Medicinal Monday - Tale of the Tamarack Tree

The Tamarack tree is also known as eastern larch, black larch, red larch or American larch is a tree species native to Canada and the northeastern United States. The word tamarack is an Algonquian name for the species and means "wood used for snowshoes".  The Algonquian people and the indigenous peoples of Canada's northwest regions had many practical and medicinal uses for this tree.

About Tamarack
The Larix laricina is a small to medium-sized tree that can grow up to 66 feet tall with a 24-inch trunk in diameter.  The Tamarack is considered a deciduous conifer, which means that it sheds its leaves every season, usually in the fall.  The bark is tight and flakey in appearance and is pinkish in color on the outside, and red underneath.  The male flowers are yellow-green and the female flowers are red. The needle-like leaves are a light blue-green that turn bright yellow before they fall off in the autumn, leaving pale pink shoots bare until the following spring. 

The Tamarack's egg-shaped cones are tiny.  In the first year, the cone is pink, as it matures it turns deep red, and, by the second year it turns a lustrous brown in the fall.  The cone can stay on the branch for up to two years.  The seed cones are small usually less than 3/4 of an inch long and have brown scales.  Tamaracks tolerate the cold well and can usually be found near swamps, bogs, and other lowland areas.  In Connecticut, they can also be found in mixed stands of trees.

Medicinal Uses of the Tamarack

The Abnaki used a decoction of the bark to treat coughs and, the Algonquin, make a cough medicine from the tree's needles and inner bark.  In addition, the Algonquin found many uses for this tree. For example, they made a poultice of inner bark and needles that were used to treat infections. In another treatment, an infusion of young branches was taken as a laxative.  Both the Abnaki and the Algonquin made tea from the needles and roots of this tree.  The Anticosti used a decoction of bark from several trees including the Tamarack tree to treat kidney problems.  The Chippewa made an infusion of the bark and used it to treat anemic conditions.  They also made a dressing of chopped inner bark to treat wounds.

The Cree, Woodlands boiled the inner part of the bark and wood and applied it to frostbite or deep cuts; while a warm poultice of boiled inner bark was applied to help draw out infections.  The Iroquois fermented a decoction of needles and roots that were taken to treat soreness,  rheumatism, and fever.  A fermented compound decoction was also used as a stimulant.  The Malecite used an infusion of bark to treat colds and general tiredness.  The Menominee used the bark to treat inflammation. They also used an infusion of bark as a veterinary aid for their horses.

The Montagnais used an infusion of buds as an expectorant.  The Ojibwa used dried needles as a disinfectant and fumigator; and used the roots and bark as general medicine.  The Ojibwa South boiled and crushed the needles and bark and used it as herbal steam to treat headaches and backaches.  The Potawatomi used a poultice of fresh inner bark to treat wounds and infections; they also prepared shredded inner bark mixed with oats to keep the hide of their horses loose.  

Practical Uses of the Tamarack
The Cree used parts of the Tamarack tree to make toboggans, snowshoes, and canoes. The Cree made a goose hunting decoy from Tamarack twigs. The making of Tamarack twig goose decoys as an aid in hunting has been passed down from generation to generation that continues today as an important part of Cree heritage.

Native Americans also boil and eat the tender spring shoots of Tamarack; they use the bark for tanning, and they grind the inner bark for flour.

Did You Know...

Connecticut's Notable Trees website established by the CT Botanical Society, The CT Urban Forest Council, and the CT College Arboretum lists a notable Tamarack tree in Glastonbury Connecticut that has a circumference of 72 inches and a height of 66 feet with an average spread of 36 feet.  This tree is considered a Connecticut Champion.

This is one of the few conifer trees that is not an evergreen.

The lifespan of this tree is 180 years.

The tamarack can survive very cold temperatures of -65 degrees Celsius/-85 degrees Fahrenheit.

In Alaska sometimes tamarack branches have been used for runners on dog sleds.

The Ojibwa word for Tamarack is muckigwatig meaning swamp tree.

New Exhibition @ The Institute for American Indian Studies The Legend of Lover’s Leap

When visiting Lover's Leap State Park in New Milford, you might wonder how this relatively new State Park founded in 1971 got its name. If you want to know about the legend of Lover's Leap and the fascinating history of this scenic spot then head to the Institute for American Indian Studies located on Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut to see the new exhibition.  The Lover's Leap Exhibition will be on display through July 2019.

