composite family Archives - The Cargo Cult Café

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

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. 96-97

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.

Great Ragweed: Medicinal & Cautions

August 26, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Great Ragweed, Ambrosia trifida, every allergy sufferer’s worst nightmare. This is the primary culprit of hay fever but yet it’s an interesting plant. It has been used medicinally for stings, hives, pneumonia, fever, toe infections, diarrhea and to stop nose bleeds.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Great Ragweed 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. 52

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 228

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 66-67

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 438-439

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

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.

Black-eyed Susan 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. 30

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 236

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 494-495

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 374-375

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