Medicinal Monday - Hardstem Bullrush

Hardstem bullrush is in the Sedge Family, that is composed of perennial or annual grass like herbs. They are not actually grasses because their stem and leaves are arranged differently. Hardstem bulrush is a giant species of sedge that is native to freshwater marshes throughout much of North America. Many practical and interesting medicinal uses were practiced by Native American communities. This plant can be found in Connecticut and throughout New England.

photo M.Levin

About Hardstem Bulrush

There are two types of Hardstem Bulrush, schoenoplectus acutus var. acutus which is found in the northern and eastern parts of the United States, and schoenoplectus acutus var. occidentalis found in the southwest. This blog has to do with schoenoplectus acutus var. acutus. This tall reedy bulrush grows in marshes and in shallow fresh or brackish water. It has erect olive-green stems that are sturdy and have a diameter of up to four inches. Hardstem Bulrush can grow up to ten feet tall and has grass-like leaves.  At the top of this plant, the pannicle is stiff and made up of reddish-brown spikes that bloom from May through August. It spreads by rhizomes.

Practical and Medicinal Uses

Many communities cut up the roots crushed, boiled, and pounded them to make flour. The roots were often boiled to make syrup, and some communities peeled and roasted the roots. It was common for the lower, tender stem base to be eaten raw and for the young shoots to be eaten as greens.  Just some of the common items made from this handy plant by Native Americans include rafts, mats, rugs, baskets, handles, curtains, bedding, hats, bowls, storage containers, roofing, temporary shelters, and even clothing made by twining wefts and warps for cloth. Some communities made the long stems into a ball and used them in children's games.

Hardstem Bulrush also had several interesting medicinal uses with the most common use being to stop bleeding. The Thompson would burn the stalk and put the ashes on a baby's navel and the Cree made a poultice from the stem and applied it as a dressing to a wound to stop the bleeding. The Ciallam used the hollow stem to suck out the cause of an illness. The Navajo Ramah used this plant as a ceremonial emetic and the Okanagan-Colville and the Thompson used the stems to make headdresses for Indian doctors.

M. Lavin

Did You Know...

Hardstem bullrush or Schoenoplectus acutus var is also called tule, tule rush, or viscid bulrush.

This plant once lined the shoreline of Tulare Lake in California. Until this lake was drained it was the largest freshwater lake in the western United States. This plant is so common in California that there is a town called Tulelake, as well as Tule Lake, a Tule River, and a Tule Desert in California, and California's dense fog, Tule Fog is named after this plant.

This plant is used today to control erosion.

Medicinal Monday... Thimbleberries

These fairytale-like berries, called Thimbleberries are most prized because they are rather rare. They grow in some of the highest concentrations in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the Lake Superior Region, and in British Columbia. This rather tart berry was a favorite among Indigenous people both to eat and for medicinal purposes. It is found in Connecticut, however, it isn't found in the rest of New England or the East Coast, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

photo Kristof Zyskowski 

About Thimbleberries

This perennial shrub grows in woodlands, coniferous forests, and canyon areas under 8,000 feet around the Great Lakes and west to California, and north to Canada and Alaska. Look for them in shady, moist, cool places. Unlike an evergreen, thimbleberry shrubs lose their leaves in the winter. This shrub has large hairy palm-shaped leaves with five lobes and a fuzzy texture and can grow up to six feet high. The white flowers have five petals. The flowers that bloom in May or June resemble the flowers of the strawberry plant. The flowers turn into a fruit, that resembles a thimble, hence its name, that is ready to eat when it turns bright red. Thimbleberry season typically runs from July through August.

Culinary and Medicinal Uses

The flavor of a thimbleberry is said to be similar to raspberries but they are much tarter. First Nations of British Columbia and many North American communities ate the berries fresh and also ate the shoots that were peeked and eaten raw. Many dried the berries for later use in cakes, stews, jams, and jellies. The Cowlitz of Washington State boiled the bark to make soap. The Salish and Swinomish people like to eat young shoots with half-dried salmon. 

