Indigenous peoples of North America used various plants for different purposes. For lists pertaining specifically to the Cherokee, Haudenosaunee, Navajo, and Zuni, see Cherokee ethnobotany, Haudenosaunee ethnobotany, Navajo ethnobotany, and Zuni ethnobotany.
A Abronia fragrans (snowball-sand verbena) Used as both food and medicine. See article for complete list of uses. Acer glabrum var. douglasii (Douglas maple), used by Plateau tribes as a treatment for diarrhea. Acer glabrum var. glabrum The Blackfoot take an infusion of the bark in the morning as a cathartic.Hellson, John C. 1974 Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians. Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series (p. 65) The Okanagan-Colville, when hunting, use a branch tied in a knot and placed over the bear's tracks while hunting to stop the wounded bear.Turner, Nancy J., R. Bouchard and Dorothy I.D. Kennedy 1980 Ethnobotany of the Okanagan-Colville Indians of British Columbia and Washington. Victoria. British Columbia Provincial Museum (p. 59) The Thompson people use a decoction of wood and bark taken for nausea caused by smelling a corpse.Steedman, E.V. 1928 The Ethnobotany of the Thompson Indians of British Columbia. SI-BAE Annual Report #45:441-522 (p. 475) Acer negundo (box elder), used as food, lumber, and medicine. Please see article for full information. Acer saccharinum (silver maple), an infusion of bark removed from the south side of the tree is used by the Mohegan for cough medicine.Tantaquidgeon, Gladys 1928 Mohegan Medicinal Practices, Weather-Lore and Superstitions. SI-BAE Annual Report #43: 264-270 (p. 269) It is also used by other tribes for various purposes.http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl?searchstring=Acer saccharinum Acer saccharum (sugar maple), used by the Mohegan as a cough remedy, and the sap as a sweetening agent and to make maple syrup.Tantaquidgeon, Gladys 1972 Folk Medicine of the Delaware and Related Algonkian Indians. Harrisburg. Pennsylvania Historical Commission Anthropological Papers #3 (p. 69, 128) It is also used by other tribes for various purposes.http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl?searchstring=Acer saccharum Actaea racemosa (black cohosh), used to treat gynecological and other disorders, including sore throats, kidney problems, and depression. Actaea rubra (red baneberry), used by the Algonquin for stomach pains, in some seasons for males, other seasons for females.http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl?searchstring=Actaea rubra Agrimonia gryposepala, used by the Haudenosaunee to treat diarrhea. Also used by the Cherokee to treat fever, by the Ojibwa for urinary problems, and by the Meskwaki and Prairie Potawatomi used it as a styptic for nosebleeds. Allium tricoccum, used as both food and medicine. Please see the article for full information. Alnus rhombifolia, used by some Plateau tribes for female health treatment. Alnus rubra, used to treat poison oak, insect bites, and skin irritations. The Blackfoot Confederacy used an infusion made from the bark of red alder to treat lymphatic disorders and tuberculosis. Recent clinical studies have verified that red alder contains betulin and lupeol, compounds shown to be effective against a variety of tumors.Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, Artemisia californica (California Sagebrush), used by the Cahuilla and Tongva to alleviate menstrual cramps and menopause by taking it as a decoction, and consuming it regularly before the menstruation period. They also used it as an aid for child labor since the plant stimulates the uterine mucosa, quickening the process. The Cahuilla people chewed on the leaves, dried or fresh, to fight colds and coughs. The Ohlone used it to remove pain by applying it to wounds and teeth, to treat colds, coughs, and rheumatism by making it into a tea bath, and as a poultice for asthma. Artemisia douglasiana, used to treat colds, fevers, and headaches. Artemisia ludoviciana, used by several tribes for a variety of medicinal purposes. Arundinaria, used for medicinal as well as many other purposes. Asarum canadense, used to treat a number of ailments including dysentery, digestive problems, swollen breasts, coughs and colds, typhus, scarlet fever, nerves, sore throats, cramps, heaves, earaches, headaches, convulsions, asthma, tuberculosis, urinary disorders and venereal disease. They also used it as a stimulant, an appetite enhancer and a charm. It was also used as an admixture to strengthen other herbal preparations. Asclepias verticillata, used medicinally.
B
Baccharis sarothroides, used by the Seri people to make a decoction by cooking the twigs. This tea is used to treat colds, sinus headache, and general sore achy ailments. The same tea is also used as a rub for sore muscles.Felger, R. S. and M. B. Moser, 1985, People of the Desert and Sea. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ. Studies done on plant extracts show that desert broom is rich in leutolin, a flavonoid that has demonstrated anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and cholesterol lowering capabilities. Desert broom also has quercetin, a proven antioxidant, and apigenin a chemical which binds to the same brain receptor sites that Valium does.Karch, S. B. 1999. The Consumer's Guide to Herbal Medicine. Advanced Research Press, New York, NY. Balsamorhiza sagittata, used as food and medicine by many Native American groups, such as the Nez Perce, Kootenai, Cheyenne, and Salish. Baptisia australis – the Cherokee would use the roots in teas as a purgative or to treat tooth aches and nausea, while the Osage made an eyewash with the plant. Betula occidentalis, used by some Plateau tribes to treat pimples and sores. Blephilia ciliata, traditionally used by the Cherokee to make a poultice to treat headaches. Bloodroot, used as an emetic, respiratory aid, and other treatments.Native American Ethnobotany (University of Michigan - Dearborn: Sanguinaria canadensis. accessed 2011-01-12.
