Medicinal Monday - Cow Parsnip

Cow Parsnip cannot be missed with its bright beacon of clusters of white showy flowers. This plant, native to the United States, has many interesting ethnobotanical uses by Native American communities from culinary to medicinal, as well as a few interesting practical uses in everyday life.

About Cow Parsnip

This plant is the only member of the genus Heracleum native to North America and is in the carrot family. Cow parsnip is a perennial herbaceous plant that can grow up to ten feet high. Its stems are hollow and very hairy and the three-lobed maple-shaped leaves can grow up to 16 inches across. The flowers are umbrels, which are characteristic of the carrot family and they can reach up to 15 inches across and are composed of tiny white flowers. With so many tiny flowers, cow parsnip is an excellent source of pollen and nectar for many insects and is a larval host for the anise swallowtail. This plant can be found throughout most of the continental United States with the exception of the states along the Gulf Coast. It can be found as far north as Alaska, on the west coast, and in Newfoundland, Canada on the east coast. Cow Parsnip is often found on forest edges, floodplains, wet meadows, and riverbanks, and in open clearings of hardwood forests.

Cow parsnip contains chemicals called furanocoumarins which can cause rashes and burn-like lesions depending on one's sensitivity to the chemical after the skin is exposed to the sun. This chemical is thought to act as a defense against insects, mammals, and fungi. If you don't know your sensitivity to the phytochemicals in parts of this plant, it is best to wear gloves when working with it.

Culinary

Many Native American communities including Yuki, Wet'suwet'en, Tolowa, Thompson, Spokan, Shuswap, Montana, Nitinaht, Ojibwa, Okanagan-Colville, Oweekeno, Pomo, Quinault, Gitksan, Cree, Karok, Makah, Mendocino, Haisla, peeled young shoots and ate them raw like celery, and boiled or steamed them. The Meskwaki cooked the roots like we cook potatoes, the Blackfoot roasted stalks over hot coals, Alaskan Natives would eat the inner pulp of the stem with seal oil, and the Hesquiat ate the leaves, stalks, and flower buds with honey. 

Practical Uses

The stems were used as straws by many Native American communities. Another clever use was found for the hollow stems which were made into flutes for children by the Haisia, Cheyenne, and Blackfoot, to name a few. The Karok use the roots to make a yellow dye that is applied to porcupine quills. The Makah combine stems of large blossoms with seaweed to make baskets. The Menominee and Ojibwa use this plant as a smudge to drive away evil spirits as well as to drive away bad spirits from the camp of a hunter. The Ojibwa also boil the roots and sprinkle them on fishing nets to attract fish. The Pomo used the hollow stems to carry water and also use the dried-out hollow stems as toy blow guns to shoot berries or small pebbles. 

Medicinal Uses

Some of the most common medicinal uses were to make a poultice of the heated leaves and apply them to sores and wounds. For chronic swelling, a poultice of roots was applied.  A soothing drink was made to treat sore throats and colds; dried roots were often chewed for sore throats. A compound infusion of the root was used as a poultice to treat rheumatism. A poultice of baked roots was applied to boils and used to treat hip pain. An infusion of blossoms was rubbed on the body to keep flies and mosquitos away. The root of the plant was placed on cavities to treat toothaches. A compound infusion of the plant was used as a steambath for headaches and rheumatism. Dried, pounded roots were combined with oil and used as a hair ointment and as a wash for dandruff. A poultice of roots was used to treat sore eyes. A decoction of the roots was sometimes used as a wash for purification.

Did You Know...

Cow parsnip is also referred to as American cow parsnip, Satan celery, Indian celery, Indian rhubarb, and pushki.

The genus name, Heracleum is from Heracles and refers to the considerable size of parts of this plant. 

This plant is listed as "Endangered" in Kentucky and as a "Special Concern" in Tennessee.

Never harvest this plant unless you are sure of what it is because there are several look likes including poison hemlock.

Native American Green Corn Festival A Harvest of Tradition August 14 in Washington, Connecticut

 

Many of us celebrate the sweetness of corn that begins to ripen in early August as a high point of summer’s harvest. We are not alone in celebrating the golden deliciousness of corn. For Native American communities corn is an integral part of their annual lifecycle. For generations, many Native American communities have welcomed the season when corn ripens with a celebration. In recognition of this time-honored tradition, the Institute for American Indian Studies, located in Washington, CT, is holding its 17th annual Green Corn Festival on August 14 from Noon to 4:00 pm at Riverwalk Pavilion, 11a School Street, in Washington, CT. 

