Twisted Stalk (Streptopus roseus Michx.), “nanibîteˈ odeˈ kîn”, [grows in a row], shown in [plate 72], fig. 1. This plant is called by the same name as Polygonatum biflorum among the Pillager Ojibwe, but this particular one is always referred to as the squaw, while Polygonatum has always been called the man. It is used for a physic or to make tea for a cough. There is no record of its medicinal use by white men.
Large Flowered Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora Sm.), “wesawabiˈ kwonêk” [yellow light][114], the name applied to the plant, but the root is called “wabûckadjiˈ bîk” [white root]. The Pillager Ojibwe use the root for stomach trouble. The trouble is described as a pain in the solar plexus, which may mean pleurisy. It has been used by eclectic practitioners for erysipelas, ulcerated mouth, etc.
LYCOPODIACEAE (CLUB MOSS FAMILY)
Ground Pine (Lycopodium complanatum L.), “gîjiˈk gandoˈ gûng” [cedar-like]. The dried leaves are used by the Flambeau Ojibwe as a “nokweˈsîkûn” or reviver. Lycopodium spores are used by the white man as a surgical dusting powder.
Ground Pine (Lycopodium obscurum L. var. dendroideum [Michx.] D. C. Eaton) “cigonaˈ gan” [evergreen], shown in [plate 61], fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe use this plant in combination with Bush Honeysuckle roots (Diervilla lonicera) as a diuretic. The spores are the only part used by the white man for medicine. They are an antiseptic dusting powder.
MENISPERMACEAE (MOONSEED FAMILY)
Canada Moonseed (Menispermum canadense L.), “bîmaˈ kwît waˈ bîgons” [twisted pod or stick]. White Cloud, Pillager Ojibwe of Bear Island, did not know the use of this root, but assured the writer that other Ojibwe knew it and used it. Moonseed root is used by eclectic practitioners as a tonic and alterative, and has been employed as a substitute for Sarsaparilla.
MYRICACEAE (BAYBERRY FAMILY)
Sweet Fern (Myrica asplenifolia L.), “gibaimeˈ nûnaˈgwûs” [coverer]. Sweet fern is called “a coverer,” because it is used to line the blueberry pails and cover the berries to keep them from spoiling. The word is almost the same as that used by the Menomini and means the same. The Flambeau Ojibwe consider the leaves too strong for a beverage tea, but make a medicinal tea to cure the flux and cramps in the stomach. The white man uses Sweet Fern as a stimulant and astringent; sometimes using it to relieve colic and check diarrhea. It has also been used in a fomentation to relieve rheumatic pains.