Medicinal Monday - Milkweed, Monarchs and Medicine

Milkweed is the key to the life cycle of Monarch Butterflies.  In May and June, these glorious insects lay their eggs on milkweed leaves because it is the only thing that monarch caterpillars will eat. And, by July and August, adult Monarch Butterflies feast on the nectar of the flowers. Milkweed is not only useful to Monarch Butterflies, the Chippewa, Iroquois, and Meskwaki found many interesting uses for this plant ranging from pediatric aids to witchcraft.

About Swamp Milkweed
True to its name the upright Swamp Milkweed is commonly found in sunny openings in swamps, bogs, marshes, fens, and along river banks.  The leaves have a lance-like shape and are smooth and narrow with sharp tips.  Swamp milkweed is a tall herbaceous moisture-loving, perennial plant that, like its common cousin, the milkweed, it exudes a milky juice when broken. Sometimes the edges of the leaf turn upward and are reminiscent of a ship.  According to the USDA, Swamp Milkweeds are found in every state in the U.S. except Arizona, Mississippi, and states with a Pacific Coastline.

Swamp milkweeds produce large showy blossoms that are composed of many small, star-shaped rose-colored florets.  The flowers give off a scent similar to cinnamon and cluster at the top of a graceful, upright stem that can grow up to four feet tall.  Monarch, red admiral, American lady, painted lady, swallowtail, fritillary, and hairstreak butterflies; along with bumblebees, honeybees, and hummingbirds seek the floral nectar.  The blooming season is early to late summer in wild populations.  The stems and leaves contain a milky sap that drips when plants are damaged.

After Swamp Milkweeds blossom they produce elongated brown seed pods that are up to four inches long.  The seed pods split open when ripe releasing brown seeds that are attached to silver-white silky hair that allows them to be carried on the wind.

Medicinal Uses of Swamp Milkweed
The Chippewa and the Iroquois used this plant as a pediatric aid; both used a cold infusion of roots as a strengthening bath; the infusion was used to help heal the navel of a newborn. The Chippewa also used a decoction of this plant as a diuretic. The Iroquois would weave the stem of a swamp milkweed plant into a chord and use it to extract teeth.  They also used this plant in witchcraft, making a decoction that would increase physical strength in order to be strong enough to punish a witch.  The Meskwaki used an infusion of swamp milkweed roots to drive out tapeworms. Several Native American communities applied the milky white sap to the skin in order to remove warts.  The roots were chewed to cure dysentery. The fluffy white floss attached to the milkweed's flat brown seeds were used to stuff quilts and were sometimes carried as tinder to start fires.

Did You Know

Swamp milkweed attracts a profusion of butterflies and is a favorite of the Monarch Butterfly, who actually lays its eggs on the milkweeds.

The leaves of all milkweed species are the only food that caterpillars of the American Monarch butterflies can eat.

Not all Monarch Butterflies are the same. The eastern variety found in Connecticut is slightly larger and lighter colored than their western brethren. Each follows a unique migratory route - Eastern Monarchs fly from Mexico to New England and Southern Canada and Western Monarchs migrate from Southern California up to British Columbia.

If a bird or a small animal eats a Monarch caterpillar full of milkweed toxins, the bird runs the risk of fatal damage to the heart, muscles, and kidneys.

If you plan on growing milkweed for Monarch Butterflies you can get your garden certified by Monarch Watch. You can also get involved in the Monarch Waystation Program this fall that is organized by this organization.

Swamp Milkweed is also known as swamp silkweed, white Indian hemp, and rose milkweed.

The sticky white sap contains a mild poison, its bitter taste warns away many animals and people too.

During World War II, the regular material used to stuff life jackets was in short supply, so milkweed floss was called for as a substitute—it is about six times more buoyant than cork!

The Latin name for this plant is Asclepias incarnata and was named for the Greek God of Medicine, Asklepios. Incarnata, is from the Latin carn, meaning flesh and atus, like, because its hue is sometimes like flesh or dusty rose in color. 

Plant Swamp Milkweed in your garden to provide much-needed habitat and food source for butterflies.  Without milkweeds, Monarch butterflies cannot reproduce.