The public is invited to join Museum Staff as they welcome the first corn of the summer 2022 season with flute music by Allan Madahbee (Ojibwe), drumming, dancing, children’s activities curated by the Institute’s staff, and traditional stories told by a professional Native American Storyteller. For shoppers and collectors, don’t miss the vendors that are selling Native American-inspired arts and crafts at a variety of price points. All the festivities are taking place in a beautiful park with a sheltered wooden pavilion, picnic tables, and plenty of free parking. 

A highlight of the Green Corn Festival is the Native Nations Dance Troupe led by Erin Meeches, from the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation. Each dance performed has an uplifting and unique story or purpose. Some use movements that imitate animals and others represent an aspect of cultural significance. These traditional dances are sure to delight because they evoke the beauty, honor, and tradition of Native People. The dances will be accompanied by the Quahog Bay Drum Group led by Devin Wixon from the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Nation. The dancing will take place at 1 p.m. and at 3 p.m. 

If you have worked up an appetite, no worries because at this year’s Green Corn Festival you will have the chance to try some authentic Native American cuisine and more. Yapopup, the Indigenous Soul Food Truck by Pueblo Chef Ryan Rainbird Taylor (Ohkay Owingeh) will be cooking up some of his favorite Native American traditional food. Another vendor, GV Bites Food Truck will be whipping up Columbian fusion food, and Polar Sweets Ice Cream will be serving up more than 40 flavors of ice cream that will help beat the heat! Admission for this event held rain or shine, is $15 for Adults, $12 for seniors, $10 for children, $10 for IAIS Members, and free for members’ children. Pre-registration is greatly appreciated. Please visit the Institute’s website to register via Eventbrite. 

 About Green Corn 

The expression “Green Corn” refers to the first ripened sweet corn that you can eat. The Green Corn Ceremony is marked with dancing, feasting, fasting, and religious observations. In the Eastern Woodland areas, Native people depended on three staples – corn, beans, and squash. These food items were so important that they were called “The Three Sisters.” The Three Sisters were mixed together to make a vegetable dish called succotash that is still popular today. 

About 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 the 16th c. Algonquian Village, Award-Winning Wigwam Escape, and a museum with temporary and permanent displays of authentic artifacts from prehistory to the present 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 on 38 Curtis Road, Washington, CT.

Medicinal Monday - Black Western Chokeberry

One of the most useful plants used by Native American communities is the Black Western Chokeberry. It has a  multitude of uses as food, medicine, and an aid in hunting and fishing. Several Native American communities even used this plant in ceremonies. The Blackfoot for example made a berry soup that was used for most ceremonial events such as the transfer of a tipi design or the opening of a Medicine Pipe or beaver bundle. Women would prepare the soup and at the appropriate time in the ceremony, the soup was served to all participants. The Lakota tied branches to the sacred Sun Dance Poles and the Navajo use the leaves as an emetic in various ceremonies. The Winnebago, Ponca, and Pawnee use the fruit in a variety of traditional ceremonies.

About Black Western Chokeberry

Native to North America, the Black Western Chokeberry or Prunus virginiana is a small to a medium-sized shrub that loses its leaves, seasonally. This shrub can grow up to 20 feet tall and can have a trunk as thick as twelve inches. The leaves are oval with serrated edges and the flowers grow in shoots and bloom in the spring. The fruits range in color from bright red to black and have a very astringent taste that is somewhat sour and bitter. As the berries ripen they tend to get a bit sweeter and darker. The fruit contains a large stone in the center. 

