=Thimble-weed= (_Anemone cylindrica_ Gray.), “gande gwaˈ soninkeˈ
cînagwûk” [looks like tumble-weed]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root
for making a tea to relieve lung congestion and tuberculosis. Among the
white men it has the same uses as Canada Anemone.
=Wild Columbine= (_Aquilegia canadensis_ L.), shown in plate 74, fig.
1. The Pillager Ojibwe have no name for this plant, but the root is
considered a good medicine for stomach trouble. Eclectic practitioners
consider it a diuretic, diaphoretic, and antiscorbutic, using it in
jaundice, in smallpox to promote eruption, and in scurvy.
=Goldthread= (_Coptis trifolia_ [L.] Salisb.), “wesa waˈ nikweˈak”
[yellow?] and “wesa wadjiˈbîkweˈak” [yellow root], shown in plate 75,
fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the decoction of the root to soothe and
heal the baby’s gums while it is teething. It is also used as a mouth
wash for adults when their mouths are sore. This use has been adopted
by white men, who also use it in dyspepsia and chronic inflammation of
the stomach.
=Bristly Crowfoot= (_Ranunculus pennsylvanicus_ L. f.), “manweˈ gons”.
The seeds are a hunting medicine with the Flambeau Ojibwe. Several of
the _Ranunculaceae_ have been used as counter-irritants by the white
men.
=Cursed Crowfoot= (_Ranunculus sceleratus_ L.). The Pillager Ojibwe do
not know this plant, and have no name for it. Eclectic practitioners
have used it as a counter-irritant.
=Purple Meadow Rue= (_Thalictrum dasycarpum_ Fisch. & Lall.), shown in
plate 73, fig. 1. The Pillager Ojibwe have no Indian name for this, but
use the root to make a tea to reduce fever. The properties of this root
are considered almost identical with _Berberis_, which is used by white
men as a tonic, stimulant and antiperiodic.
ROSACEAE (ROSE FAMILY)
=Agrimony= (_Agrimonia gryposepala_ Wallr.), “sagaˈ tîgans” [seeds
stick], shown in plate 77, fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root
with other ingredients as a medicine for urinary troubles. It is not
much valued now by white men, although it has been used for its bitter
astringent properties.
=Smooth Juneberry= (_Amelanchier laevis_ Wiegand),
“gozigaˈgominagaˈwûnj” [thorny wood][119] according to John
Whitefeather, Flambeau Ojibwe, and “bîsegaˈgomînagaˈwûnj” according to
Charley Burns, another Flambeau Ojibwe who said that the bark was used
for medicine, but he did not know what it was to treat. The Pillager
Ojibwe call it “gozigaˈgomînûk” and say that the bark is to make a tea
for the expectant mother. There is no record of its medicinal use by
white men.
=Hawthorn= (_Crataegus_ sp.), “mînesagaˈ wûnj” [berries and thorn
bush], shown in plate 77, fig. 2. The Flambeau Ojibwe use both the
fruit and the bark for medicine, a kind not made now, other than
for women. Eclectic practitioners have used the berries for their
astringent and reputed cardiac properties.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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