ROSACEAE (ROSE FAMILY)
Agrimony (Agrimonia gryposepala Wallr.), “sagaˈ tîgans” [seeds stick], shown in [plate 77], fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root with other ingredients as a medicine for urinary troubles. It is not much valued now by white men, although it has been used for its bitter astringent properties.
Smooth Juneberry (Amelanchier laevis Wiegand), “gozigaˈgominagaˈwûnj” [thorny wood][119] according to John Whitefeather, Flambeau Ojibwe, and “bîsegaˈgomînagaˈwûnj” according to Charley Burns, another Flambeau Ojibwe who said that the bark was used for medicine, but he did not know what it was to treat. The Pillager Ojibwe call it “gozigaˈgomînûk” and say that the bark is to make a tea for the expectant mother. There is no record of its medicinal use by white men.
Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.), “mînesagaˈ wûnj” [berries and thorn bush], shown in [plate 77], fig. 2. The Flambeau Ojibwe use both the fruit and the bark for medicine, a kind not made now, other than for women. Eclectic practitioners have used the berries for their astringent and reputed cardiac properties.
Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana Duchesne), “odeˈ imînîdjiˈ bîk,” [heart berry root].[120] The root of the common Wild Strawberry is used to make a tea good for the stomach-ache, and especially for babies. The white man uses the herb as an astringent and tonic for convalescents and especially for children having bowel and bladder weakness.
Large-leaved Avens (Geum macrophyllum Willd.), “wicaˈwasaˈ konek” [yellow light]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use this for a female remedy. Eclectic practitioners consider the root tonic and astringent.
Rough Cinquefoil (Potentilla monspeliensis L.), “tcodeˈ imînagaˈ wûnj” [like a strawberry]. This plant seemed to be known to all the Pillager Ojibwe, even the eight-year-old girls, as a physic. There is no record of its use as a medicine by white men.
Marsh Five-finger (Potentilla palustris [L.] Scop.), “bebaˈ akwûndek” [floats about]. This was dug from the water by John Whitefeather’s wife, Flambeau Ojibwe, who said it was a cure for cramps in the stomach, and is used alone as one medicine. Under the Pillager Ojibwe name of “mûckiˈ godjiˈbîk” [swamp root], John Peper said that it was medicine with them, but he did not know how to use it. There is no record of its use as medicine by white men.
Pin Cherry (Prunus pennsylvanica L. f.), “baeˈwimînûn”. The inner bark is a valued remedy for coughs. Most of the species of cherry have been used by white men for the bitter principle contained, which suits it for use as a stomachic and bitter tonic in gastric atony and general debility. The syrup of wild cherry has been used as a pleasant vehicle for other drugs.
Wild Cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) “okweˈ mîn” [worm out of a fly’s egg; refers to the little worms in a cherry when it is ripe].[121] The Flambeau Ojibwe value the bark of this species to make a tea as a remedy for coughs and colds. It is used the same as Pin Cherry by white men.
Choke Cherry (Prunus virginiana L.), “aˈ sasaweˈ mînagaˈ wûnj.”[122] The Pillager Ojibwe make a tea for lung trouble from the inner bark. This is the official bark in the pharmacopoeia, which is used as a stomachic and bitter tonic useful in gastric atony and general debility. Wild cherry syrup is used to mask other unpleasant drugs.
Smooth Rose (Rosa blanda Ait.), “ogîneˈ mînagaˈ ons” [rose berries].[123] The Pillager Ojibwe use the skin of the fruit or “rose hip” for stomach trouble. The Flambeau Ojibwe call it “ogîni” or “ogîniˈ gawûnj” [rose berries]. They dry and powder the flowers for use in relieving heartburn. The skin of the rose hips is a medicine for indigestion. Rose hips are described by white men as refrigerant and astringent, but are only used in medicine to prepare the confection of hips. Roses are used almost wholly today to impart their pleasant odor to pharmaceutical preparations.
High Bush Blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis Porter), “oˈdatagaˈ gomîc” [its name].[124] The Flambeau Ojibwe boil the canes to obtain a tea that is used as a diuretic. The roots furnish a tea for arresting flux. Blackberry and Dewberry root are official in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia because of their tonic and astringent properties. They are favorite household remedies among white men in the treatment of summer diarrhea of children and adults. Blackberry cordial is often used for the same purpose.
Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeus L. aculeatissimus [C. A. Mey] Regel & Tiling) “meskwaˈ mînagaˈ wûnj” [red bush berry]. The Flambeau Ojibwe value the berries as a seasoner for their medicines. That is, the flavor is used to disguise less pleasant ingredients. The root bark makes a tea for healing sore eyes. Under the name Rubi Idei Fructus, N. F. white men use the berries for making an agreeable syrup as a vehicle for less pleasant tasting medicines. When the Red Raspberry is not readily available the Black Cap Raspberry is used in the same manner.
Meadow-sweet (Spiraea salicifolia L.), “wabûckîkiˈ bug” [rabbit leaf]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root as a trapping medicine. There is no record of its use by the white man.
Steeple Bush (Spiraea tomentosa L.), “memîsgwûˈnagûg” [squaws’ drink]. The Flambeau Ojibwe make a tea from the leaves and flowers of the Steeple Bush to drink for the sickness of pregnancy and to act as an easy parturient. The whites have used the root and the leaves as an astringent and tonic, in diarrhea, hemorrhages, gonorrhea, ulcers, etc.
RUBIACEAE (MADDER FAMILY)
Goose Grass (Galium aparine L.), “sakateˈ bwi” [stickers]. The whole plant is used by the Pillager Ojibwe to make a tea used for a diuretic, in kidney trouble, gravel, stoppage of urine, and allied ailments. Other species are used in much the same way and for the same purposes. White men have recognized it as a valuable refrigerant and diuretic, and have found it useful in diseases of the urinary organs. It is not recommended for diseases of a passive character, on account of its refrigerant and sedative effects, but is used freely in fevers and all acute diseases.
Small Cleaver (Galium tinctorium L.), “waboskîkiˈ mînûn” [rabbit swamp berries]. The Flambeau Ojibwe make a medicinal tea from the whole plant, for its beneficial effect upon the respiratory organs. Eclectic practitioners have used it for its nervine, antispasmodic, expectorant and diaphoretic properties. It has been successfully used in asthma, cough, and chronic bronchitis. The plant has a pungent, aromatic, pleasant, persistent taste.
Small Bedstraw (Galium trifidum L.), “ojîbweˈ oweˈ cûwûn”, [ojibwe male genitalia]. The Pillager Ojibwe make a medicinal tea of this species for skin diseases such as eczema, ringworm and scrofula. White men undoubtedly use it in much the same way as the preceding species through error in identifying it correctly.
RUTACEAE (RUE FAMILY)
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.
Crack Willow (Salix fragilis L.), “sizigoˈ bimîc” [willow name]. This tree has escaped from cultivation around the water-courses of the Flambeau Reservation and has been accepted by the Ojibwe there as efficacious along with the native willows. The bark is astringent from its salacin content and is used as a styptic and poultice for sores. Willow bark was formerly employed by physicians among the whites as a stomachic and antiperiodic in the treatment of intermittents, but is rarely used today.
Shining Willow (Salix lucida Muhl.), “zigoˈ bamîc”. The Pillager Ojibwe use the bark of this species as an external remedy for sores. The Ojibwe do not generally distinguish any particular willow with any other name, but Whitefeather, Flambeau Ojibwe, called this species “mûckigoˈ bamîc” [swamp tree] and said it was used on a cut to stop the bleeding, and that the bark was also a poultice material for sores. Other Flambeau Ojibwe called it “sizigoˈ bamîc”, but it was generally noticed that in that latitude the Shining Willow was invariably found in swamps, and not along streams, so there is justification for Whitefeather’s name. Among the whites, this bark was used formerly as a stomachic and antiperiodic.
Bog Willow (Salix pedicellaris Pursh.), “sizigoˈ bamîc”. This is a species of the cold bogs and meadows found far up toward the Arctic Circle. While the Pillager Ojibwe did not give it a distinctive name, they said it was not used for bark to smoke, but for bark to treat stomach trouble. There is no record of its use by whites.
SARRACENIACEAE (PITCHER-PLANT FAMILY)
Pitcher-plant (Sarracenia purpurea L.), “oˈ makakiˈ wîdass” [frog’s leggins], as shown in [plate 67], fig. 1. Bearskin, Flambeau Ojibwe medicine man had a slight variant in pronouncing this—“oˈ makakiˈ odass”. He said that the root is used to make a tea to help a woman accomplish parturition. Eclectic practitioners used the whole plant to make a tea for a tonic, stimulant, diuretic and laxative.
SAXIFRAGACEAE (SAXIFRAGE FAMILY)
Wild Red Currant (Ribes triste Pall.), “mîciˈ tcimînûk.” The Flambeau Ojibwe use the leaves as some sort of a female remedy. There is no record of its use by the whites.