iroquois remedy Archives - The Cargo Cult Café

One-Seeded Bur Cucumber: Medicinal & Cautions

October 5, 2015 by Mike 1 Comment

One-Seeded Bur Cucumber, Sicyos angulatus, is a medicinal plant with questionable edibility. Medicinally, it was used for venereal disease in women and used as a veterinary aid for the difficult delivery of a calf. As for its edibility there is no historic evidence of any American Indians using this plant for food. If you have evidence contrary to this or have used it for food please contact me and let me know.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

One-Seeded Bur Cucumber Sources:

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

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 102, 150

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 530

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

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

Yellow Sweet Clover: Edible, Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

June 3, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Yellow Sweet Clover, Melilotus officinalis, is an edible and medicinal wildflower that can be seen between April and October and has been used as an incense and insecticide.

Yellow Sweet Clover 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.

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. 132

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 171

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 338

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 58-59

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. 80-81

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

Spring Beauty: Edible, Medicinal & Other Uses

April 27, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Spring Beauty, Claytonia virginica, is a small, easily overlooked, spring plant that is a surprisingly useful survival food if you are willing to dig for it. Medicinally, it has been used as a contraceptive and pediatric anti convulsive remedy.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Spring Beauty 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.

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 91, 143

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 167

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 270-271

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. 32-33, 104-105

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