733 Archives - The Cargo Cult Café

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

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. 136

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, 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.

Round-Leaved Ragwort: Poison & Medicinal

Round-Leaved Ragwort Sources:

Spiny-Leaved Sow Thistle: Edible & Medicinal

Spiny-Leaved Sow Thistle Sources:

Panicled Aster