Blackfoot, Cahuilla, Chehalis, Clallam, Cowlitz, Gosiute, Hesquiat, Hoh, Isleta, Kuiseñ0Southern Kwakiutl, Makah, Nitinaht, Okanagan-Colville, Paiute, Karok, Pomo, Kashaya Pomo The, Quileute, Quinault, Coast Salish, Samish, Sanpoil & Nespelem, Shuswap, Upper Skagit, Snohomish, Squaxin, Swinomish, Thompson, Tsimshian, Wintoon, and Yurok eat thimbleberries raw or cook with them.

 Photo Walter Sigmand

One of the most common medicinal uses of the Thimbleberry is to make tea from its leaves and roots to treat wounds, burns, acne, and digestive problems. Tea was also commonly made from the stem of this plant and taken as a diuretic. Specifically, the Blackfoot had patients with chest trouble eat the berries while the Cowlitz made a poultice of dried leaves to treat burns. The Kwakiutl drank a decoction of the leaves to induce vomiting. They also made a powder from the leaves and applied it to wounds. The Malah ate the leaves for anemia and the Okganagan-Colville made a decoction of the roots and treated acne with it. The Saanich chewed dried leaves to stop diarrhea, and the Skagit made a salve with the ashes of the leaves and grease and applied it to swellings.

photo -Leslie Seaton

Did You Know...

The genus name Rubus is based on a Latin name for a related plant, the blackberry, and means brambles. The species name, parviflous means small flowered.

Another name for this shrub is "redcaps."

The flower of the thimbleberry shrub is the largest in the Rubus genus.

The fruit is eaten by bears and birds.

Because the fruit is so soft it is rarely shipped and cultivated.

Medicinal Monday...Wild Low Bush Blueberry

Vaccinium angustifolium or Wild Low Bush Blueberry not only produces delicious berries it also supports 300 + butterfly and moth species, and has pretty pinkish bell-shaped flowers in the spring and brilliant orange foliage in the fall. It was also used traditionally as food and medicine by many Native American communities.

About the Wild Low Bush Blueberry

The Wild Low Bush Blueberry plant is a hardy and attractive low-growing native shrub that is valued by wildlife and people for its sweet berries. It is native to Eastern, North Eastern, and Central Canada. It can grow up to two feet tall and has multiple woody stems, twig-like branches, and glossy foliage that is dark green in the spring and summer and turns orange and bronze in the autumn. The glossy blue-green leaves have serrated edges and drop off in the winter.  Bell-shaped flowers appear in the spring and are whitish-pink. As they mature, blue edible berries emerge. It can be found throughout New England including Connecticut and prefers conifer woods, grasslands, ledges, sandy or rocky soil, and old fields. Traditionally, to stimulate growth, Native Americans burned away trees and shrubs, a method still used by farmers today.

Medicinal and Culinary Uses

Blueberries were eaten raw and used in stews put into puddings and mush and made into jam, pies, cakes, cobblers, and pate. The fruit was also dried and stored for future use. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, a favorite traditional dish of Native Americans was called sautauthig and was made with dried blueberries and dried cracked corn mixed with water. Dried blueberries are also an ingredient of pemmican, a Native American "power bar." Some communities gathered the berries and sold them.

photo Nicholas Tonelli

Two of the most common traditional medicinal uses of this plant were to make an infusion of the leaves and give it to infants for colic. The other use was to make an infusion of roots and give it to women to induce labor. The Chippewa put the dried flowers of this shrub onto hot stones and had people with mental problems inhale the smoke. The Iroquois used the berries ceremonially to ensure health and prosperity in the coming season. The Ojibwa drank an infusion of the leaves to purify their blood.

photo Albert Herring

Did You Know...

Because it can tolerate challenging soils, even mine tailings, lowbush blueberry is occasionally used to revegetate disturbed sites.

The wild low-bush blueberry bush is the leading source of commercial blueberries in the United States.

Oxford Nova Scotia is called the Blueberry Capital of Canada.

Blueberries are the state fruit of Maine and the official dessert of Maine is blueberry pie.

Full of antioxidents blueberries have many health benefits and are a popular fruit today.