Medicinal Monday...Red Raspberry - Small but Powerful

Red raspberries are a delight of summer and have been enjoyed for centuries. Raspberries are a good source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. This berry may be small, but it has many healing properties that are still used today and have always been popular with Native American communities. It is easy to see why they are delicious!

About Red Raspberries

Red raspberries are part of the genius Rubus idaeus or the American red raspberry. The plant grows from biennial stems called canes from a perennial root system. In the first year, the stem bears five to seven leaves but no flowers or fruit. In the second year, the stem does not grow taller but does grow several side shoots that have smaller leaves and flowers that have five petals.  The fruit is red, edible, and sweet and is produced in the summer or early autumn. As a wild plant, raspberries grow in forests forming open stands under the canopy of trees, they can also be found in dense stands or clearings and in meadows, fields, and along lakes or in wetland areas.

Medicinal Uses 

The leaves and fruits have a long tradition of use in pregnancy and are used by the Cherokee, Algonquin, and Cree Woodland who make a strong infusion of the leaves to relieve childbirth pain and to help a woman recover after childbirth. The Algonquin use the root as an aid for diarrhea and make a decoction of the roots for bloody urine. The root is chewed to treat coughs and an infusion is taken to treat boils. The Iroquois make a decoction of the roots as a blood purifier. They also make a compound of the leaves to treat skin irritations and boils. The stems and upper roots are used as a toothache remedy and the fruit is eaten for heart health. Fresh or dried leaves are made into a tea for digestive complaints and mild stomach aches.

Did You Know...

Animals including black bears and coyotes eat the fruit of this plant.

Red raspberries depend on bees and other pollinators to produce the fruit.

Anti-cancer benefits of red raspberries have been attributed to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients.

You'll get significantly more antioxidant support by purchasing raspberries that are fully ripe.

A new area of research on raspberries involves the management of obesity and type 2 diabetes. 

Chambord Liqueur is an infusion of red and black raspberries, Madagascar vanilla, and XO cognac that was created in France.

Skug: Snakes in the Eastern Woodlands - New Exhibit @ Institute for American Indian Studies

Native people have adapted to their changing environment over the course of thousands of years. Adaptation involves the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next, for Native people, this is done through oral tradition and symbols. Among the most important symbols is the snake, which had different meanings to different communities and, different meanings throughout the centuries. The Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington Connecticut has just opened a new exhibition called Skug: Snakes in the Eastern Woodlands that highlights the perception of snakes in the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial world. 

Prior to colonization, Native people used stories to inform each other about the surrounding environment, including the animals present in that environment. These stories and symbols, about animals like the snake, have very practical applications. An example of this is the game known as “snow snake.” This winter sport is still widely practiced by many Native communities and is usually played in teams that compete to see who can throw the wooden "snake" the farthest in a long track of snow.

 

During colonial times, American settlers were impressed and fearful of snakes, particularly, rattlesnakes. They first heard about rattlesnakes from indigenous people. Rattlesnakes were something settlers had never encountered before and they considered them ferocious. Consequentially, colonists adopted the rattlesnake as a symbolic identity that differentiated early colonists in America from people they left behind in continental Europe. The imagery of snakes, in general, continued to change and evolve over time and the colonial portion of this exhibition highlights examples of how, when, and why this occurred.

One of the highlights of the exhibit details the historic account of the Schaghticoke Rattlesnake Club in South Kent, Connecticut that dates back to the late 19^th century. Every June, club members would head up Schaghticoke Mountain in knee-high boots armed with two-pronged eight-foot sticks to capture snakes. The majority of the club members were newspapermen from as far as New York City. The adventures of these rattlesnake hunts by the Schaghticoke Rattlesnake Club detailed in this exhibit offer a fascinating glimpse into the Native adaptations to colonialism and detribalization in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

 

The Institute for American Indian Studies located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut has opened the Indoor Museum where this new exhibit can be seen. The Outdoor grounds have trails, a replicated outdoor Algonkian Village, a three sisters garden, and an archaeological pavilion. The Museum and Grounds are open Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 12 noon to 4 p.m. The Museum and Staff follow strict safety protocols. For more information on the safety policy implemented please click here.

