Herba Cana - Northeastern Illinois University

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© 2004 by CRC Press 486 Florida Ethnobotany Pedicularis canadensis. a. Habit. b. Flower. c. Stamen. d. Pistil. e. Fruit. Drawn by Vivian Frazier. From Correll and Correll 1972. [<strong>Cana</strong>dian, common, early, early fern-leaf] lousewort (‘‘louse’’ from a Teutonic base-word, as Old English lús, with cognates in German Laus, Danish and Swedish lus; first applied to Helleborus in the 1540s by Leonard Fuchs, as Laüszkraut, and later to Pedicularis by John Gerarde in 1597); lousewort-foxglove snaffles (presumably from ‘‘snuffles’’ or ‘‘sniffles,’’ a nasal catarrh, used since the 1820s; a local name in England, usually applied to Rhinanthus, also in the Orobanchaceae, formerly Scrophulariaceae; cf. Coffey 1993) Linnaeus included Sweden’s Pedicularis in his Flora Oeconomica of [1749] 1979. When he published Species Plantarum in 1753, all of its 14 species were Old World plants. It was not until 1767 when Linnaeus published Mantissa Plantarum that he gave us P. canadensis, based on a collection by his student Peter Kalm in <strong>Cana</strong>da. People of the northeastern United States had known about this Pedicularis and other species for a long time by the 1760s. About 1750, Jane Colden wrote concerning what is now P. canadensis: ‘‘This pedicularis is call’d by the country people Betony. They make a Thee [tea] of the leaves, et use it for the fever & ague et for sickness of the stomach’’ (Colden in Coffey 1993). Settlers may have known about medicines from Old World species, or they may have learned from the indigenous tribes. Moerman (1998) recorded use among eight tribes. The Catawba made an infusion of roots to treat stomach problems. The Cherokee treated dysentery, coughs, and stomachaches with it (Hamel and Chiltoskey 1975). They and the Iroquois also rubbed an infusion of roots on sores. The Iroquois treated women’s menstrual problems, heart troubles, and bleeding tuberculosis with the plants. The Menomini used it as a love charm. The Meskwaki treated external sores and tumors, and also made a love medicine with it (King 1984). The Mohegans used an infusion of leaves to induce abortion. The Ojibwa used a root infusion to counteract anemia, to treat stomach ulcers, sore throats, and as a love potion. The Forest Potawatomi used the roots as a physic, while the Prairie Potawatomi used the roots to reduce both internal and external swelling (Smith 1933). The Menomini and Potawatomi mixed lousewort with other plants to fatten their horses. Both the Cherokee and Iroquois ate the leaves and stems, sometimes cooking and seasoning them with salt, pepper, and butter (Yanovsky 1936). In the 1750s some Europeans still believed that cattle or sheep feeding where P. palustris grew became covered with lice. By the 1900s, others had totally changed views. Vickery (1993) recorded that people in the Shetland Islands called P. vulgaris ‘‘bee-sookies’’ or ‘‘honey-sookies’’ because of its ‘‘nectar-filled flower-tubes,’’ which children sucked for their sweet flavor. Pediomelum (Per Axel Rydberg, 1860 /1931, segregated these plants from Psoralea with Greek pedion, field, and melon, an apple or fruit) Pediomelum canescens (grayish-pubescent) ( /Psoralea canescens) buck-horn [buck-thorn] (‘‘buck-thorn’’ is now applied to several genera, but was applied to Rhamnus catharticus by Dodoens in 1554; the
© 2004 by CRC Press The Ethnobotany 487 Latin cervi spina was applied to Rhamnus by Valerius Cordus, 1514? /1544) buckroot (known by this name in 1765 when John Bartram visited the Carolinas, Berkeley and Berkeley 1982) hoary scurfpea (‘‘scurf’’ is dry, scaly skin, especially on the head; probably from Old English scurf; akin to Swedish skorv, Danish skurv, Dutch schurft, and German Schorf) owá:lá:rî: ínsawá:kî (Sturtevant wrote ‘‘prophets’ [plural; singular, owá:lî] coconut,’’ Mikasuki; ‘‘owá:lî’’ is also translated as ‘‘wise-man,’’ ‘‘magician,’’ or in Creek, as ‘‘knower’’); owa:lâlki insawkô (owalv, knower, em, his, svokv, rattle, Creek; the ‘‘coconut,’’ Cocos nucifera, is talasvokv) These herbs are restricted to parts of Virginia, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama (Radford et al. 1968). Because of their limited range, not much has been written about them, yet the Seminoles knew and used them as late as the 1950s (Sturtevant 1955). Moreover, they were familiar with the restricted range of the plants in Florida, noting that they did not grow south of Punta Gorda. They would make special trips into the area where the plants grew to obtain stocks of the roots to dry for use in medicine. Hedrick (1919) and Yanovsky (1936) say the roots have been eaten in the southern states. According to Josie Billie, one of Sturtevant’s collaborators, these legumes were analgesic when the warmed root was applied externally. To treat rheumatism, they took a root, dipped it in water, warmed it over the fire, and then pressed it against the sore spots. They considered it strong and expected the pain to be gone by the next morning. In addition, the roots were used in a medicine to treat colds and coughs. Sturtevant (1955) gave a lengthy account of his personal experience treating his own cold, and he was convinced it helped. Neither Foster and Duke (1990) nor Duke (2002) even mention the genus Pediomelum. Under Psoralea, Hocking (1997) says that this species has been used to treat gastric distress. Peltandra (Rafinesque named this with Greek pelte, a shield and andros, stamens) Peltandra virginica (from Virginia) [green] arrow [arum] (USA) ocfô (Creek); okõ:nî (Mikasuki) Peltandra virginica. a. Habit. b. Outline of leaf. c. Spadix. d. Berry (submersed). Drawn by Vivian Frazier. From Correll and Correll 1972. Pfeilaronstab (arrow arum stick, German) takwahahk (Capt. John Smith wrote the Powhatan name as tockwhogh, tocknough, and tockawhoughe. He said that it was the ‘‘chief root they have for food ... like a flag in low muddy freshes ... of the greatness and taste of potatoes ...raw it is not better than poison ...roasted ... in summer they use this ordinarily for bread.’’ Strachey wrote in [1612] 1953 that it was a ‘‘bread made of a wort called taccahoappoans.’’ Siebert 1975 considered the root to be /*takw-/, to pound fine, beat to a powder. The word written by Strachey includes the element appoans, which became ‘‘pone’’ in English; see also Zea); cognates include takáham (Delaware); takwaham (Cree); takwahamwa (Miami); takwham (Nipmuck-Pocumtuck); taw-ho [tawho, tawhim, tawhim, tuckah] (Delaware, New Jersey); tquogh (Mohegan); tukwhah (Shawnee); nitakhwa (‘‘I pound him for bread,’’ Shawnee); otakwaʔa·n (Ojibwa)
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Herba Cana - Northeastern Illinois University

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