Medicinal Monday - Trailing Windmills...On Our Mind!

Trailing windmills is an orchid-colored trailing vine that is easily recognized because it produces bright pink flowers on long stems that grow along the ground. It is a beautiful perennial used medicinally for centuries by Native American communities in America's southwest.

About Trailing Windmills

The scientific name of this plant is Allionia incarnata and is in the Trailing Four O' Clock family. The vine with its bright orchid pink flowers that are interspersed can grow up to ten feet wide along the ground. It prefers to grow on rocky slopes, mesas, and washes and can be found in sandy and gravelly soil. The stems, leaves, and buds are covered in soft white hair. They are unusual because their blooms consist of three separate flowers appearing to be a single plant. They are short low perennials with trailing stems over a foot in length. Their leaves are oval and oblong and the flowers have five to seven stamens. They are native to Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Mexico. They bloom from April to October.

Medicinal Uses

Many Native American communities in the Southwest use this plant to treat sore muscles. Specifically the Navajo, Ramah made a cold infusion of the roots and use it to treat sore muscles and swelling. It was also used to treat mouth and skin ailments. The flowers and stalks were added to baths to reduce fevers and prepared as a decoction to treat kidney ailments and gastrointestinal problems.

Did You Know...

Allionia incarnata is a flowering plant in the Nyctaginaceae family or the four o'clock family. 

The flowers of this plant stay open all day even though its name implies it opens in the late afternoon.

Other names for this plant include pink three flowers, pink windmills, trailing Allionia, trailing four o'clock, and trailing windmills.

Medicinal Monday - the Candlenut Tree of Hawaii

Kukui or the Candlenut tree is such an important tree to Hawaii that it was named the State Tree of Hawaii in 1959, due to its multitude of uses. In Maui, this tree is a symbol of peace and enlightenment. It is prized for its high oil content and its ability to burn for about 15 minutes giving it the nickname candlenut. Today it is considered highly ornamental and can grow up to 98 feet or more when mature. This tree has a long medicinal and practical history with the culture of Hawaii.

About the Candlenut Tree

The candlenut tree is in the Euphorbiaceae family whose scientific name is Aleurites moluccanus. Hawaiians called it Kukui. This tree can be found in tropical rainforests and are is noted for its wide-spreading branches. The heart-shaped leaves are pale green and covered in rusty or cream stellate hair. The flowers are small and the fruit is a drupe with one or two lobes that has a soft, white, oily kernel contained within a hard shell. The seeds contain saponin and phorbol and are mildly toxic when eaten raw. It is difficult to determine when the first candlenut trees were domesticated but it is thought that they were first harvested on the islands of Southeast Asia. There are archeological sites with remains of harvested candlenuts in Timor and Morotai in eastern Indonesia that date to 13,000 BP. 

Practical Uses

In Ancient Hawaii, kukui nuts were burned to provide light. The nuts were strung in a row on a palm leaf midrib, lit on one end, and burned one by one every 15 minutes or so. This led to their use as a measure of time. One could instruct someone to return home before the second nut burned out. Hawaiians also extracted the oil from the nut and burned it in a stone oil lamp called a kukui hele po (light, darkness goes) with a wick made of Kapa cloth.
Hawaiians made leis from the shells of the candlenut tree and would make ink from charred nuts that they would use in tattoos. They also made a varnish from the oil.  Fishermen would chew the nuts and spit them on the water to break the surface tension and remove reflections, giving them greater underwater visibility. A red-brown dye made from the inner bark was used on kapa and aho (Touchardia latifolia cordage). A coating of kukui oil helped preserve fishing nets. The trunk was sometimes used to make smaller canoes used for fishing. 

Medicinal Uses

Traditionally, healers picked green nuts, separate the stem from its husk, and gather the sap collected in a small hole resulting from this process. This sap was topically applied on the sores or mixed with water for curing sores inside the mouth as a mouthwash.  Baked nut meats, breadfruit, and milk were applied to sores and ulcers. Flowers of this tree were pounded and the resulting liquid was given to infants for stomach or bowel trouble. The nut oil was used as a very strong laxative. The bark, sap, and flowers were pounded together, and the resulting liquid was heated and then taken for asthma, sore throats, tonsillitis, toothaches, and bad breath. Young leaves were heated and placed on swellings, broken bones, and bruises. The sap from the nut was given to babies to help relieve the pain of teething. The oil was used to reduce stretch marks on a pregnant woman's stomach.

