veterinary aid 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.

Basil Balm: Edible & Medicinal

March 4, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Basil Balm, Monarda clinopodia, and other Bee Balms were used by the American colonists, as a substitute for the imported tea, after the Boston Tea Party. Leaves and flowerhead’s can be steeped in hot water to make a nice minty tea. Medicinally, it was used by American Indians as a cold remedy, sweet inducer, sedative, kidney aid, for headaches, fevers and as a ghost remedy.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Basil Balm 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. 1274-1275

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 330

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 208

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 348

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 92-93

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. 118-119

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.

Selfheal: Edible & Medicinal

February 17, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Selfheal, Prunella vulgaris, or Heal-all is both an edible and medicinal wildflower. It can be eaten raw, added to salads or cooked as a potherb but when cooked it will lose some of its nutritional value. Medicinally, the plant was used by several different American Indians for fevers, colds, coughs, diarrhea and for skin affections. Western herbal medicine had used it for hemorrhages, diarrhea and for sore throats.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Selfheal 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. 1739-1741

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 54

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 209-210

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany. Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 439

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 78-79

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

Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Web

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.

Pink Knotweed: Medicinal & Cautions

September 30, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Pink Knotweed, Polygonum pensylvanicum, is a medicinal plant of late summer and fall. Although it looks like it’s cousin Lady’s Thumb this particular member of the Polygonum family is not known for it edibility. Medicinally, it was used for epilepsy, hemorrhage of the mouth, postpartum healing and as a hemorrhoid remedy.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Pink Knotweed 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. 1533-1534

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 145

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 424

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 192-193

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