Scientific Name: Salix nigra Used by Native Americans to treat fever, headache and coughs. The bark contains salicin, which is converted to salicylic acid within the body.
Continue reading "Pussy Willow"Tag: Use: Native American
Yarrow
Scientific Name: Achillea Millefolium Pawnee Indians used the stalk of this plant as treatment for pain relief. The Chippewa used the leaves in a steam inhalant for headaches.
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Scientific Name: Ratibida pinnata The Meskwaki Indians used the root as an ingredient to cure toothaches.
Continue reading "Yellow Coneflower"Yerba Mate
Scientific Name: Ilex paraguariensis Caffeine, stimulant
Continue reading "Yerba Mate"Cascara Buckthorn
Scientific Name: Rhamnus purshiana The dried bark of cascara has been used for centuries as an herbal laxative first by Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest, and then later by European/U.S. colonizers.
Continue reading "Cascara Buckthorn"American Wild Ginger
Scientific Name: Asarum canadense The plant contains aristolochic acid, a carcinogenic compound. The FDA warns that consumption of aristolochic acid-containing products is associated with permanent kidney damage. Native Americansused the plant as a medicinal herb to treat a number of ailments including dysentery, digestive problems, swollen breasts, coughs and colds, typhus, scarlet fever, nerves, sore throats, cramps, heaves, earaches, […]
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Achiote
Scientific Name: Bixa orellana Source of annatto, a natural orange-red pigment. believed to be theraputic in ayurveda, used by native Central and South American tribes as a hair and body paint, a spice, and a commercial pre-industrial pigment.
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