acne Archives - The Cargo Cult Café

Great Burdock: Edible, Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

April 13, 2016 by Mike 2 Comments

Great Burdock, Arctium lappa, is a common weed to waste places and roadsides known for it prickly burs. But what this wildflower lacks in beauty, it makes up for in practical use. The leaves, stalks and root are all edible. Medicinally, it has been used for a large variety of needs.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Great Burdock Sources:

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. 1118-1120

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 364-367

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. 186-187

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. 229

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 84

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 412-413

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. 126-127

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

Bittersweet Nightshade: Poison & Medicinal

July 20, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Bittersweet Nightshade, Solanum dulcamara, is another beautiful yet deadly vine that can grown in your garden and backyard but it still has some good uses.

Bittersweet Nightshade 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. 30

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 202

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 535-535

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

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, 134, 198

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

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Web.