=Low Birch= (_Betula pumila_ L. var. _glandulifera_ Regel.) “bîneˈ
mîcins” [partridge tips]. Among the Pillager Ojibwe, the Low Birch
is a valued source of medicine. Although it is plentiful around the
Flambeau Reservation, none of them seemed to consider it medicine,
although their name agreed, “bîneˈ mîc”, without the diminutive. The
Pillager Ojibwe use the tiny cones upon a plate of coals as an incense
to cure catarrh. No doubt the resinous covering of the twigs and cones
in this variety causes the aromatic incense. Also a tea made from the
cones is drunk by women in their menses. Such tea is also accounted
strengthening when the patient is enfeebled by childbirth. The leaves
probably possess diuretic properties as do other species of _Betula_.
No record of its use by white men has been discovered.
=Hazelnut= (_Corylus americana_ Walt.) “mûkwobagaˈ nak” [bear nut].[99]
Bearskin said that the bark of the hazelnut bush is medicine. It is
boiled and used as a poultice on cuts to close and heal them. No record
of its medical use by white men has been discovered.
=Beaked Hazelnut= (_Corylus rostrata_ Ait.), “bagaˈn” or “bagaˈnak”
[nut] Flambeau names, and “bagaˈnamijic” [nut tree], Pillager name.
Bearskin assigned the same properties and uses to the bark of the
Beaked Hazelnut as to the Hazelnut. The Pillager Ojibwe used only the
hairs of the hazelnut husk as a medicine to expel worms. Eclectic
practitioners have used it in the same manner as an anthelmintic,
depending probably on the irritant effect of the tiny stickers.
BORAGINACEAE (BORAGE FAMILY)
=Hound’s Tongue= (_Cynoglossum boreale_ Fernald), “masaˈn”. Three terms
are used to denote the action of such plants as this, which are burned
upon live coals that the patient may inhale the fumes. They are: “abaˈ
bûson”,—to revive or “head standing by smoke”; “sasaˈ bîkwat”,—to
snuff it; and “nokweˈ sîkûn”,—“smell as it comes”. They are used
interchangeably in designating the use of the plant. Hound’s Tongue is
specifically fumed to cure a headache.
Among the whites, Hound’s Tongue has been recommended as a sedative and
demulcent in the treatment of bronchial and pulmonary affections. It
is said to be of value also in dysentery. The fresh leaves are used
locally as a remedy for superficial burns and abraded surfaces.
CAMPANULACEAE (BELLFLOWER FAMILY)
=Marsh Bellflower= (_Campanula aparinoides_ Pursh.) Although plentiful
around the Lac du Flambeau region, our informants said that this is not
used.
=Harebell= (_Campanula rotundifolia_ L.) “adotaˈgons” [little bell].
The Pillager Ojibwe use the root of the Harebell combined with three
other unnamed roots for lung troubles. There is no record of its use by
whites.
CAPRIFOLIACEAE (HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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