Medicinal Monday Virginia Waterleaf

Hydrophyllum virginianum commonly called Virginia waterleaf is a wildflower that is native to the moist woodlands of the eastern U.S. and Canada. It is a lovely plant whose leaves have white spots that look like watermarks, giving them one of their names. Found in Connecticut and throughout New England, Native American communities most often used this plant medicinally. 

H. Zell

About Virginia Waterleaf

This erect perenial plant in the borage family grows to 18 inches tall on stems that branch out and are sometimes reddish green in color with fine hair. The triangular  course toothed leaves are large and divided into three to seven lobes that are separated at the tip and base. Leaves often have white spots on them but they fade as the plant matures. The bell shaped light lavendar colored flowers have a green  hairy calyx that has five long pointed teeth and five petals with two protruding stamens with yellow tips. Blooming occurs in early spring through July. This plant spreads by rhizomes and forms large colonies in moist forests. It can also spread by seed.

Medicinal Uses

One of the most common traditional uses was to make tea from the roots to treat dysentery and diarrhea. The tea was also used like an astringent to stop bleeding.  The roots were pounded into a paste and applied to cracked lips and sore mouths.  The Menominee made a compound decoction of the root to treat chest pain and the Ojibwa made a decoction of the roots to give to children with flux. They also chopped the root up and fed it to their horses to fatten them up!

Did You Know...

Other names for this plant include Eastern waterleaf, John's cabbage, and Shawnee salad.

Young shoots were eaten in salads in the early spring.

The plant's name comes from Greek hydro (water) and phyllon (leaf).

The species name, virginianum refers to the state of Virginia where it was first collected.

Learn the Cultural Tradition of Corn Husk Weaving @ Institute for American Indian Studies

 During this month of gratitude, the Institute for American Indian Studies located at 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut is hosting a Corn Husk Weaving Workshop on Saturday, November 23^rd at 1 p.m. Participants will learn the traditional art of weaving beauty from simple cornhusks into a seasonal craft perfect for gift giving.

Originating in South America, corn didn’t reach New England until about 1000 years ago. Corn was a useful crop that wasn’t grown just as a source of food. Many Native American traditions, including the Three Sisters Garden, various traditional stories, and annual ceremonies like the Green Corn Festival, encompass the cultural importance of corn including weaving art and everyday items from cornhusks.

 A cornhusk is the outer leaf of the corn plant that protects the cob as it grows. Most of the time, this green outer shell is thrown out after corn is harvested. Readily available during the fall harvest season, skilled Native American artists and other artisans collect the husks and dry them until they turn an attractive shade of golden brown signaling that they are ready to be woven.

 

At this workshop participants will join an IAIS educator for a hands-on class where they will create crafts made from cornhusks to take home. Weaving with cornhusks has been around for thousands of years in Native American culture and this workshop presents a rare opportunity to experience a bit of Native American culture while creating something beautiful and meaningful.

 

Pre-registration for this workshop is required and can be made online at iaismuseum.org. The price to participate including all materials, is $20 for non-members and $10 for members of the Institute. If you have questions, please call 860-868-00518 or email events@iaismuseum.org

 

About the Institute for American Indian Studies

Its “Wigwam Escape” escape room offers an opportunity to solve a puzzle while learning about Indigenous life before European settlement. With a focus on “two-eyed seeing”, visitors can learn about the history of the American continent that incorporates more than 12,000-year history of human habitation. The Institute for American Indian Studies is located at 38 Curtis Road, Washington, Connecticut.

 

Medicinal Monday Buffalo Gourd

Cucurbita foetidissima is a gourd that is native to North America and can be found in the central and southwestern areas of the United States. Native American communities in this area have used this gourd for food as well as for traditional medicinal purposes. 

About Buffalo Gourd

This plant is in the Cucurbitaceae or cucumber family. It has large gray-green triangular leaves that can grow up to 12 inches long and are covered with rough hair. The leaves grow alongside stems that lie on the ground. The plant sprawls up to 30 feet across. The flowers are yellow with stamens that have large antlers deep inside the bell-shaped throat of the flowers. The fruit of this plant is green-striped when young. They turn yellow as they mature and grow to the size of a tennis ball.

Medicinal Uses

One of the most common traditional uses was to make tea to ease childbirth. Another was to make tea from the boiled roots to induce vomiting. The seeds were ground into a powder to relieve swellings and the dried root was mixed with water and used as a laxative. Many used the root as a soap and the gourds for washing. Many communities pulverized the seeds or made a decoction of the roots to treat venereal sores. Specifically, the Apache and the Coahuilla made a poultice of the leaves, stems, and roots and applied the mixture to sores on horses.  The Shoshoni made an infusion of the entire plant and gave it to their horses to get rid of worms. The Cahuilia found three interesting traditional uses for this plant. They ground the shell of the fruit and used it as a shampoo, they applied the pulp of the fruit mixed with chopped-up roots on open sores and made physic from dried roots. The Keres and Zuni made a poultice of crushed roots and applied the mixture to boils and sores, the Kiowa took a decoction of peeled roots as an emetic, the Omaha pulverized the root and took it for pain, and the Paiute made a decoction of the root to kill maggots in wounds.  The roots are boiled and used for chest pain by Isleta-Pueblo Indians.

