This is a list of plants used by the indigenous people of North America. For lists pertaining specifically to the Cherokee, Iroquois, Navajo, and Zuni, see Cherokee ethnobotany, Iroquois ethnobotany, Navajo ethnobotany, and Zuni ethnobotany.
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| Tribe | Uses |
|---|---|
| Cheyenne | Sore mouth/gums |
| Choctaws | Coughs, dyspepsia |
| Comanche | Toothache, sore throat |
| Crow | Colds, toothache, colic |
| Dakota (Oglala) | Cool inflammation |
| Delaware (Lenape) | Gonorrhea |
| Kiowa | Coughs, sore throat |
| Meskwaki | Cramps |
| Omaha | Septic diseases |
| Omaha-Ponca | Eye wash |
| Sioux (Dakota) | Bowels, tonsillitis |
The entire echinacea plant is used medicinally, both dried and fresh. Common preparations include making a decoction or infusion of the roots and leaves, making a poultice of parts of the plant, juicing the root or simply using the leaves as they were. [46]
Echinacea contains essential oils and polysaccharides that boost the immune system, leading to a faster recovery from various illnesses. Due to this property, echinacea has been commercialized and has had clinical trials support that it reduces the duration of a cold by 1–4 days and reduces the chance of developing a cold by 58%. [47]
| Tribe | Uses |
|---|---|
| Cherokee | Pain relief, colds, skin issues and fever |
| Chippewa | Skin issues, emetic, sore eyes |
| Iroquois Confederation | Antidiarrheal, blood purifier, arthritis, appetite stimulant |
| Menominee | Predictor of future healing |
| Potawatomi | Sore muscles |
| Mohegan | Dowsing |
Witch hazel works as an astringent, a substance that causes the constriction of body tissues. The tannins and flavonoids found in witch hazel have astringent and antioxidant properties, respectively, which are thought to contract and protect blood vessels, thereby reducing inflammation. However, modern witch hazel extracts are often distilled and do not contain tannins due to health concerns. [74]
| Tribe | Uses |
|---|---|
| Cahuilla | Colds, shampoo, deodorant, cleanse hunting equipment of bad luck |
| Costanoan | Eye cleanser, fevers |
| Dakota (Oglala) | Disinfectant, stomach ache |
| Diegueno | Colds, poison oak treatment, general strengthening |
| Eskimo | Inflammation |
| Mahuna | Heal damage from birth |
| Tübatulabal | Consumed seeds as food |
| Tribe | Uses |
|---|---|
| Keres | Analgesic |
| Hualapai | Antirheumatic |
| Alabama | Antidiarrheal |
| Abnaki | Cough Medicine |
| Navajo | Ceremonial Medicine |
| Thompson | Orthopedic Aid (i.e. broken bones), colds, coughs, laxative |
| Seminole | Analgesic |
Willow bark contains salicin, a compound similar to aspirin that has anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and analgesic properties. [122] The following table examines why various tribes use willow. [72]
One reason for the vast differences in the use of the willow is that there are many ways to prepare it and these different preparations allow for it to be utilized in different ways. For example, the Thompson people would make a concoction of wood, willow, soapberry branches and "anything weeds" to treat broken bones. If they wanted to treat a cold, however, the Thompson people would make a decoction of red willow branches and wild rose roots. [72]
Herbal teas, technically known as herbal infusions, and less commonly called tisanes, are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Often herb tea, or the plain term tea, is used as a reference to all sorts of herbal teas. Many herbs used in teas/tisanes are also used in herbal medicine and in folk medicine.
Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. It has ten species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are native only in eastern and central North America, where they grow in wet to dry prairies and open wooded areas. They have large, showy heads of composite flowers, blooming in summer. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ἐχῖνος, meaning "hedgehog", due to the spiny central disk. These flowering plants and their parts have different uses. Some species are cultivated in gardens for their showy flowers. Two of the species, E. tennesseensis and E. laevigata, were formerly listed in the United States as endangered species; E. tennesseensis has been delisted due to recovery and E. laevigata is now listed as threatened.
Herbal medicine is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies, such as the anti-malarial group of drugs called artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua, a herb that was known in Chinese medicine to treat fever. There is limited scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of many plants used in 21st-century herbalism, which generally does not provide standards for purity or dosage. The scope of herbal medicine sometimes includes fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts.
