How did the Native Americans use native plants?
The Native Plants during the colonial times used many plants and different parts of the plants to treat an abundance of illnesses and diseases. Some examples are shown below
Bark
Roots
Leaves
Flowers
The Powhatan tribe used many Virginia native Plants as much as possible for medicinal needs. As the climate warmed, their lives became less nomadic and the conditions improved for husbanding certain plants—sunflower, knotweed, and little barley at first, and then the so-called three sisters of maize, beans, and squash. As the rivers created flood plains with nutrient-rich soil, they encouraged wild plants by weeding and replanting seeds. Trash piles also improved the soil, and Indians found them to be ideal spots for gardens. Early colonial accounts, both written and pictorial, suggest that in addition to domesticated crops, a wide range of native plants were encouraged near Indian camps and towns. These likely were wild species but nevertheless intentionally husbanded by people who found them useful or desirable.
Some plants were used for multiple indications within a single medicinal category. Some species were also used for different indications in multiple medicinal categories. In a study done by Morgan & Perry where they interviewed Native Americans local to the coastal plains, they collected information given to them about plants used by their tribe.
"We identified 89 plants, representing 49 families that were used for medicinal purposes by the Powhatan tribes. Of these, 38 genera (42.7%) were woody, 48 herbaceous (53.9%), and three were graminoids (3.4%). 82 of these plants were identified as species, and 73 of these were perennials (89.0%), six were annuals (7.3%), and three were facultative annuals (3.7%)."
The table above, shows the woody species of Virginia Native plants broken down into which part is used in remedies (many being multiple plants used for a single remedy)
"Sassafras albidum appears in seven categories and was used to treat nine different indications. Overall, there were 129 different medicinal uses described for plant parts taken from the 57 plants in our list." States Morgan & Perry who conducted the research on local Native Americans and their ethnobotanical history.
What the natives primarily used for medicinal purposes
Sassafras (Sassafras Albidum)
Nearly every part of the plant Sassafras was used. This tree is species of deciduous tree in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia. The sassafras grows to a height of 30–60' and a spread of 25–40' at maturity. They have a unique mitten (right- and left-handed) or three-lobe shape. (They look like dinosaur feet)(Sassafras Tree on the Tree Guide at Arborday.org, n.d.)
Native Americans used this for nearly everything. Once sought to treat any and all ailments. The roots are used as a flavoring for a drink that we now call root beer. The roots were used in teas to help treat bronchitis. The bark of the tree was used by steeping in hot water and setting on the eyes to help with sore eyes. The bark was also suggested to the Englishmen to help break the tobacco habit.
"Wilton Nichols carries sassafras root and a branch of wild cherry gathered in the woodlands near Ferrum, Virginia. His mother, Victoria Bowling, mixes them with other roots and barks for a "good-for-what-ails-you" tonic" Nature Healing Arts by Lonnelle Aikman
Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
Boneset tea, thought effective in treating colds, coughs, and constipation
it gets its primary name because it was used to be used to treat dengue, or “break bone,” fever. It was frequently used as a medicine by Native Americans and by early European settlers, who took the herb back to Europe where it was used to treat the flu.
leaves picked from plant prior to flower maturation steeped for tea drunk to improve health
Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)
Young shoots are eaten as a substitute for asparagus. Ripe berries were used to color wine and are eaten (cooked) in pies. Poke is used as an emetic, a purgative(laxative), a spring tonic, and a treatment for various skin maladies, especially hemorrhoids (Phytolacca Americana in Flora of North America @ Efloras.org, n.d.)
The native Americans take the Berries, steep them, and take boiling water poured over roots in a bucket, the patient would then sit over the bucket to get the steam to relieve hemorrhoids. (not all glitter is gold)
"Poke" is thought to come from "pocan" or "puccoon," probably from the Algonquin term for a plant that contains dye.
Slippery Elm (Ulmus fulva)
Native Americans used slippery elm in healing salves for wounds, boils, ulcers, burns, and skin inflammation. It was also taken orally to relieve coughs, sore throats, diarrhea, and stomach problems. Slippery elm contains mucilage, a substance that becomes a slick gel when mixed with water. It coats and soothes the mouth, throat, stomach, and intestines. It also contains antioxidants that help relieve inflammatory bowel conditions
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Butterfly weed is a pollinator-friendly plant. Helping butterflies get nectar, bees collect and spread polled, and hummingbirds visit for nectar
The tough root was chewed by Native Americans as a cure for breathing pains and other pulmonary ailments explaining its other common name, pleurisy root. (Niering) Fresh root chewed for bronchitis and other respiratory complaints. the leaves of the flower were also used to help treat snake bite (primarily copperhead snakes)
Creative Problem Solving
One of the biggest problems is that many things passed down from Native Americans is very sparse.
Limited literary sources and the length of time since English colonization restrict knowledge of all plants used by the Powhatan. This research in total addresses the lack of specific knowledge regarding Powhatan medicinal plant use. It synthesizes contemporary knowledge of plant growth characteristics and nativity with literary and tribal sources. In addition, it may provide avenues for further research into the biochemistry and ethnobotany of these plants.
We can reflect on this by educating ourselves as much as possible on the importance of Virginia Native Plants and their history.