 

 

Medicinal Monday - Bright and Cheerful Meadow Buttercups

When we think of a buttercup some of us think of an old-fashioned term of endearment or the movie, the Princess Bride whose main character is Princess Buttercup. In nature, there is a showy yellow flower called Buttercup that is part of the family, Ranunculus, that has 275 types of buttercup species. Buttercups have many interesting medicinal uses that were practiced among Native American communities.

About Buttercups

Buttercups can be found in the temperate regions of both hemispheres of the world with a wide range of climates from cold mountain ranges to the tropics. Many species are native to North America including Ranunculus acris, or the Meadow Buttercup. These showy yellow flowers have numerous stamens and pistols arranged in a spiral fashion around a central axis. Buttercups are radially symmetric with five large yellow petals. They get their bright color from the yellow pigments in the petal's surface layer. Their shiny gloss comes from the layers of air just beneath the surface of the petals that reflect light like mirrors.

After they bloom, the petals fall off fairly quickly. The fruits of this plant are loose heads of one-seeded fruits called achenes.  In general, the Buttercup family is like a window back in time. None of today's species was around 100 million years ago, but the Buttercups and other primitive groups like the Magnolias have retained the most ancestral characteristics over the centuries. 

Medicinal Uses

The most common use of this plant was to treat headaches. The Abenaki would smash the flowers and leaves and sniff the resulting powder for headaches, while the Montagnais and Micmac crushed leaves and inhaled them for pain. The Bella Coola applies a poultice of pounded leaves to boils and the Cherokee uses a poultice of the entire plant to treat thrush and abscesses. They also use Buttercup juice as a sedative. The Iroquois make a poultice of the entire plant and put it on their chest to treat coughs and colds and to stop chest pain. They also make an infusion of roots and drink it to treat diarrhea. The Cherokee cook the leaves and eat them like greens.

Did You Know...

The scientific name of a buttercup, Ranunculus originates from Latin and literally means "little frog." It got this name because these flowers were often found by the water, just like small frogs. 

Buttercups are toxic to livestock and difficult to control. They are a major problem in New Zealand.

If eaten excessively buttercups can cause dermatitis in humans. If they are eaten fresh they leave an acrid taste and blistering in the mouth. The toxins can be degraded by drying.

Another name for a buttercup is crowfoot.

People sometimes hold a buttercup under the chin of a friend or family member to show off the flower's shiny petals that can be seen under the chin and said to "be like butter."

Medicinal Monday the Wonders of White Clover

In the summer in Connecticut many of us see white clover growing in our grass. Generally, it is seen as a weed, but like most weeds, if we look a little closer like the Native American community did we will find out that white clover can be quite useful as food and medicine.

About White Clover

Originally from Europe, this herbaceous perennial plant was brought over by the first settlers and widely introduced. White clover is in the bean family, Fabaceae, and was originally used as fodder. The leaves of this plant are smooth with light or dark markings. The whitish flowers often have a tinge of pink or creme.  The creeping stems are erect, elongated, hairless, and light green. There are three leaflets known as trifoliolate that are symbolic of the shamrock.

Culinary and Medicinal Uses

The Algonkian, Mohegan, and Delaware use a tea infusion made from the dried leaves of white clover to treat coughs and colds. They also eat fresh plants like leafy green vegetables and add them to stews. The Cherokee take an infusion of white clover for fever and also use it for kidney trouble and Bright's disease or chronic nephritis. The Iroquois use the entire plant as a wash for liver spots. They apply a poultice of this plant to the eyes for paralysis and use an infusion of the flowers as an eyewash. A tincture of the leaves is used as an ointment for gout. The flowering heads are used in an infusion to cleanse boils, sores, and wounds, and to purify the blood.

Did You Know...

White Clover is also known as Dutch clover, Ladino clover,  honeysuckle clover, white sweet clover, and Ladino.

Honey bees often visit white clover, it is thought to be one of their favorite flowers.

Sometimes clover is thrown in with grass seed because it can provide green cover in poorer souls where turfgrasses don't grow well.

The dried leaves and flowers impart a vanilla-like taste to cakes.

