Medicinal Monday...Arnica - Native American Painkiller

There are many plants in the world that can be useful when used appropriately. Arnica is one of these plants. It has been used medicinally by Native Americans for centuries. Some of its first use dates back to the 1500s, and it is still popular today.

About Arnica

Arnica is a perennial aster that is part of the sunflower family and has the classic "sunflower" look. There are more than 30 species, but only two, one in Europe and one in North America and Canada that are used medicinally. The medicinal species in North America is known as Arnica chamissonis. It prefers to grow in moist meadows preferring full sun. The lance-shaped leaves are textured and are grouped in four to ten pairs, with yellow flowers that bloom throughout the summer. The flower heads have 13 ray flowers about 1/2 inch long. It produces brown seeds that help spread the growth of this plant in small stands. When it goes to seed they have the typical parachute fluff like a Dandelion. It has an underground stem with small fiber-like roots.

Medicinal Uses

Many Native American tribes including the Catawba use the roots to prepare a tea that would aid in the alleviation of back pain. The Shuswap used parts of this plant to treat sore eyes. The Thompson used a poultice of the mashed plant to treat bruises and cuts, they also made an infusion of the plant and took it to treat tuberculosis. The Aleut made a poultice of the leaves and applied it to drain cuts and boils. The Eskimos of Alaska boiled young stems and leaves for food, the plant was only eaten when young and tender. The Okanagan-Colville mixed the roots with a robin's heart and tongue and combined this with ochre paint and then dried this mixture into a powder. This powder was used as a love medicine. The user went to the water and faced east and recited certain words, mentioned the name of the person he or she desired, and marked his or her face with this mixture.

Did You Know...

There are more than 100 arnica-based teas and preparations that are marketed in Germany to treat sore throats.

If not taken appropriately it can cause severe liver damage and improper ingestion can cause gastroenteritis or cardiac arrest. Always consult your doctor before taking this homeopathically.

The European arnica used medicinally is known as Arnica montana.

Today Arnica is used as a homeopathic remedy and is typically applied to the skin as a gel, ointment, or salve to reduce pain and inflammation. 

Arnica is also used to promote hair growth and to prevent hair loss and can be found as an oil or shampoo.

Medicinal Monday Magnificent Mullein

Although Verbascum thapsus or the great mullein, native to Europe, northern Africa, and Asia was introduced to North America by the Europeans in the mid-1700s. It was first used in Virginia as a fish poison. It quickly spread throughout the eastern U.S. including Connecticut. Europeans used this plant to treat coughs and diarrhea. By 1818, flora of the East Coast described it as a native plant. and by 1839 it spread as far as Michigan and by 1876 it was well established on the Pacific Coast.  Native American communities embraced this plant and found ways to use it medicinally.

About Greater Mullein

Described as an erect herb, this plant is considered a weedy species that grows in dry soil in large groups. Today it is considered a problematic pest that threatens open meadows and forest openings. The plant has a deep taproot that is hard to pull up. This is a hairy biennial plant that can grow up to seven feet tall or more. It has small yellow flowers that are densely grouped on a tall club-shaped spike that grows from a large rosette of leaves. Individual flowers have five petals and five orange-tipped stamens and bloom in the second year of this plant's life in July and August. Taller stalks can bloom into October. The leaves, which feel like flannel or felt are densely covered with short hairs. They can grow up to 15 inches long and five inches across. The leaves become progressively smaller and erect as they ascend the stem. The fruit of this plant is an oval two-celled capsule that contains many seeds. Each capsule splits down the seam to release the seeds.

Medicinal Uses

The mullein leaf and flowers were made into tea and drunk to treat respiratory problems. The Creek drank a decoction of the roots for coughs and the Catawba made a sweetened syrup from the boiled roots that they gave to their children for coughs. The Menominees smoked the pulverized, dry roots for respiratory complaints, and the Potawatomis, Mohegans, and Penobscots smoked the dried leaves to relieve asthma. The Cherokee rubbed mullein leaves in their armpits to treat prickly rash, they also made a decoction of the leaves mixed with honey or brown sugar to treat coughs. They would also wrap the leaves around the neck for mumps and would use scalded leaves to relieve swollen glands. 

