Herba Cana - Northeastern Illinois University

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© 2004 by CRC Press 510 Florida Ethnobotany doradilla (little golden one, in reference to resemblance to a medicinal fern, Venezuela) erva gorda (fat herb, Brazil); folha gorda (fat leaf, Brazil) erva mucuim (worm herb, from mukoo’í, Tupí, Amazonas, Brazil) frescursa (unkept, Cuba) gale of wind (a comparison with Phyllanthus, which see, Florida) golondrina (swallow, Hispaniola) ha’il tsan (snake water, Huastec, San Luis Potosí) hierba de la viruela (measles weed); hierba del tejado (roof herb, from its growing there, Cuba) madre perla [madreperla] (mother-of-pearl, Puerto Rico); madre selva [madreselva] (mother of the forest, Puerto Rico) mañanita (little tomorrow, Cuba) marposa (probably a variant of ‘‘mariposa,’’ butterfly) palma del norte (northern palm, El Salvador); palmilla [palmita] (Hispaniola) panchita (little belly, Hispaniola) paragüita (little umbrella) parietaria (wall weed) [petit, ti] teigne [tengn] [blanche, plan] (little [full, white] ringworm, Lesser Antilles) pitsits wal (scattered eyes, Huastec, San Luis Potosí) rockweed (one of the most common places it grows is in rocky crevices) samancito (little useless one, Venezuela) schaam-teloos señorita (lady, Cuba) sereno de invierno (winter serenity, Hispaniola) smoke plant tumiin ts’ohool (money plant, Huastec, San Luis Potosí) urtiga (comparing it to Urtica, Brazil) verdolaguilla (little purslane, Puerto Rico) wild thyme [wild tim] yedra [del tejado, de vidrio] ([thatching, glass] ivy, Cuba, Puerto Rico) yomha zizal-xiu [siisalxiw] (zizal or sisal, Agave sisalana, xiw, herb, so called because it occurs frequently in the shade at the base of Agave, Maya, Yucatán) Linnaeus called these plants Parietaria microphylla in 1759. At the time, European Parietaria was one of the few relatives that he knew, and he was inclined to include these tropical plants there rather than create a new genus. It was not until 1821 when John Lindley created the genus Pilea, and then in 1851 F.M. Liebmann put the Linnaean species in it to create Pilea microphylla. Subsequently, about 200 species, from tropical and warm regions around the world, have been discovered (Mabberley 1997). In the northeastern United States, the Iroquois and Cherokee have used P. pumila as a medicine (Moerman 1998). The more tropical P. microphylla has a much wider range and many more people have used it, although no records were found within the United States. Roig (1945) recorded that Cubans use the plant as a refresher and against liver problems. He also noted local use as a diuretic, often used to treat inflammations of the urinary tract, as it is throughout much of its range (Meléndez 1989, Mors et al. 2001). The Huastec crush the plant and apply it to sores, itchy sores, and burns. They also treat sore eyes, mouth sores, susto, and fever in children with measles (Alcorn 1984). Brazilians not only use it as a diuretic, but also as an antithermic; poultices hasten maturation of boils (Mors et al. 2001). Other people use it to expel worms (Asian) and to treat wounds, female problems, inflammation, and tuberculosis. Piloblephis (Rafinesque named these Florida near-endemics with Greek pilos, hair, and blepharis, an eyelid, so a ‘‘hairy eyelid,’’ in reference to the sepal pubescence) Piloblephis rigida. Drawn by P.N. Honychurch.
© 2004 by CRC Press The Ethnobotany 511 Piloblephis rigida (stiff, refers to the short leaves) ( /Satureja rigida) hapo:sikâ:yî [hapóçigaiyi, hapoosikaayi] (simple term, Mikasuki); haposhekaaye-choobe (big haposhekaaye, Mikasuki) kvfockv [kafócka] (simple term, Creek) pennyroyal [pennyrile, penyryall] (dating from A.D. 500 /600, derived from Anglo-French pulyole ryle, Old French puliol real, and other variants, ultimately from Latin pulegium real, royal thyme, or Mentha pulegium, Florida, Bahamas) wild pennyroyal (mentioned by Williams [1837] 1962, Florida) William Bartram ([1791] 1958) was the first to find these shrubby mints in Florida. However, it was not until 1834 when George Bentham officially created the name Satureja rigida, based on a suggestion by Bartram. It was under that name that the plants were discussed for many years, even though Rafinesque had put them in Piloblephis in 1838. Only since the 1980s has Rafinesque’s name for them been adopted, and this seems to be the only species in the genus. It was thought that these mints were endemic to Florida until they were found in the Grand Bahama region by the Corrells (1982). Presumably, those Bahamian plants are native and not introduced, but with the reputation ‘‘pennyroyal’’ has as medicine and food seasoning, that is problematical. Well before Sturtevant (1955), the Creeks were known to have used kafócka, particularly in what they call ‘‘Cow Creek Sickness.’’ During his work with the Miccosukees on the Big Cypress Reservation, Sturtevant (1955) found them using this mint to treat ‘‘Hog Sickness’’ (periodic unconsciousness with shallow and slow breathing) and fever, and in medicines used at births, deaths, and during the busk (see Pterocaulon). An infusion also was used to treat sores and ulcers on the legs and feet. When used to treat these maladies, it was either mixed with several other plants or used alone, depending on the problem. Alice Snow wrote: ‘‘My mother told us if you have a cold you could smell this. It was good smelling, so we would smell it all the time. Kvfockv is used in different treatments. Usually one or two sprigs of the leaves are needed’’ (Snow and Stans 2001). She still uses pennyroyal to treat congestion; boiling it and breathing the steam. An important application has long been for flavoring food. Hapo:sika:yi is documented as having been added to soups (Sturtevant 1955), but probably to other dishes. Currently, the leaves are added to pots of turtle meat (Bennett 1997). Morton (1968) recommended branches be used to make tea, but she did not mention that fresh is better than dried. Once the branches have dried, they lose some of their fragrance and taste. Pinckneya (André Michaux named this genus after General Cotesworth Pinckeney, 1746 /1825, appointed as minister to France in 1796, but the revolutionary regime there refused him, cf. Taylor and Norman 2002) Pinckneya bracteata. From Sargent 1905. Pinckneya bracteata (having leaf-like structures in the inflorescence) fever-tree [fevertree] (Florida) Georgia bark tree (Georgia); bitter bark (Florida) John and William Bartram found these plants near Fort Barrington in Georgia, and later William named the species Bignonia bracteata (Harper 1958). André Michaux did not realize that the plants he found on the St. Mary’s River were the same, and published Pinckneya pubens. Rafinesque created the name now used in 1827. There are 17 species placed in the genus, with only 1 in the southeastern United States (Rogers 1987, Mabberley 1997). Michaux originally recorded that the plant was ‘‘very useful in intermittent fever’’ in his North American Sylva of 1817 /1818 (Porcher 1863, Taylor and Norman 2002). He learned that from either indigenous people or the Americans they had taught. The bitter bark, containing cinchonin, was used during the Civil War as a substitute for quinine in treating malaria (Millspaugh 1892, Mabberley 1997). Porcher (1863) recorded, ‘‘Dr. Law, of Georgia, cured six out of seven cases with it. It did not distress the stomach.’’ Later he noted, ‘‘In Georgia a handful of the bark is boiled in a quart of water till the liquid is reduced to one-half; the infusion is given.’’
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