Culinary Uses

For many Native American communities, chokeberries are an important source of food in their traditional diets. The fruit was highly prized and used to flavor meats, and stews, and made into beverages, wine, preserves, and syrups.  Many communities including the Algonquin, Paiute, Ojibwa, Apache, Omaha, Cahuilla, Dakota, Laguna, Navajo, Kiowa, Yuki, Okanagan-Colville, Lakota,  Acoma, Menominee, Blackfoot, Meskwaki, Paiute, Cheyenne, Cochiti, and Cherokee, would eat the chokeberries raw right off the branches. The Algonquin, Montana, Thompson, Kawailisu, Shuswap, and the Potawatomi used the fruit to make wine and preserves, and the Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Cochiti, Cahuilla, Ojibwa, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, Iroquois, Chippewa, Omaha, Kiowa, Laguna, Klamath, Thompson, Coeur d' Alene, Gosiute, Shuswap, Acoma, Dakota, Keres, Navajo, and Okanagan-Colville, dried the berries and stored them for future use. Many communities crushed the berries and mixed them with fat that was used in soup. The branches of this shrub were peeled and inserted into the meat as a spice. The Cheyenne boiled the berries and added sugar and flour to make a pudding out of them. The Cree would mix the fruit with fish eggs and grease and eat the mixture as a snack, they also used the fruit as a syrup for pancakes. The Iroquois and Ojibwa mixed pulverized fruit with dried meat flour and used this mixture in soup. The Lakota used the leaves to make tea during the Sun Dance and the Meskwaki used the bark to make a beverage. The Montana Indian and Sioux would use the fruit as an important ingredient in the preparation of pemmican. The Paiute used the stems to make a fragrant tea, they would also mash the berries and make them into little cakes and chew them like chewing tobacco.

Medicinal Uses

Many Native American communities used various parts of this shrub to treat a number of ailments. The Algonquin, Chippewa, Okanagan-Colville, Iroquois, and Cherokee made an infusion of bark for coughs and to loosen phlegm. The Blackfoot, Iroquois, and Gros Ventre use berry juice for diarrhea and to treat sore throats. The Cherokee and Crow make a wash for sores and ulcers from the root bark and used an infusion to treat chills and fevers. They also used gave a warm infusion to women experiencing labor pains. The Cheyenne pulverized unripened berries to treat diarrhea. The Chippewa made a decoction of the inner bark and used it to treat cramps and hemorrhages from the lungs. They also made a decoction from the bark and used it as a blood-cleansing scrub. The Thompson used a decoction of twigs to treat diarrhea and also used the broken sticks to treat colds. The Paiute, Cree, Okanagan-Colville, Kutenai,  Sanpoli, Ponca, Penobscot, Menominee, Mendocino, Sioux, and Crow made a decoction of the bark to treat diarrhea. The Flathead would make an infusion to treat intestinal worms. The Flathead used warm bark resin to treat sore eyes. The Iroquois used the inner bark to treat wounds and used the stalk of this plant in prenatal care. The Menominee made a sweet infusion of the inner bark and gave it to children to treat diarrhea. The Meskwaki made an infusion of the root bark and used it for stomach troubles and as a sedative. The Navajo used a cold infusion of the dried fruit to treat stomachaches. The Penobscot and Potawatomi used an infusion of the bark as an eye wash. The Gosiute used a decoction of the bark as a blood medicine for nose hemorrhages. The Haisla and Hanaksiala made a poultice of the leaves and applied the mixture to oral abscesses. The Oregon Indian pounded dried chokeberries and mixed them with dry salmon and sugar and used this mixture to treat dysentery. The Paiute and Shoshoni used the steam from boiling bark to treat snowblindness. The Thompson made a decoction of the bark and gave it to women after childbirth as a strengthening tonic.

Practical Uses

The Blackfoot used the wood of this shrub to make roasting skewers and incense tongs. The Cherokee used the wood from this shrub to make furniture. The Cheyenne, Kawailisu, and Lakota used limbs from the shrub to make arrow shafts and bows. The Crow use the wood of this shrub to make tipi stakes and pins. A decoction of branches, leaves, and berries was given to horses for diarrhea. The Montana mixed the sap with different colored clays and use it as a paint for Indian designs. The Navajo use wood from this shrub to make dance implements, prayer sticks, and square hoops for ceremonies. The Shuswap mixed berries with bear grease and made paint for painting pictographs. The Thompson use the shredded bark as an ornament on the rims of baskets. The Great Basin Indians make a dye from the inner bark. The Ponca boiled bark water and use it as a wash on traps to remove the scent of former captures.

Did You Know...

The chokeberry is related to the black cherry.

The chokeberry is often considered a pest because it is the host for the tent caterpillar, which is a threat to many fruit plants.

Moose, elk, mountain sheep, deer, and rabbits eat the foliage, twigs, leaves, and buds of this shrub.

The stone of the fruit is poisonous.

Chokeberry is toxic to horses, moose, cattle, goats, deer, and other animals with segmented stomachs, especially after the leaves wilt. Wilting releases cyanide and makes the plant sweet but deadly.

Symptoms of a horse that has been poisoned are heavy breathing, agitation, and weakness.

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.