Ringworms and scalp germs of the hair roots.
MICRAPELIS MICRACARPA
(Ind. Yal)
American Thorny Cucumber. This beautiful vine is very common through the lower and upper coastal ranges. Wherever you may go you will see the thorny cucumber. It is very bitter to the taste and the seeds are very pretty, running into the various shades of white, yellow, gray, black, olive-green, brown, and red.
In the ’90s the white people discovered that they could be worked into portieres, hanging ornaments, etc., as they looked so beautiful and the fad became so strong that young and old would search for these seeds all over the country with the result that the plant became almost extinct, the usual net result when the white man took a fancy to certain plants or animals. However, in this instance, kind Mother Nature hid a few seeds away among and under the carpet of autumn leaves which in time replaced the destruction wrought by the white man.
One should know that we, the so-called savages, never destroyed wantonly, and when we gathered the flowers, seeds, leaves and bark of plants, we did so for a useful purpose, not to strew them along the highways as the custom is among certain humans of today.
Micrapelis micracarpa was used in the treatment of ringworm in the epidermis. Juices extracted from the rind of the thorny cucumber were rubbed into afflicted parts—a sure and effective remedy.
For the treatment of diseased scalps and hair roots the oil extracted from the seeds is massaged into the scalp and thus prevents the falling out of the hair.
The juice of Micrapelis micracarpa will remove human bloodstains, one of the most difficult stains to remove. The Indian made quite frequent use of it—when returning from the battlefield or a hunting trip—to remove such stains from his buckskin clothes.