Abies balsamea or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States.
The common names soap plant, soaproot and amole refer to the genus Chlorogalum. They are native to western North America, with some species in Oregon but they are mostly found in California. Common names of the genus and several species derive from their use as soap.
A poultice, also called a cataplasm, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is spread on cloth and placed over the skin to treat an aching, inflamed, or painful part of the body. It can be used on wounds, such as cuts.
Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic flowering plants in the genus Artemisia. In Europe, mugwort most often refers to the species Artemisia vulgaris, or common mugwort. In East Asia the species Artemisia argyi is often called "Chinese mugwort" in the context of traditional Chinese medicine, Ngai Chou in Cantonese or àicǎo (艾草) for the whole plant in Mandarin, and àiyè (艾叶) for the leaf, which is used specifically in the practice of moxibustion. Artemisia princeps is a mugwort known in Korea as ssuk (쑥) and in Japan as yomogi (ヨモギ). While other species are sometimes referred to by more specific common names, they may be called simply "mugwort" in many contexts.
Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material to dissolve the chemicals of the material. It is the most common preparation method in various herbal medicine systems. Decoction involves first drying the plant material; then mashing, slicing, or cutting the material to allow for maximum dissolution; and finally boiling in water to extract oils, volatile organic compounds and other various chemical substances. Occasionally, aqueous ethanol or glycerol may be used instead of water. Decoction can be used to make tisanes, tinctures and similar solutions. Decoctions and infusions may produce liquids with differing chemical properties, as the temperature or preparation difference may result in more oil-soluble chemicals in decoctions versus infusions. The process can also be applied to meats and vegetables to prepare bouillon or stock, though the term is typically only used to describe boiled plant extracts, usually for medicinal or scientific purposes.
Viburnum prunifolium is a species of Viburnum native to eastern North America, from Connecticut west to eastern Kansas, and south to Alabama and Texas.
Senna hebecarpa, with the common names American senna and wild senna, is a species of legume native to eastern North America.
Lithospermum incisum is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by several common names, including fringed puccoon, narrowleaf stoneseed, fringed gromwell, narrowleaf puccoon, and plains stoneseed. It is native to much of central Canada and the United States, where it is known from many types of habitat, but particularly piñon-juniper woodland. It is a hairy perennial herb growing from a narrow brown to black taproot and woody caudex. It produces a cluster of stems up to about 30 centimeters long. The stems are lined with narrow, pointed leaves up to 6 centimeters long. The slender, trumpet-shaped flowers are pale to bright yellow or gold, and may approach 4 centimeters long. The corolla face is 1 to 2 centimeters wide, its lobes sometimes ruffled. The smaller cleistogamous (closed) flowers are the main producers of seed.
Philenoptera laxiflora, synonym Lonchocarpus laxiflorus, is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae. The tree grows to 4–8 meters in height, has grey or yellowish bark and compound leaves. New leaves are accompanied by purple flowers on multi-branched panicles. The fruit is a glabrous papery pod, usually containing one seed. Ph. laxiflorus is widely distributed in West Africa, Central Africa, the African Great Lakes, and Northeast Africa. It is found in savanna woodlands and dry forested areas, particularly fringing forest near water courses.
Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium, synonyms including Gnaphalium obtusifolium and Pseudognaphalium saxicola, is a member of the family Asteraceae. It is found on open dry sandy habitat throughout eastern North America. Common names include old field balsam, rabbit tobacco and sweet everlasting. When crushed, the plant exudes a characteristic maple-syrup scent.
Parthenium integrifolium is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names wild quinine, American feverfew, and eastern feverfew. It is native to the eastern and midwestern United States.
See also Zuni ethnobotany, and Native American ethnobotany.
This is a list of plants and how they are used in Zuni culture.
Senega officinalis is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family, Polygalaceae. It is native to North America, where it is found in southern Canada and the central and eastern United States. Its common names include Seneca snakeroot, senega snakeroot, senegaroot, rattlesnake root, and mountain flax. Its genus name honors the Seneca people, a Native American group who used the plant to treat snakebite.
This is a list of plants documented to have been traditionally used by the Cherokee, and how they are used.
The Iroquois use a wide variety of medicinal plants, including quinine, chamomile, ipecac, and a form of penicillin.