Medicinal Monday - The Many Uses of Blackberries

Native Americans are renowned for their medicinal plant knowledge worldwide.  Some believe that they began to use certain plants after watching animals eat them, and by trial and error, they discovered what plants they could use to help cure certain illnesses.  Blackberries were used in culinary dishes and for medicinal purposes and were greatly prized.

About Blackberries

The blackberry or bramble is known worldwide with the majority of this plant species and subspecies being found in the Northern hemisphere.  This unusually prickly fruit-bearing plant is related to the rose family, and very closely related to raspberries.

According to botanists, the blackberry is not an actual berry, it is an "aggregate" of drupelets that ripen into black or dark purple berries. The leaves usually feature three to five oval coarsely toothed stalked leaflets and the flowers are white, pink or red.

Worldwide there are more than 375 species of the blackberry plant. This plant tolerates poor soil conditions and some species can be invasive, at one time American colonists considered them a serious weed problem.  The berries on this hardy plant are big, juicy and refreshingly tart and usually ripen in mid. to late summer when they are harvested.

Medicinal and Culinary Uses of Blackberries

Evidence suggests from all over the world that humans have eaten blackberries for thousands of years.  Native Americans used this berry to flavor stews and would eat them fresh off the stalk and make juice and tea from them.

More importantly, their leaves, roots, and berries were used as a medicinal herb by Native Americans. The Cherokee, Kiowa-Apache, Chippewa, Ojibwa, Menominee, Delaware, and Iroquois all make a decoction made from either blackberry roots or leaves to treat diarrhea. The Chippewa make a tea from the roots to treat lung problems.

A  cough medicine was made from honey or maple syrup mixed with blackberry root to heal sore throats and relieve coughing.   Some tribes would gargle with an infusion of blackberry roots and leaves to relieve mouth ulcers.  Some tribes chew blackberry leaves to sooth bleeding gums. The tannins in the plant not only tighten tissue, they also help to control minor bleeding.

Native Americans also constructed piles of the thorny stems of the blackberry plant around their village.  These piles of blackberry stems acted like a barrier that protected the village from predators.  Native Americans also extracted a dull blue dye from the fruit of the blackberry plant and used the dye for decorative purposes.

Did you know

Blackberries were called ‘bramble’ or brymbyl in old English and ‘brombeere’ in German.

The ancient Anglo-Saxons baked brambleberries into primitive pies to celebrate the first fruit feast of Lughnasadh at the beginning of August.

Blackberries are native to Asia, Europe. North America, Australia, Africa and South America and have the most widespread geographic origin of any fruit crop.

Blackberries are very high in antioxidants which are known to protect against inflammation, cancer, neurological diseases and aging.

Blackberries were supposed to give protection against all evil runes if gathered at the right time of the moon.

The Institute for American Indian Studies

Located on 15 woodland acres the IAIS has an outdoor Three Sisters and Healing Plants Gardens as well as a replicated 16th c. Algonkian Village.  Inside the museum, authentic artifacts are displayed in permanent, semi-permanent and temporary exhibits from prehistory to the present that allows visitors a walk through time. The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut and can be reached online or by calling 860-868-0518.

The Institute for American Indian Studies preserves and educates through discovery and creativity the diverse traditions, vitality, and knowledge of Native American cultures. Through archaeology, the IAIS is able to build new understandings of the world and history of Native Americans, the focus is on stewardship and preservation.  This is achieved through workshops, special events, and education for students of all ages.