C
Calypso (orchid), used by the Nlaka'pamux of British Columbia used it as a treatment for mild epilepsy. Cardamine diphylla, used for food and medicine. See article for full information. Caulophyllum Ceanothus integerrimus, the branches of which were used among the Indigenous peoples of California in treating women after childbirth.Moerman, D. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, Oregon: 1988. Ceanothus velutinus, used by certain Plateau tribes to create herbal tea to induce sweating as a treatment for colds, fevers, and influenza. Leaves were also used when rinsing to help prevent dandruff. C. velutinus was known as "red root" by many Native American tribes due to the color of the inner root bark, and was used as a medicine for treating lymphatic disorders, ovarian cysts, fibroid tumors, and tonsillitis. Clinical studies of the alkaloid compounds in C. velutinus has verified its effectiveness in treating high blood pressure and lymphatic blockages. Chimaphila umbellata, used by some Plateau tribes in an herbal tea to treat tuberculosis. Claytonia virginica (Virginia spring-beauty), used medicinally by the Haudenosaunee, who would give a cold infusion or decoction of the powdered roots to children suffering from convulsions.Herrick, James William 1977 Iroquois Medical Botany. State University of New York, Albany, PhD Thesis (p. 317) They would also eat the raw roots, believing that they permanently prevented conception.Herrick, p.318 They would also eat the roots,Waugh, F. W. 1916 Iroquois Foods and Food Preparation. Ottawa. Canada Department of Mines (p. 120) as would the Algonquin people, who cooked them like potatoes.Black, Meredith Jean 1980 Algonquin Ethnobotany: An Interpretation of Aboriginal Adaptation in South Western Quebec. Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series Number 65 (p. 84) Cleome serrulata, used by tribes in the southwest to make an infusion to treat stomach illnesses and fevers. Poultices can be used on the eyes. Commelina dianthifolia, infusion of plant used by Keres as a strengthener for weakened tuberculosis patients.Commelina dianthifolia. Native American Ethnobotany (University of Michigan - Dearborn). UM-Dearborn College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters.. Retrieved 2011-01-25. Cornus sericea, used by Plateau tribes to treat colds by eating the berries. Also used to slow bleeding.Moerman, Daniel E. (1998) "Cornus sericea ssp. occidentallis" Native American ethnobotany Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, page 178,
D
Datura wrightii, the plant, often the root but any part of the plant could be used, was made into a tea which was then consumed as a rite of passage in Chumash ceremonies due to being a deliriant hallucinogen. Delphinium nudicaule, the root of which was used as a narcotic by the Mendocino.University of Michigan (Dearborn): Native American Ethnobotany — 'Delphinium nudicaule'. accessed 2013-10-01. Devil's club, traditionally used by Native Americans to treat adult-onset diabetes and a variety of tumors. In vitro studies showed that extracts of devil's club inhibit tuberculosis microbes. The plant is used medicinally and ceremonially by the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska, who refer to it as "Tlingit aspirin". A piece of devil's club hung over a doorway is said to ward off evil. The plant is harvested and used in a variety of ways, including lip balms, ointments, and herbal teas. Some Tlingit disapprove of the commercialization of the plant as they see it as a violation of its sacred status.
E
Echinacea, Echinacea angustifolia was widely used by the North American Plains Indians for its general medicinal qualities. Echinacea was one of the basic antimicrobial herbs of eclectic medicine from the mid 19th century through the early 20th century, and its use was documented for snakebite, anthrax, and for relief of pain. In the 1930s echinacea became popular in both Europe and America as an herbal medicine. According to Wallace Sampson, MD, its modern-day use as a treatment for the common cold began when a Swiss herbal supplement maker was "erroneously told" that echinacea was used for cold prevention by Native American tribes who lived in the area of South Dakota.Study: Echinacea Cuts Colds by Half WebMD Health News, June 26, 2007 Although Native American tribes didn't use echinacea to prevent the common cold, some Plains tribes did use echinacea to treat some of the symptoms that could be caused by the common cold: The Kiowa used it for coughs and sore throats, the Cheyenne for sore throats, the Pawnee for headaches, and many tribes including the Lakotah used it as an analgesic. Native Americans learned of E. angustifolia by observing elk seeking out the plants and consuming them when sick or wounded, and identified those plants as elk root. The following table examines why various tribes use echinacea. TribeUsesCheyenneSore mouth/gumsChoctawsCoughs, dyspepsiaComancheToothache, sore throatCrowColds, toothache, colicDakota (Oglala)Cool inflammationDelaware (Lenape)GonorrheaKiowaCoughs, sore throatMeskwakiCrampsOmahaSeptic diseasesOmaha-PoncaEye washSioux (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.
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%.