perennial 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.

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.

Round-Leaved Ragwort: Poison & Medicinal

April 4, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Round-Leaved Ragwort, Pachera obovatus, formally known as Senecio obovatus is a common flower of spring and early summer. Many ragworts contain a highly toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, these alkaloids are hepatoxic meaning it damages the liver. This specific species of ragwort has not been identified for any medicinal purpose by the American Indians.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Round-Leaved Ragwort Sources:

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.1748-1749

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. 142

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 526-527

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 378-379

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.

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.

Tall Ironweed: Edible, Medicinal & Other Uses

March 21, 2016 by Mike 6 Comments

Tall Ironweed, Vernonia altissima, a plant of late summer with interesting little purple flowers in a dense head. This particular species has not been identified or used for any specific purpose but it has been noted that many of the Vernonias have been used for similar medicinal purposes by the Cherokee Indians. It was used for monthly periods, afterbirth pains, loose teeth, stomach ulcers and hemorrhage and it was used for dandruff.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Tall Ironweed 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. 41

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 593

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 210-211

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

Wild Hyacinth: Edible & Medicinal

March 16, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Wild Hyacinth, Camassia scilloides, or Eastern Camas is a member of the lily family and has been a staple food source to many American Indians. It has typically been confused with its western cousins, C. quamash or C. esculenta, but it is believed to be just as edible. The onion-like bulbs can be harvested all year. They were either boiled for 20-30 minutes or baked in a pit lined with hot stones. Some American Indians even preserved it for winter use.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Wild Hyacinth Sources:

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

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 133

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 134-135

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 332-333

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. 136-137

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

Purple Cress: Medicinal

March 11, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Purple Cress, Cardamin douglassii, is a member of the Mustard family but it hasn’t been used as a wild medicine. This plant is a harbinger of spring. The flowers are in bloom from March to April, the plant has opposite leaves and the leaves are toothed or lobed, roundish, oblong to slightly heart-shaped, and the basal leaves are long stalked. The Iroquois used this plant as a poison antidote and anti-witchcraft medicine. Here’s how you get back at the witch. Smash the roots and place them in a small wooden cup then cover it of about a hour. The image of the witch will appear, then you can take out a needle and shove it in his/her eye. This will cause the witch’s eye to get sore as well.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Purple Cress Sources:

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 154-155

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 137

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 140-141

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