The Heart of the Matter

The Legend of Weantinaug tells the story of Lillinoah, daughter of Chief Waramaug who fell in love with a European settler from Stratford.  The elders of her village, Weantiaug, wanted to kill him; she pleaded for his life and saved him.  The young man stayed in the village for several seasons and, consequently, he and Lillinoah became engaged.  Eventually, he told Lillinoah that he had to leave the village so he could tell his family of their engagement.  Lillinoah waited for the young man to return for more than a year, to no avail.  Like any concerned parent, Chief Waramaug told Eagle Feather, one of his bravest warriors to marry his daughter, Linninoah.  Distraught at the thought of marrying someone she did not love, Lillinoah slipped out the night before her wedding and rowed over the falls, just as she did, her lover came upon her and jumped in to join her.  They drowned together giving the bluff that overlooks the Housatonic River the name, Lover's Leap.

The Legend of Weantinaug has become part of the cultural heritage of the Litchfield Hills and is told in this exhibition with interesting historical notes and lavish illustrations.  Ironically, the Institute has identified fifty Lover's Leap stories around the country where lovers are said to actually take the plunge.  Most of the stories identified have at least one Native character, usually, a woman falling in love with a white man or forbidden lovers from two warring tribes.

Visitors to this exhibition will travel from the Pre-European contact life of Native Americans and the legends they left behind for us to ponder to the gilded age of the Hurd Estate.  As the exhibition moves through time it traces the exciting development of the regions industrial heritage and the ways in which the landscape was altered forever as the need for hydroelectric power became increasingly important in the 20th century.

About the Institute for American Indian Studies

Located on 15 woodland acres the IAIS has an outdoor Three Sisters and Healing Plants Gardens as well as a replicated 16th c. Algonkian Village.  Inside the museum, authentic artifacts are displayed in permanent, semi-permanent and temporary exhibits from prehistory to the present that allows visitors a walk through time. The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut and can be reached online or by calling 860-868-0518.  Book Connecticut's exciting new attraction, Wigwam Escape 1518 and get into the Museum for half price.

Medicinal Monday - Bitter Dock

Although this unusual plant is not native to New England Bitter Dock or Rumex obtusifolius after it was introduced to New England spread to wetlands, meadows, and fields as well on to the shorelines of rivers and lakes.  Native Americans found several interesting uses for this plant.

About Bitter Dock

This perennial herb is a member of the Polygonaceae family and is easily recognizable by its broad wavy oval leaves that have rounded tips and cordate bases. They are similar to basal leaves. Some of the bottom leaves have red stems.  The flowers bloom in Connecticut from June to October and the seeds ripen from July through October. The flowers cluster in whorls at the top of the plant and each branch has ten to twenty-five flowers that are light green to pink in color. The seeds have sharp spines and pollinate by the wind. Bitter Dock can grow up to three feet tall.  They prefer shady areas with moist soil.

Medicinal Uses

The Chippewa used an infusion of the root as a dermatological aid to treat skin eruptions on children. The Delaware and the Oklahoma had two uses for an infusion of the root as a blood purifier and to treat jaundice. The Iroquois made a compound decoction of the roots and used this to treat blood disorders and, it was also used as a contraceptive. A decoction of the root was given to children to treat whooping cough.

Did you Know...

Young leaves are edible fresh or cooked and get more bitter the older they are.

Because the flowers are wind-pollinated they do not attract insects.  They do attract a number of birds that help spread the seeds to new areas.

In folklore, it is said that touching bitter dock is an antidote to a nettle sting.

In the 1959 Weeds Act, this plant was named one of the five injurious weeds because it proliferated in pasture land.

Medicinal Monday - Yellowspine Thistle

This spiny biennial herb has a single flower head that resembles a brightly colored snowflake.  The beautiful blossoms of this plant are a stark contrast to the rest of it which is covered in stout sharp spines. Yellowspine thistle is especially important medicinally to the Zuni living in western New Mexico and to the Kiowa, the indigenous people of the Great Plains that migrated southward to the Southern Plains.  

