=Cow Wheat= (_Melampyrum lineare_ Lam.), “agoñgasiˈ mînûk” [chipmunk
berries]. The Flambeau Ojibwe say that this plant is made into a tea,
which is a “little medicine for the eyes”. There is no record of its
medicinal use by the whites.
=Wood Betony= (_Pedicularis canadensis_ L.), “mandamîˈ nîodjiˈ bîkîns”
[little corn root]. According to John Peper, Pillager Ojibwe, this root
was a bad kind of medicine, an aphrodisiac, when cut fine and placed
in some dish of food without the knowledge of those who were going to
eat it. There is no record of its medicinal use by the whites.
=Mullein= (_Verbascum thapsus_ L.). The Flambeau Ojibwe have no name
for this since it has come into their territory from the south and
they do not use it. The writer has gathered this for his grandmother
who smoked the leaves for relieving asthma and bronchitis. The flowers
are supposed to have diuretic properties and have been used in the
treatment of tuberculosis.
THYMELEACEAE (MEZEREUM FAMILY)
=Moosewood= (_Dirca palustris_ L.), “djibeˈ gûb” [djibe means a dead
person, or ghost or spirit]. The bark of Moosewood is very soft, strong
and elastic, so that twigs can be tied into knots. The Pillager Ojibwe
say that all their people use it as a tea for a diuretic. The bark
is sometimes substituted for Mezereum bark, which is official in the
U. S. pharmacopoeia. It is usually used in a compound decoction with
sarsaparilla for chronic skin diseases, and syphilitic, rheumatic and
scrofulous conditions. As an external ointment, it was used for a
stimulant to foul or ill-conditioned ulcers.
TYPHACEAE (CAT-TAIL FAMILY)
=Cat-tail= (_Typha latifolia_ L.), “bebamasûˈn” [it flies around]. The
Flambeau Ojibwe used the fuzz of the fruit for a war medicine. They
claim that the fuzz thrown into an enemy’s face will blind him.
UMBELLIFERAE (PARSLEY FAMILY)
=Musquash Root= (_Cicuta maculata_ L.), “apagwasîˈgons”. The Pillager
Ojibwe say that this root is used a little in their medicine, but did
not know just how. It was smoked in hunting.
=Cow Parsnip= (_Heracleum lanatum_ Michx.) “piˈ pîgweˈ wanûck” [flute
stem].[126] The Pillager Ojibwe pound the fresh root and apply it
as a poultice to cure sores. The fresh leaves and root are known to
produce vesication or blisters by the whites, and therefore have been
used by them as counter-irritants. The root has been used by eclectic
practitioners to cure epilepsy. In infusions, it is thought to cure
dyspeptic disorders.
=Sweet Cicely= (_Osmorhiza longistylis_ [Torr.] D. C.), “osagaˈ tîkûm”
[interlaced twigs]. The same name was applied by the Pillager Ojibwe
to _O. claytoni_, and evidently they did not distinguish between the
two species. A tea for making parturition easier is prepared from the
roots. The liquorice flavor of the tea is said to be good for a sore
throat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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