Joe-Pye is officinal but not official among white men. Official designates that it is authorized by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia while officinal means that it is regularly kept for sale in drug stores. Officinal remedies are much used by eclectic practitioners. The root has the odor of old hay and is diuretic, stimulant, astringent and tonic. It has been used in chronic urinary disorders, gout, rheumatism, and hematuria.
Tall Blue Lettuce (Lactuca spicata [Lam.] Hitchc.), “dadocaˈbo” [milk]. The Flambeau Ojibwe employ the plant to make a tea given to women with caked breasts to render lactation easier. A dog whisker hair is used to pierce the teat. Among white men Lactuca was formerly employed as a soporific and sedative.
White Lettuce (Prenanthus alba L.), “wecaˈ wûs waˈ ckwînêsk” [yellow light]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the milk of the White Lettuce as a diuretic, especially in female diseases. The root is also used as a female remedy.
White men have used the root decoction internally for dysentery. Old time herb doctors gave the milk of the plant internally, and used the leaves, steeped in hot water, as a poultice for the bite of a snake.
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta L.). The Flambeau Ojibwe claim that this plant is adventive from the south and have no name or use for it. It has been used by the white men as a diuretic.
Golden Ragwort (Senecio aureus L.).
Entire-leaved Groundsel (Senecio integerrimus Nutt.) Both of these plants are considered adventive by the Pillager Ojibwe and neither was named nor used.
Under the name squaw weed, white men have exploited the Golden Ragwort as a female regulator, claiming diuretic, pectoral, diaphoretic and tonic properties. It is also said to be useful in treating gravel and other urinary affections.
Indian Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum L.), “asasaˈ weskûk” [square stem]. According to John White Feather, of the Flambeau Ojibwe, this root was carried from Iowa and transplanted on the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Reservation. They all accept it as great medicine. A tea is made from the root for lumbago and some other kinds of rheumatic pains in the back. John Peper, Pillager Ojibwe, gave it the same Indian name and said that an old Indian had brought it to Bear Island from Iowa a hundred years ago, and had planted it in his field, whence it escaped to the south end of the island. He said they use it for stomach trouble, and hemorrhage. White men have used the Indian Cup Plant root for its tonic, diaphoretic and alterative properties. It has also been used in intermittent fevers, ulcers, liver affections and debility. The resinous gum collected from the stem has been used by the whites as a stimulant and antispasmodic.