Leaves divided Archives - The Cargo Cult Café

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

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. 142

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.

Honewort or Wild Chervil: Edible

May 4, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Honewort, Cryptotaenia canadensis, sometimes referred by its alternate name Wild Chervil (depending upon the field guide). It is an edible plant that can be found in rich woods from May to September. The flowers are small and in umbel clusters. The upper leaves alternate along the stem and the leaves themselves are divided into three leaflets that are sharply and irregularly toothed and often lobed. Honewort has a similar flavor to commercial chervil and contains several vitamins and minerals. The young leaves and stem can be eaten raw, added to salads or boiled for 10-15 minutes. The stem can be used like celery, the seeds used like seasoning, and the tough root can also be eaten raw but it is better when boiled for 30 to 45 minutes. So, the next time you are in the woods don’t be quick to overlook the plain looking plants, they may be what you need to bring spice into your backcountry meal.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Honewort or Wild Chervil 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.

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 287-289

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 218-219

Niering, William A., & John W. Thieret. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers Eastern Region, Alfred A. Knopf, 2001. Print. pg. 339-340 pl.192

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.

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.

Golden Alexanders: Edible, Medicinal & Cautions

April 15, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Golden Alexanders, Zizia aurea, is a golden flower of May and June. This plant is potentially toxic and eating the roots has caused vomiting and other adverse reactions. Be careful with members of the parsley family. Both the flowers and stalk are edible, the flowers can be prepared like broccoli. It has been used medicinally by both American Indians and in western herbal medicine. Golden Alexander or Zizia was used for headaches, fever, hysteria, epilepsy, chorea, leucorrhea, backaches and increasing sexual drive in men.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Golden Alexanders Sources:

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

Boericke, William, Materia Medica, 1901.

Deane, Green. Edible Flowers: Part Sixteen. Eat the Weeds. Web

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 614

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.

Crown Vetch: Medicinal & Cautions

April 11, 2016 by Mike 1 Comment

Crown Vetch, Securigera varia, is a colorful spring plant and member of the pea family. It escaped from cultivated gardens and is considered an extremely invasive species. It can be irritating when it makes contact with the skin and it is toxic to horses and other non-ruminant animals due to nitroglycosides. In large amounts it can cause slow growth, paralysis and even death. However it is considered a good forage food for ruminant animals such as sheep, cattle and goats. Medicinally, the Cherokee made a decoction of the root and took it to cause vomiting. The plant was also crushed and applied to rheumatic pains and cramps.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Crown Vetch 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. 60

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 180

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 66-67

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

Field Thistle: Edible & Medicinal

April 8, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Field Thistle, Cirsium discolor, is one of those common plants that almost everyone knows. The stem, root and leaves can be eaten cooked or raw, but make sure you take the time to remove the spines. The Cree, Iroquois and Meskwaki Indians all used this plant for medicinal purposes. Western herbal medicine used the root as a tonic and astringent.

Field 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.

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. 560-561

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 367-368

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 188, 231

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 163

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 430-431

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.

Sulphur Cinquefoil: Edible & Medicinal

March 23, 2016 by Mike 3 Comments

Sulphur Cinquefoil, Potentilla recta, also known as Rough-fruited Cinquefoil or Five Fingers. The flowers will remind you of strawberries and this plant does produce fruit but it isn’t widely used by foragers. The fruit is said to be edible raw or cooked and “the unripe fruit is almost as pleasant as the fully ripe fruit.” Medicinally cinquefoils have been used as an astringent, tonic, and febrifuge (fever reducer). It was used for fevers, diarrhea, dysentery, passive hemorrhages and a decoction of the root was gargled for ulcerations of the throat and mouth.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry

Sulphur Cinquefoil 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. 1991-1992

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 29

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 435

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 240-241

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

Common Blackberry: Edible & Medicinal

February 25, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Common Blackberry, Rubus allegheniensis, is the plant that started my interest in nature and it was my first experience in wild edibles. It’s rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, beta-carotene and vitamin C. The fruit can be eaten raw, cooked, made into a jam or jelly and made into a cold drink. It has been used medicinally for diarrhea, dysentery, cholera, stomach hemorrhages and for many other things.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Common Blackberry 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. 1680-1682

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 236-238

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. 167-168

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 487

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 232-233

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. 184-185

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