In addition to medicinal uses, the seeds were roasted and eaten as food or ground and made into flour. The dried gourds were made into rattles and ladles. The yellow flowers were used as a dye.

Did You Know...

Other names for Buffalo Gourd are Stinking Gourd, Missouri Gourd, Stink Gourd, and Wild Gourd.

This plant gets its nickname Stink Gourd because of its foul odor when bruised.

The mature fruit is poisonous to humans depending on weight and susceptibility to the poison.

Cucurbita is Latin for the word gourd and the species name, foetidissima comes from Latin meaning very bad smelling.

A mature gourd can clean wooden floors.

A soap-like foam forms when the fruit of the gourd is crushed in water because of the saponin glycosides and is used on laundry stains.

Medicinal Monday... Field Pumpkin

In New England, we see pumpkins everywhere in the fall. It is Autumn's official mascot, adding charm to decor and spice to our muffins, coffee, and pastries. In addition to using pumpkins in traditional recipes, Native American communities also found several interesting medicinal uses for the field pumpkin.

About Field Pumpkins

Cucurbita Pepo L more commonly known as Field Pumpkin is an annual climbing vine that sprawls along the ground with bright yellow flowers in the summer that bear large luscious fruits in the fall. The fruit can be fried, baked, or added to soups, cakes, cornmeal, stews, and more. The seeds are scooped out and baked and even the blossoms are eaten.  This species is monoecious which means that the flowers are either male or female, but both flowers that are pollinated by insects can be found on one plant. It is considered to be Native to North America and has been cultivated for thousands and thousands of years. Most experts believe that this plant, which is in the cucumber family originated in Mexico, and made its way to the north where it was cultivated in prehistoric North America.

Medicinal Uses

There are many interesting medicinal uses for this plant. The most common use was to make an infusion of the seeds and give it to children with urination problems and tapeworms. The seed was ground into a powder put into a liquid and given to children to rid them of internal parasites. The seeds were also taken to relieve dropsy.  Specifically, the Cherokee feed their children browned seeds to stop them from bedwetting. They also used the seeds as an ingredient in Green Corn Medicine. The Meskwaki made a decoction from the stem and gave this mixture to women with "female problems," and the Navajo ate the leaves to relieve upset stomachs. The Pima made a powder from the seeds ground it into a paste and applied it to their face as a moisturizer. The Zuni used this plant as an ingredient in"schumaakwe" cakes which they ate to ease swelling and rheumatism.

Did You Know...

Cucurbita Pepo is considered by experts to be one of the oldest domesticated species of squash that is thought to have originated in Oaxaca, Mexico around 8,000 years ago.

As a gourd, these plants were made into cups, ladles, duppers, and containers. 

The Zuni used this gourd as a receptacle for holding precious objects. They also wore the gourds in dances and made rattles from them. 

The Iroquois ate squash at feasts of ceremonial importance and in Long House ceremonies.

Medicinal Monday - Buckbean

Buckbean is a woodland ephemeral that blooms in the spring for a short time. It is the only member of the genus Menyanthes native to North America. Buckbean can be found in Connecticut. Today it is protected in the United States. Its bitter-tasting leaves and other parts of this plant have been used in traditional Native American medicine.

About Buckbean

Buckbean can usually be found growing in bogs, marshes, and on the edges of wetlands. This aquatic flower is a hermaphrodite with both male and female parts and is pollinated by bees, moths, and butterflies. Buckbean can grow up to ten inches and its three rounded leaflets gather around the base of the flowering stems. In May and early June, clusters of white or purple-tinged star-shaped flowers emerge. Buckbean flowers are very fragrant. The short hairs of the flowers on five or six pointed lobes give it a fuzzy appearance. The fruit is a capsule that contains many seeds that are shaped like beans giving this wildflower its name.

photo K. Ziarnek

Medicinal and Culinary Uses

Buckbean has a long history of culinary use. Many Native American communities traditionally dried and ground the rootstocks into flour for bread and cakes.

Medicinally, one of the most common traditional uses was to treat stomach aches and gas pains and as an aid to help digestion. It was also used as an emetic. An infusion of the dried leaves was used to treat rheumatism and skin diseases. The Aleut made a compound of the roots to make a laxative, and the Kwakiuti made a decoction of the stem and roots and drank it to spit blood; they also took this decoction to gain weight.

F. Vasen

Did You Know...

In some parts of Europe, the bitter leaves of this plant were used as a substitute for hops in flavoring beer and they were also boiled in honey to make mead.

Another name for buckbean is bog bean.

Its scientific name is Menyanthes trifoliata. Trifoliata is a reference to its three leaflets. The name Menyanthes comes from a Greek water plant.

As a plant of the wetlands, it has little impact on the lives of wildlife; however, several bird species use it as part of their breeding area.

The Qing Dynasty used it as a sleeping aid.