=Prickly Ash= (_Zanthoxylum americanum_ Mill.), “gawaˈ kumîc”,[125]
[its name]. Both Flambeau and Pillager Ojibwe make trips further south
to get this bark, since none of the trees grow near them. They want it
for treating quinsy and sore throat. They say that even the berries are
good for a hot tea to treat sore throat, and also to use as a spray on
the chest to cool and relieve congestion in bronchitis. Among the white
men, it is considered a stimulant, tonic, alterative and sialagogue
and is used for chronic rheumatism, colic, syphilis, and hepatic
derangements.
SALICACEAE (WILLOW FAMILY)
=Balsam Poplar= (_Populus balsamifera_ L.), “manasaˈ di” [perfume
poplar]. The Pillager Ojibwe cook the buds of the Balsam Poplar in lard
or bear fat, and use the cold product for a salve on cuts, wounds or
bruises. They also rub it on the inside of the nostrils, so that the
balsamic odors can course through the respiratory passages and open
them in case of congestion from cold, catarrh or bronchitis. Poplar
buds are also official with white men who use them as a stimulating
expectorant, and in the form of an ointment in treating sluggish ulcers
and sores. Eclectic practitioners have used tinctures of the buds
for stomach and kidney treatment and in scurvy and rheumatism, and
sometimes, apply it to the chest. The bark is used by white men for a
tonic and cathartic, of service in gout and rheumatism.
=Large-toothed Aspen= (_Populus grandidentata_ Michx.), “asadi”
[bitter bark]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the young roots of this tree in
a tea as a hemostatic. There is no record of its use by the whites.
=Quaking Aspen= (_Populus tremuloides_ Michx.), “asadi” [poplar]. The
Flambeau Ojibwe give this tree the same name as the Large-toothed
Aspen. They use the bark of a young trunk for poulticing cuts and
wounds. The astringent salacin in the inner bark undoubtedly draws
the cuts together and causes healing. The Pillager Ojibwe distinguish
the tree with a slightly different name, “asadins”, the diminutive
of “asadi”, meaning “little poplar”. They use the inner bark for
poulticing a sore arm or leg, and make the inner layer of their splints
of the inner bark so that a broken limb may heal healthily. Eclectic
practitioners use both bark and leaves in treating acute rheumatism,
also to lower the temperature in fevers, to relieve pain and reduce
arterial swellings, colds, hay fever, influenza, neuralgia and
diabetes. Externally the whites have used it as a wash for gangrenous
wounds, eczema, cancer, burns, and body odor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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