gastrointestinal aid Archives - The Cargo Cult Café

Large-Flowered Bellwort: Edible & Medicinal

May 13, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Large-Flowered Bellwort, Uvular grandiflora, is a common plant found in rich woods, especially in limestone regions. The flowers are orangish-yellow that will later turn into a triangular seedpods. The leaves are either oval or oblong in shape with a whitish downy beneath and the stem pierces the leaves. The young shoots are edible without their leafy heads that turn bitter when cooked. American Indians such as the Menominee, Ojibwa and Potawatomi used this plant for its medicinal values to reduce swelling and as an analgesic. Western herbal medicine used a poultice of this plant for wounds, ulcers and venomous snakebites.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Large-Flowered Bellwort 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. 2040

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 126

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. 116-117

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 582

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 340-341

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. 76-77

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

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

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.

Hairy-Jointed Meadow Parsnip: Medicinal

April 29, 2016 by Mike 1 Comment

Hairy-Jointed Meadow Parsnip, Thaspium barbinode, is a member of the parsley family found during spring in rich woods and open rocky slopes. Though this plant is a parsnip it is not known to be edible like its larger counterpart Wild Parsnip. Hairy-Jointed Meadow Parsnip looks similar to Golden Alexanders except the leaves are not as finely or sharply toothed as Golden Alexanders and the leaf joints are, of course, hairy. But like Golden Alexanders the flowers have five regular parts, are yellow, and grow in umbel clusters. Medicinally this plant was not widely used but American Indians such as the Chippewa did use this plant as a gastrointestinal and pediatric aid. They would make a decoction of the roots and then it was given to children with colic.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Hairy-Jointed Meadow Parsnip Sources:

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

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 555

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 226-227

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

Wild Blue Phlox: Medicinal

March 30, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Wild Blue Phlox, Phlox divaricata, is a colorful wildflower of early spring sometimes called Sweet William. Like many other flowers of spring this plant gives some life to the forest. The flower lobes are about as long as the tube with indented tips. The plant has opposite leaves and the leaves are entire, meaning that the edge of the leaf is smooth, and oblong or egg-shaped. The upper stem and calyx is hairy.

Many members of the Phlox Family have been used by American Indians for various medicinal uses. Wild Blue Phlox, Phlox divaricata, was not identified as a species that was used. Medicinally, phloxes have been used as a dermatological, gastrointestinal, dietary, gynecological and pediatric aids. It was used on sores, bruises, burns, as an eye wash, stimulant and even as a love medicine.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Wild Blue Phlox Sources:

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

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 392-393

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 248-249

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

Spotted Jewelweed: Edible, Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

February 29, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Spotted Jewelweed, Impatiens capensis, a plant you need to know if you have ever suffered from a poison ivy rash. Crush the leaves and apply them to the exposed area before the rash appears and it might just help. I would still recommend that you scrub yourself down once you return home. Urushiol, the plant oil in poison ivy that causes the rash, acts much like motor oil when it’s on your skin.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Spotted Jewelweed 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.

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. 1047

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 57

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 41

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 191

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 274

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 54-55

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. 92-93

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

Aniseroot: Edible, Medicinal & Cautions

February 19, 2016 by Mike 2 Comments

Aniseroot, Osmorhiza longistylis, a licorice flavored plant that can be used to add flavor to soups, stews, desserts and tea. It was used medicinally by several American Indians for absence of menstruation, as a dietary aid, throat aid, eye medicine and dermatological aid. Western herbal medicine used it for flatulence, coughs and a gentile stimulating tonic for upset stomaches.

keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Aniseroot 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. 1421-1422

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 286-287

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 371

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 224-225

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. 42-43

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

Great Angelica: Edible, Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

January 27, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Great Angelica, Angelica atropurpurea, or Purple Angelica is an extremely large plant of meadows and stream banks. This plant is edible but don’t misidentify Great Angelica for Poison or Water Hemlock which grow in the same habitat and are deadly poisonous. Medicinally it has ben used by the Cherokee, Delaware, Iroquois and Menominee Indians for a variety of ailments. The Iroquois even used it for witchcraft and to get rid of ghosts. The Delaware mixed Angelica seeds with tobacco and smoked it.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Great Angelica 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. 265-266

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 296-297

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 23

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 194-195

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany. Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 74

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 222-223

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. 40-41

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

Common Milkweed: Edible, Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

December 15, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Common Milkweed, Asclepius syriaca, is an extremely useful plant to know. Besides being edible and used for its medicinal properties it has a slew of other uses such as making cordage, bowstrings, fishing line, and thread. The dry down in the seedpods can be used for insulation and it makes a great tinder bundle for starting a fire. As for its edibility you can eat the young shoots and flowers but you’ll have to prepare them first to get rid of their bitter and toxic properties. Medicinally, it has been used to induce urination, start menstrual flow, cause vomiting, kills parasitic worms and acts like a laxative.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Common Milkweed 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.

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. 291-292

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 44

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 199-200

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 108-109

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 264-265

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. 112-113

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. 35

Bloodroot: Poison, Medicinal & Other Uses

November 18, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, a plant that bleeds when you cut it’s root. It is a toxic plant that when ingested can cause tunnel vision, nausea and death. I forgot to mention above that the Abnaki Indians used this plant as an abortifacient. But when used sparingly it does have many medicinal benefits such as: relieving stomach cramps, reducing fever, helps sore throats, colds and rheumatism. Externally it has been used for cuts, infections, eczema, warts, ringworm, burns and more.

Bloodroot 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. 1708-1714

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 26

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 127-129

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 515-517

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 364-365

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