Did You Know...

Aleurites comes from the Greek language meaning covered with flour and is a reference to the fine hairs of the tree that makes it look like it is dusted with flour.

Other names for this tree are Indian walnut, Kemiri, Varnish tree, Kukui, or Buah keras.

Cooked nuts are generally edible, although some strains contain high amounts of cyanide.

Usually, the nut is pressed for its oil, which is used for a variety of industrial purposes like soap making, varnishes, and fuel.

In Tonga as recently as 1993, candlenuts were chewed into a sweet-scented emollient used during a traditional funerary ritual.

Wigwam Construction @ Institute for American Indian Studies July 23

A Wigwam is a type of home made from tree bark. These structures are found throughout pre-contact New England. One of the few places where you can see a replica of 16th-century wigwams in the setting of a traditional Native American village is at the Institute for American Indian Studies on 38 Curtis Road in Washington, Connecticut.

Learn about the ancient process of making a wigwam

On July 23, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. join Griffin Kalin, Educator at the Institute for American Indian Studies and Traditional Skills Expert for an interactive discussion and program about wigwam construction and the science and technology used to build them. This program will take place at the Institute's 16th-century replicated Algonquian village that consists of several wigwams, a longhouse, a fire circle, drying racks, and the three sisters' garden. Participants will learn what types of wood need to be harvested and the types of tools that would be used to build a wigwam. A highlight of this program is watching the actual repairs to the structures in the village to learn about this ancient process. Griffin is a wealth of knowledge and will be there to answer questions and give material demonstrations.

Pre-registration is appreciated and can be made by visiting www.iaismuseum.org to reserve a space through Eventbrite. If you have questions, call 860-868-0518 or email events@iaismuseum.org. This program is $5 per participant and free for members. This doesn't include admission to the museum.

About The Institute for American Indian Studies 

Located on 15 acres of woodland acres the Institute For American Indian Studies preserves and educates through archeology, research, exhibitions, and programs. They have a 16th c. Algonquian Village, Award-Winning Wigwam Escape, and a museum with temporary and permanent displays of authentic artifacts from prehistory to the present that allows visitors to foster a new understanding of the world and the history and culture of Native Americans. The Institute for American Indian Studies is located at 38 Curtis Road, Washington, CT.

 

An Ecology Walk Along the Shepaug River With the Institute for American Indian Studies

 

A summer walk along the Shepaug River that runs through Washington is a rewarding experience, especially when guided by IAIS Educator and Ecologist, Susan Scherf on Saturday, July 9 at 10 a.m. The cost of this program hosted by the Institute for American Indian Studies on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for children, and $5 for members. This hike is perfect for nature lovers and will have them looking at the natural world in a new and exciting way. 

Riverside fun with the Institute for American Indian Studies

The Shepaug River whose Native American name means "rocky waters" has a long history of habitation. Native Americans have lived overlooking this river for thousands of years. Many stone tools and items such as bone needles and punches, wooden spear shafts, tool handles, and much more have been found in archeological excavations along the banks of the Shepaug. 

Rivers are considered the lifeline of ecosystems around the world. On this guided walk participants will learn that Native peoples traditionally recognized that all beings are interconnected. An important life lesson of this walk is to realize that we can learn about our environment by observing wildlife, plants, trees, and flowers. Summer is one of the best times to observe wildlife along the Shepaug from watching a great blue heron hunt to listening to frogs croaking, and feeling the exoskeleton of a crayfish. Walking along this babbling river Susan will discuss animal adaptations and explain what to look and listen for when trying to identify different species in the Eastern Woodland environment. 

Participants should wear sturdy hiking or walking shoes, and be prepared to walk about a mile along the river with frequent stops along the way. Participants are encouraged to bring water and extra shoes or sandals to change into down by the river. Space on this hike is limited and pre-registration is required. To reserve your space visit http://www.iaismuseum.org to reserve a space through Eventbrite. If you have questions, call 860-868-0518 or email events@iaismuseum.org.