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, is a common plant of summer and is found in many gardens with quite a few medicinal qualities. The flowers are reddish-purple with 15 to 20 rays and the toothed leaves alternate along the stem. It was used by the Choctaw and Delaware Indians used the plant as a cough medicine and venereal disease remedy. Western Medicine used Echinacea as an antiseptic but don’t use it if you have autoimmune disease. It was used for typhoid fever, plague and a-dynamic fevers, gangrene, cerebrospinal meningitis and syphilis.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea Sources

Felter, Harvey Wickes, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D. King’s American Dispensatory, 1898. Web. 08Feb02. Purple Coneflower pg. 671-677

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. Purple Coneflower pg. 226-227

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. Purple Coneflower pg. 206

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. Purple Coneflower pg. 382-383

United States Department of Agriculture. Plant Database. Web.

Oxeye Daisy: Edible, Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

June 3, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Oxeye Daisy , Chrysanthemum leucanthemum or Leucanthemum vulgare, is an edible and medicinal wildflower that can be seen between April and August. The flowers and leaves make a nice tea. It was used medicinally as an eye wash, fever medicine and a remedy for chapped hands.

Oxeye Daisy Sources:

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

Culpeper, M.D., Nicholas. Culpeper Color Herbal. Ed. David Potterton. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1983. Print. pg. 55

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 302-303

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 380-381

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. 58-59

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

Common Fleabane: Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

April 13, 2015 by Mike 6 Comments

Common Fleabane, Erigeron philadelphicus, is a common medicinal wildflower. It has been used medicinally for diarrhea, childbirth, coughs, hemorrhages, eye sight and even as a poison ivy remedy. It was also used in a kinnikinnick mixture for pipe smoking.

Common Fleabane Sources:

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

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 35

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 231

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 219

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 382-383

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

Chicory: Edible, Medicinal & Cautions

March 30, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Chicory, Cichorium intybus, is a common roadside wildflower which can be seen from May to October. Medicinally it has been used for the liver, to induce urination, as a laxative, tonic and fever sore remedy. It is more known for its ability to be used as a coffee substitute.

Chicory 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.

Culpeper, M.D., Nicholas. Culpeper Color Herbal. Ed. David Potterton. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1983. Print. pg. 186

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. 528

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 29

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 230

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 161-162

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 352-353

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. 58-59, 144-145, pl. 7

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

Black-eyed Susan: Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

March 23, 2015 by Mike 2 Comments

Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta, a medicinal plant of summer. American Indians used this plant for swelling, sores, snakebites, worms, colds and sore eyes. A brown or yellow dye can be obtained from the flowers.