Native American Ethnobotany Database

November 13, 2016 6:49 PM

A Database of Foods, Drugs, Dyes and Fibers of Native American Peoples, Derived from Plants.
posted by aniola (6 comments total)

Corn! "Sprinkled on images of the dead during mourning ceremonies." "Shucks used to make dolls." "Seeds boiled into a liquor and used in the preparation of food for infants." "Seeds used to make popcorn." "Seeds used for ceremonial occasions, such as False-Face Society functions." "Decoction of dried cobs used as a wash for poison ivy rash." "Husks used as casings for blood sausage." "Leaves eaten like lettuce." "Black corn with red streaks good for menstruating woman.""Warm ear of corn rubbed with foot for child's glandular swelling in neck." CORNHOLE: "Ribboned husks made into small, square pads and used by young people in games. Small plumes were attached to the small, square pads upright, in the center, forming the shuttlecocks for use in the game of battledore and shuttlecock."
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:59 PM on November 13, 2016 [6 favorites]

This is relevant to my interests.
posted by vrakatar at 7:14 PM on November 13, 2016

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta): "Root ooze used for earache." "Taken for 'flux and some private diseases.'" "Cold infusion of cone flowers used for fevers."

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea): "Roots combined with staghorn sumac roots and used for venereal disease." "Simple or compound infusion of root, highly effective, taken for gonorrhea." (Interestingly, nothing for depression!)

Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii): "Used to cover fruit and allow ripening." "Stiff, jointed stems used by little boys to make arrows. Arikara, Hidatsa, and Mandan boys used thorn apple thorns for arrow points and practiced their archery skills by hunting frogs." "Simple or compound decoction of root taken as a diuretic." "Grass used on poles to support earth coverings of lodges."
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:31 PM on November 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've always been intrigued by an OP notion of: What poison the forest has, its antidote is nearby.
posted by lazycomputerkids at 7:47 PM on November 13, 2016

Seems more to me the dose makes the poison since I keep getting that this species is poisonous but also it's a remedy for toothaches and you can use it in soup. Though sometimes that's leaves vs. roots or stuff like that.
posted by RobotHero at 5:08 AM on November 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Drop table beans.lima;
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:07 AM on November 14, 2016