The Abnaki made a necklace of the roots that were worn by teething babies to help soothe them. The Atsugewi and Delaware took a decoction of the leaves for rheumatism and to treat colds. They also rubbed crushed leaves over their body to remove aches and pains in a sweat bath. The Delaware combined the leaves with coltsfoot, plum root, and glycerine and used this mixture as a syrup to treat coughs. The Hopi smoked the leaves with gromwell for fits of "craziness and witchcraft. The Iroquois smoked dried leaves for bad hiccoughs. They also made a decoction of roots and leaves and took it to relieve diarrhea. The Iroquois made a poultice of leaves and applied them to swellings, and sores, they also used heated leaves to treat earaches.

Did You Know...

Great Mullein has gone by about 50 different common names, including Velvet Plant, Flannel Plant, Hare's Beard, Aaron's rod, Velvet Dock Flannel Leaf, and Candlewick.

It can produce 100,000 to 180,000 seeds per individual plant and the seeds may remain viable for 100 years.

Mullein is unpalatable to cattle and sheep because of the dense cover of trichomes on the leaves, goats, however, feast on it.

A yellow dye can be extracted from the flowers. This dye has been in use since Roman times as a hair rinse as well as to dye cloth.

The name mullein comes from the Latin word mollis, meaning soft, referring to the plant's felt-like leaves.

Mullein stems were dipped in tallow to make torches.

Drum Making Workshop @ the Institute for American Indian Studies March 20th

 

Rhythm and sound are important to just about every culture around the world. Throughout the Americas, indigenous peoples have been using drums as part of their culture for thousands of years. 

If you are asked to think about Native American music, there is a good chance you will think of the sound of drums, but did you know that the drum is considered to be a living and breathing entity to Native peoples and symbolize a strong relationship with the creator? 

On Sunday, March 20 the Institute for American Indian Studies, located at 38 Curtis Road in Washington, Connecticut is hosting an in-person drum-making workshop, with sessions at 11 a.m. and at 2 p.m. 

 The highlight of this workshop is to learn how to make your very own rawhide drum. The drums made in this workshop will be 14- inches in diameter and constructed of a traditionally used material, elk rawhide. Each drum will come with a drumstick. While creating a drum for their own personal use, participants will learn about their cultural significance, and how they remain a vibrant part of today’s indigenous cultures in the Americas. 

Space is limited for this workshop and pre-payment and pre-registration is required. To register online, please visit the Museum website to register via Eventbrite. If you have questions about the workshop, please call 860-868-0518 or email events@iaismuseum.org. The price for this workshop is $90 for IAIS members and $110 for non-members.

Medicinal Monday - Polecat Weed - An Early Bloomer!

You will never forget the experience of stepping on an eastern skunk cabbage plant, also known as polecat weed! When bruised, it exudes a putrid odor!  One whiff of this "odor-ific" plant and you will understand how it got its most common name - skunk cabbage! Native Americans had several ingenious ways of using this early springtime plant for food, medicinal purposes, and even in witchcraft.

Distinguishing Characteristics

Eastern Skunk cabbage, known as Symplocarpus foetidus, is a wildflower that is one of the earliest wild plants to send up a blossom in the spring.  It is usually found in swamps, wetlands, woods, and near streams.  Eastern skunk cabbage is native to eastern North America from Nova Scotia to Tennessee. In March look for a cone-shaped furl of mottled purple leaves that are waiting to bloom. This maroon-mottled hood-like sheath is called a spathe, which is also part of the plant's flower. If the spathe is bruised, it emits an offensive odor, that is similar to the essence sprayed by a skunk when disturbed. The leaves of this plant are large, almost pre-historic looking and mottled with contrasting patches of bright green making them easy to spot. The broad cabbage-like leaves contain calcium oxalate crystals that protect the plant from many animals, although black bears have been known to dine on the leaves.

In addition to its putrid smell, the most interesting characteristic of this plant is that it can regulate its temperature well above the outside temperature throughout the day and night.  This allows the skunk cabbage plant to melt the ice and snow around it!  The leaves decay in the early summer but unlike other plants whose leaves dry out and fall off, the leaves of this plant dissolve into a black slimy substance that soaks back into the ground.

