=Indian Cup Plant= (_Silphium perfoliatum_ L.), “asasaˈ weskûk” [square
stem]. According to John White Feather, of the Flambeau Ojibwe, this
root was carried from Iowa and transplanted on the Lac du Flambeau
Ojibwe Reservation. They all accept it as great medicine. A tea is
made from the root for lumbago and some other kinds of rheumatic pains
in the back. John Peper, Pillager Ojibwe, gave it the same Indian
name and said that an old Indian had brought it to Bear Island from
Iowa a hundred years ago, and had planted it in his field, whence it
escaped to the south end of the island. He said they use it for stomach
trouble, and hemorrhage. White men have used the Indian Cup Plant root
for its tonic, diaphoretic and alterative properties. It has also been
used in intermittent fevers, ulcers, liver affections and debility. The
resinous gum collected from the stem has been used by the whites as a
stimulant and antispasmodic.
=Fragrant Golden-rod= (_Solidago graminifolia_ [L.] Salisb.), “wasaˈ
waskwûneˈk” [yellow light]. Besides being of use in hunting medicine,
the flowers in infusion were used by the Flambeau Ojibwe for a pain in
the chest.
Golden-rod leaves and flowers have at times held a rather important
place in materia medica, for their carminative, and antispasmodic
properties. They have also been used as an intestinal astringent.
=Tansy= (_Tanacetum vulgare_ L.) “muckikiˈwît” [medicine]. The Flambeau
Ojibwe have no distinctive name for this plant, claiming it came from
the south and they were told it was good for fevers.
Among white men, it is deemed tonic, emmenagogue and diaphoretic. It
has been used in a cold infusion in convalescence from exhausting
diseases, dyspepsia, hysteria and jaundice.
=Dandelion= (_Taraxacum officinale_ Weber) “wesaˈusakwûnek” [yellow
light].[103] While the Flambeau Ojibwe do not use this plant, the
Pillager Ojibwe give it a name and use the root for a tea for
heartburn. It was found growing at the north end of Bear Island in
Leech Lake, Minnesota.
Among the whites, the virtues of the root are much overrated. The dried
root is steeped in boiling water and is used as a stomachic and tonic,
with slight diuretic and aperient action.
=Cocklebur= (_Xanthium commune_ Britton), “sakatiˈkomûk” [stickers].
Although giving it a name, the Flambeau Ojibwe did not use it. It has
been used by white men in intermittent fevers, also as a diuretic,
diaphoretic and sialagogue.
CORNACEAE (DOGWOOD FAMILY)
=Alternate-leaved Dogwood= (_Cornus alternifolia_ L. f.) “mosoˈmîc”
[moose tree].[104] The Pillager Ojibwe use the inner bark for an
emetic. Although other species of _Cornus_ are officinal with white
men, there is no record of the use of this species.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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