Medicinal Monday -Purple and Pretty the Eastern Coneflower

The Purple Coneflower is a classic lavender-pink flower with big daisy-like blossoms and slightly drooping petals that make it hard to miss. It is still a widely used medicinal plant of the Plains Indians and many communities in the Mid-West and Northeast. In Western tribes like the Ute, coneflowers are associated with elk and called by the name "elk root." It is believed that wounded elk seek out this plant as a medicine. There are many fascinating uses for this plant medicinally and ceremonially.

About Purple Coneflowers

Coneflowers are a native wildflower of North American that is in the sunflower family. Its' habitats include dry open woods, prairies, and barrens. This is a herbaceous perennial that grows up to 47 inches tall and ten inches wide at maturity. It blooms throughout the summer and is easily identified by its cone-shaped flowering heads that are usually purple in the wild. The flower heads are both male and female and the plant is pollinated by butterflies and bees. Coneflowers can also be propagated from seeds and by dividing clumps of the root in the spring or autumn.

Medicinal & Ceremonial Uses

Native Americans use this plant to treat many ailments including wounds, burns, insect bites, toothaches, throat infections, and snakebite. The roots of the plant are chewed or made into a tea for internal problems. Sometimes the roots are pulverized and the powder is put on external wounds. The Choctaw chew the root and make a tincture from it to treat coughs. Delaware and the Delaware Oklahoma combine the root of purple coneflowers with staghorn sumac roots to treat general disease. It is also widely used as a painkiller. 

Coneflower has also been chewed ritually during sweat lodge ceremonies and at Sun Dances. The coneflower is considered to be one of the sacred Life Medicines of the Navajo Tribe.

Did You Know...

The Greek name of the plant is Echinacea Purpurea. Echinacea means "spiny one" in reference to spiny sea urchins and Purpurea means reddish-purple.

Many people use purple coneflowers as ornamental plants because they can grow in the light or in the shade and thrive in both moist and dry soil. 

Rabbits eat the foliage of this plant when it first emerges in the spring.

Today, many herbalists recommend it to help boost the immune system and to help the body fight infection.

Celestial Fireworks - See Jupiter, Saturn and the Full Buck Moon July 4 and 5

​If you are disappointed about the lack of fireworks, don't be, just look to the sky for a celestial "fireworks" display. This coming holiday weekend, Mother Nature has planned her own program of fireworks! ​According to the Institute for American Indian Studies, the full moon on July 4 and 5 is called the Buck Moon or the Thunder Moon according to Native American traditions.  This full moon will be enhanced by two shining planets, Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system with four moons and Saturn. 

Jupiter will be very bright and hover to the moon's upper right while Saturn, one-third as bright will appear to stand off to the moon's upper left. Taken together they will form a triangle in the sky. If you have a small telescope or a pair of binoculars you will get a better view of Jupiter along with all four of the Galilean satellites that include Io, Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto. They were first seen by Galileo over 400 years ago.

Like June's full moon, the full moon of July brings about a penumbral eclipse, which occurs when the moon crosses through the faint outer edge of the Earth's shadow called a penumbra. When this occurs, the moon appears to be slightly darker than usual. This eclipse will be visible from most of North America including Connecticut and will begin at 11:04 Eastern Standard Time on July 4 and end at 1:56 a.m. If you miss it on July 4, check the sky on July 5 at 10:56 p.m. The Buck moon will appear the biggest to the naked eye on the U.S. East coast during and just after moonrise.

The Algonquin people of the Eastern Woodlands did not record time by using months or calendars. They tracked time by observing the seasons and the lunar months and phases of the moon. The Algonquin people called the full moon in July the Buck Moon because at this time of year a buck's antlers are growing daily. Another Native American name for the full moon in July is Thunder Moon because of the frequency of July thunderstorms. Colonial Americans adopted some of the Native American names for the full moon and, they are still in use today. Some of the most recognized names that come from the Algonquin people include the Harvest Moon, the Blue Moon, and the Supermoon.

The Institute for American Indian​ Studies is open Friday, July 3 until 4 p.m., closed Saturday, July 4, and open on Sunday, July 5 from 12 noon to 4 p.m. The indoor museum and outdoor village and trails are open.  The Institute is located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington CT.