Medicinal, Culinary, and Witchcraft Uses

Although the roots are toxic, Native Americans would harvest the root and then dry and pound it into a powder.   This peppery flavored powder would be added to a tea or stew and used to soothe lung ailments, including asthmatic and bronchial spasms.  The Abnaki, Iroquois, Menominee, and Delaware made a poultice of the leaves of this plant to soothe cuts and swelling. Delaware also chewed small portions of the leaves to treat epilepsy and the Menominee used a compound infusion of the dried root to treat convulsions. The Mohegan also ate raw leaves that were rolled and chewed for fits and convulsions.

The Iroquois used the plant to treat children with worms. They also used steam from a compound decoction of roots to treat rheumatism. A decoction of crushed stalks, as well as the upper part of the plant and its seeds, was used by the Iroquois as a gynecological aid. They also used a poultice as a witchcraft medicine and made a poultice that was used on a bite from a fight or dog and caused the biter's teeth to fall out. The Menominee also used this plant as a witchcraft medicine. The root was used in tattooing as a talisman against the return of diseases.

Skunk Cabbage roots were harvested and steamed in-ground cooking pits and were sometimes referred to as Indian potatoes.  The large older leaves called "Indian wax paper" were used to collect and dry berries.  Skunk cabbage was also used in combination with other herbs for tattooing.

Did you Know...

During the 1800s, doctors in the U.S. regularly prescribed a drug derived from skunk cabbage to patients suffering from respiratory disease and rheumatism.

Skunk Cabbage is also known as eastern skunk cabbage, swamp cabbage, clump foot cabbage, meadow cabbage, foetid pothos, or polecat weed.

The leaf, flower, and root of this plant should never be eaten raw because it contains calcium oxalate crystals that produce a terrible burning sensation.

The age of a skunk cabbage can be found through its leaves. Young plants have many just a few leaves and old plants have many.

The eastern skunk cabbage has roots that grow down and contract, the plant is pulled into the earth. As the plant sinks deeper and deeper, the lower leaves are forced underground.  To find out if it is an old plant, dig down into the ground to look for leaves. 

The odor of the skunk cabbage attracts bees and flies that pollinate the plant.

Medicinal Monday American Aloe

Native Americans lived a life of natural dependence on the forests, plains, and coastal regions. Some herbal remedies are used today. One such plant is Aloe Vera which Native Americans used to soothe and heal the skin as well as to hydrate and protect it from harsh climates. Many Native American communities referred to aloe as the "Wand of Heaven," because they believed the plant's health and moisturizing properties came from heaven.

About American Aloe Vera

Agave Americana commonly called "American Aloe" is not related to the genus Aloe as it is in the family Asparagaceae and native to Mexico and the southern United States. This plant typically lives 10 to 30 years.  American aloe has a rosette of broad sword-like succulent gray-green leaves with sharp spines and a heavy spike at the tip. The leaves can grow up to six feet long. Near the end of its life, it sends up a tall stalk that has many yellow blossoms on it that can reach a total height of 30 feet.

Medicinal and Culinary Uses

The sap has long been used as a binding agent for various powders and as a poultice on wounds. The sap was also taken internally to treat diarrhea and dysentery. An infusion of the leaves was used as a disinfectant and tonic for loss of hair.

For the Apache, this plant was a source of food. They harvested the heads and young leaves of this plant and either sun-dried them or roasted them. They were either consumed immediately or stored. They also baked and crushed the roots and tubers and fermented them into an intoxicating drink (mezcal). The Yuma, Ute, Comanche, Mohave, and Paiute also considered this plant an important source of food and would roast the tubers and eat them.  The Papago would eat the central flowering stalks as greens in the spring as they were emerging. The flower stalks were also roasted year-round and eaten as greens. The plant was also pit-baked and stored in jars and traded as a delicacy. The Pima boiled the juice extracted from the plant and used it as a syrup. They also roasted and ate the head of the plant. The heart of this plant is rich in saccharine and is sweet and nutritious but fibrous.

Did You Know...

American Alo is also called the century plant or maguey.

American aloe attracts hummingbirds and birds and is deer resistant.

American aloe is cultivated as an ornamental plant and is popular in dry beach gardens in Florida and California.

The plant figures on the coat of arms of Don Diego de Mendoza, a Native American governor of Ajacuba, Hidalgo.

The Aztecs processed the leaves to create paper.