About Yellowspine Thistle

The scientific name of yellowspine thistle is Cirsium ochrocentrum.  It is native to the central United States and has spread to California and Mexico. Yellowspine prefers a dry sandy soil and grows in prairies, pastures, grasslands, and woodland clearings.  Today it can often be found on roadsides. It is a biennial (or short-lived perennial) that spreads by creeping taproots and seeds.  There can be as many as twenty white stems that are covered in wooly hair sprouting up from one crown root.   The leaves are irregular lobes with sharp yellow spines.  The bright showy flower head has a yellow spot in its center before it blooms from May-August.  The color of this urn-shaped flower ranges from pink, or white to pale purple.  Yellowspine flowers attract insects that help spread the pollen this herb makes.  The flowers also produce a seed that is covered by a smooth brown fruit that is topped with a fluffy white plume.  It's leaves, flowers and stems branch out in wings and are covered in very sharp, stout spines.  

Medicinal Uses

The Kiowa boil the flowers of this species in water in order to make a preparation to treat burns and skin sores; the roots were used for food.  They also used the flowers to cover fresh graves in order to deter wolves from digging up corpses.

 The entire plant is diaphoretic and diuretic. The Zuni made an infusion of the entire plant in cold water and let it sit overnight.  In the morning the water was drunk to treat syphilis. They also use a root infusion taken three times a day as a treatment for diabetes. The Zuni also made an infusion of the root that would be taken by both partners as a contraceptive.

Did you know...

Many people consider thistles in general to be undesirable weeds.

Yellowspine thistle is considered a weed in California and Northwestern New Mexico.

Yellowspine thistle is in the Aster family.

Its scientific name comes from the Greek word, Cirsium,  the Greek name for thistle and ochrocentrum meaning light yellow and prickle.

The Story of the Maple Tree

This story is told by Bob Red Hawk Transcribed and translated into Lenape by Margret Lenfest Edited by Louise St. Amour and is a favorite of the Institute's Professional Native American Storyteller.

Many, many moons ago one of the most beautiful trees around was the maple. And its roots reached deep into the earth and its branches reached high in the heavens. But at one time, a large group of bugs crawled into the maple’s bark. And it was itching the maple. It was driving the maple tree crazy. Cause even though the maple tree had many branches and shoots and roots it could not bend down and reach all parts of itself. 

So it called out to all its friends in the animal kingdom. It called out and said, “Can someone please give me some relief from all this itching.” So the beaver said “Well maple tree I can probably do it, but if I start chewing on your bark it’ll probably kill you. So that would not help you that much.” And then the little mouse said, “Maple tree I can dig down into your roots and get my brothers the voles and the moles, and the gophers but we’ll end up starting to kill your roots and that will kill you.” 

So then the bear said, “Well maple tree I have these nice big claws I could start clawing at your bark but that will probably shred you up.” So then they are all trying to think. Finally, one of the birds, it was a flicker, heard this conversation. And the flicker said, “Well maple tree I have a cousin. How about I get all these guys, my flicker cousins with to come.  Their  beaks are sharp and they can dig in you but they won’t hurt you.” So they called all of his woodpecker friends and they flew over and started pecking at the tree and got all the bugs out of the mighty maple tree. The tree was so happy. 

Everything was going along nicely and, then, all of a sudden for a couple of years there was very little rain. It got very dry and all of the animals were getting very thirsty. The creeks and rivers had all dried up and they did not know where to go. They were all bemoaning the fact and the maple tree heard them. And the maple tree said, “You know the animals helped me during the time when I was suffering from all those bugs biting me I have an idea.” So he called to his friend the flicker again. And said “Flicker you helped me in my time of need I want to help you. Call up your woodpecker buddies again.” So they call the woodpecker buddies. 

And the maple tree said, “Now I want you to peck deep into my bark and then wait for a second and soon some of my sap will run out and you can slake your thirst by drinking my sap.” So the woodpeckers tried it. And when they did the sap flowed from the maple tree. 

And that gift saved everybody until the next rain came and they were able to drink from the creeks again. And it was from that gift from the maple to the animals that man learned how to make maple syrup and how to tap maple trees when the sap runs. Maple syrup was precious because people could make something sweet, especially in the wintertime when there were no berries to pick and no sweet things to eat. That was the time when we really appreciated the gift of the maple tree.