Medicinal Monday... Blue Giant Hyssop

Giant Blue Hyssop or Agastache foeniculum (Pursh) Kuntze is in the Mint or Lamiaceae Martinove family. Although it is not native to New England it can be found in parts of Connecticut, Rhode Island,  and New Hampshire. It is native to most of Minnesota and other mid-West states. 

About Blue Giant Hyssop

The Blue Giant Hyssop can be found growing in sandy to loamy soils in full or partial sun on erect stems that grow up to four feet high. The heavily veined leaves are somewhat triangular in shape and have sharp teeth and have an anise scent when crushed. The flowers grow in clusters on a spike up to eight inches high in a whorl-like pattern that is commonly seen in the mint family. The spikes are commonly packed with flowers. Large plants can create many spikes with whorls of flowers. The tube-shaped flowers have sharply pointed teeth and range in color from blue to violet. The flowers grow in clusters from ovate light green bracts on the spike. Fertile flowers produce one brown seed that is dispersed by the wind. Seeds that fall to the ground will self-germinate in the spring.

photo credit: Jean Pol Grandmont

Medicinal & Culinary Uses

The most common use of the Blue Giant Hyssop was to treat coughs, colds, and fevers. A tea or infusion was made from the root or the leaves to relieve congestion by acting as an expectorant. An infusion of the leaves was also traditionally used to treat chest pains and a weak heart. A cold infusion of the leaves was taken for chest pains caused by coughing. Specifically, the Cheyenne put the leaves in a hot steam bath to induce sweating, they also made a powder from the leaves and rubbed it on the body to treat high fevers. The Chippewa made a simple poultice of the leaves and stalk and applied the mixture to burns, they also used the plant as a charm for protection. The Cree often included the flowers of this plant in medicine bundles and used an infusion of the stem to treat those coughing up blood. The Iroquois made a compound infusion which they used as a wash to relieve the poison ivy rash.

The Dakota, Winnebago, Omaha, Lakota, Paeness, and Ponca used the leaves to make tea that they drank with meals. Some communities also used the leaves as a sweetener when cooking.

Photo: Cephas

Did You Know...

Common names of this plant include Lavendar Giant Hyssop, Fragrant Giant Hyssop, Anise Hyssop, and Wild Anise. 

The genus name, Agastache is derived from the Greek words - agan meaning very much, and stachys meaning an ear of wheat.

The species foeniculum is from Latin and is the word for fennel.

The name Pursh refers to a botanist who wrote A Systematic Arrangement and Description of Plants of North America.

Many species of bees are attracted to these flowers. American Goldfinches eat the seeds.

Medicinal Monday...Brewer's Angelica

There are many different types of Angelica.  This elegant plant in the carrot family called Brewer's angelica is native to the Sierra Nevada Range and the high mountain ranges of eastern California that flowers from June through August. The rounded cluster of blossoms of this plant radiate out from the center of the stalk, and to me this cluster resembles fireworks! In botanical terms, it is called a compound umbel.

About Angelica breweri

This tap-rooted perennial herb has an erect hairy stem that is hollow and rather stout. The stem which can grow up to six feet high is commonly found in coniferous forests. It is distinguished by its large leaves and many leaflets that have serrated edges. The most eye-catching part of this plant is the umbel composed of up to 50 long rays holding clusters of hairy white flowers. The flowers have five small white petals that surround five large white stamens and a greenish-white pistil.

Medicinal Uses

Traditionally, the most common use of Angelica breweri was to make a decoction of the roots to treat colds, coughs, and chest ailments. The Miwok, Paiute, Shoshoni, and Washo, all used the roots in this way. The Miwok traditionally rubbed the roots on their body to ward off snakes and the Paiute and Shoshoni mashed the roots and applied them to cuts and sores as an antiseptic. The Shoshoni made a poultice of pulped roots and applied this mixture to the chest to treat pneumonia. They made and used a decoction of the roots as a wash for venereal disease.

Did You Know...

Angelica breweri is great source of food for bees and butterflies.

This plant is a larval food source for anise swallowtail butterflies.

The Shoshoni used the smoke from the roots as a treatment for distemper in horses.

Angelica comes from the Latin angelicus, "angelic", which in turn comes from the Greek, angelos meaning messenger of god.