Medicinal plants of the American West
Encyclopedia
Many plants that grow in the American West are purported to have therapeutic properties by practitioners of alternative medicine.
and are generally available in retail shops.
Medicinal plants of the American West are generally not as available, but can be grown in gardens. Collecting plants in nature may be illegal without a proper permit.
Native Americans of the West routinely use these plants in health care.
Among Native Americans spiritual health and physical health are inseparable. In fact, an unhealthy spirit leads to an unhealthy body. Most Native American healers start by healing the spirit, then the body. Prayer
, singing
, talking and comforting are an essential part of healing.
, Lophophora williamsii, California Jimson weed and others.
Jimson weed, Datura wrightii
and Datura stramonium
, as well as most other Datura
species, can cause respiratory depression and death when not used in carefully controlled dosage.
These plants have been used for centuries by Native American
s to induce sacred dreams, as a spiritual experience. Some of these plants were also used in rites of passage.
A comprehensive collection of many plants with descriptions of their uses. Very thorough discussion of California medicinal plants. A partial list of plants used in the west. A field guide with photographs of each plant and descriptions of their uses. Gives the Chumash Indian and scientific basis for use of many plants, along with color photographs of each plant. Cecilia Garcia is a Chumash healer. A discussion of Cahuilla
Indian plants and their uses. Saubel is a Cahuilla Indian.
Use and availability
European and Asian plants are commonly used in herbalismHerbalism
Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...
and are generally available in retail shops.
Medicinal plants of the American West are generally not as available, but can be grown in gardens. Collecting plants in nature may be illegal without a proper permit.
Native Americans of the West routinely use these plants in health care.
Among Native Americans spiritual health and physical health are inseparable. In fact, an unhealthy spirit leads to an unhealthy body. Most Native American healers start by healing the spirit, then the body. Prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
, singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, talking and comforting are an essential part of healing.
Ritualistic use
Many traditionally used plants are ritualistic or shamanistic in nature, prompting interest as recreational or hallucinogenic uses of western plants, such as peyotePeyote
Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...
, Lophophora williamsii, California Jimson weed and others.
Jimson weed, Datura wrightii
Datura wrightii
Datura wrightii or Sacred Datura is the name of a poisonous perennial plant and ornamental flower of southwestern North America. It is sometimes used as a hallucinogen. Datura wrightii is classified as a deliriant and an anticholinergic....
and Datura stramonium
Datura stramonium
Datura stramonium, known by the common names Jimson weed, devil's trumpet, devil's weed, thorn apple, tolguacha, Jamestown weed, stinkweed, locoweed, datura, pricklyburr, devil's cucumber, Hell's Bells, moonflower and, in South Africa, malpitte and mad seeds, is a common weed in the...
, as well as most other Datura
Datura
Datura is a genus of nine species of vespertine flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. Its precise and natural distribution is uncertain, owing to its extensive cultivation and naturalization throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the globe...
species, can cause respiratory depression and death when not used in carefully controlled dosage.
These plants have been used for centuries by Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
s to induce sacred dreams, as a spiritual experience. Some of these plants were also used in rites of passage.
Particular plants
- Black sageBlack SageSalvia mellifera is a small, highly aromatic, evergreen shrub of the genus Salvia native to California, and Baja California, Mexico. It is common in the coastal sage scrub of Southern California and northern Baja California...
, (Salvia mellifera), can be used against pain. A strong sun tea of the leavesLeaves-History:Vocalist Arnar Gudjonsson was formerly the guitarist with Mower, and he was joined by Hallur Hallsson , Arnar Ólafsson , Bjarni Grímsson , and Andri Ásgrímsson . Late in 2001 they played with Emiliana Torrini and drew early praise from the New York Times...
and stemPlant stemA stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...
s of the plant can be rubbed on the painful area or used to soak one's feet. The plant contains diterpenoids, such as aethiopinone and ursolic acidUrsolic acidUrsolic acid is a pentacyclic triterpene acid, used in cosmetics, that is also capable of inhibiting various types of cancer cells by inhibiting the STAT3 activation pathway and human fibrosarcoma cells by reducing the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 by acting through the glucocorticoid...
, that are pain relievers.
- California bay (Umbellularia californica) leaves are used to treat pain.
- California poppyCalifornia poppyThe California poppy is a perennial and annual plant, native to the United States, and the official state flower of California.- Description :...
(Eschscholzia californica) can be chewed to treat toothache, and to decrease milk production in nursing mothers anti-galactogogue.
- EphedraEphedraEphedra refers to the plant Ephedra sinica. E. sinica, known in Chinese as ma huang , has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for 5,000 years for the treatment of asthma and hay fever, as well as for the common cold...
spp. is used as a diureticDiureticA diuretic provides a means of forced diuresis which elevates the rate of urination. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics increase the excretion of water from bodies, although each class does so in a distinct way.- Medical uses :...
, as a treatment for urinary tract infections, for asthmaAsthmaAsthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
, and as stimulantStimulantStimulants are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both. Examples of these kinds of effects may include enhanced alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion, among others...
due to the presence of ephedrineEphedrineEphedrine is a sympathomimetic amine commonly used as a stimulant, appetite suppressant, concentration aid, decongestant, and to treat hypotension associated with anaesthesia....
and other compounds. The sale of dietary supplementDietary supplementA dietary supplement, also known as food supplement or nutritional supplement, is a preparation intended to supplement the diet and provide nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, that may be missing or may not be consumed in sufficient quantities in a person's diet...
s containing ephedra has been banned in the United States due to the risk of serious adverse eventSerious adverse eventA serious adverse event in human drug trials are defined as any untowardmedical occurrence that at any dose#results in death,#is life-threatening#requires inpatient hospitalization or prolongation of existing hospitalization...
s or death.
- HorsetailHorsetailEquisetum is the only living genus in the Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds.Equisetum is a "living fossil", as it is the only living genus of the entire class Equisetopsida, which for over one hundred million years was much more diverse and...
or Scouring Rush (Equisetum spp.) is used as a diureticDiureticA diuretic provides a means of forced diuresis which elevates the rate of urination. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics increase the excretion of water from bodies, although each class does so in a distinct way.- Medical uses :...
because of it contains high concentrations of oxalic acidOxalic acidOxalic acid is an organic compound with the formula H2C2O4. This colourless solid is a dicarboxylic acid. In terms of acid strength, it is about 3,000 times stronger than acetic acid. Oxalic acid is a reducing agent and its conjugate base, known as oxalate , is a chelating agent for metal cations...
and calcium oxalateCalcium oxalateCalcium oxalate is a chemical compound that forms needle-shaped crystals, known in plants as raphides. A major constituent of human kidney stones, the chemical is also found in beerstone, a scale that forms on containers used in breweries...
and therefore can also be a throat irritant if brewed improperly.
- Matilija poppyMatilija poppyRomneya is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the poppy family . There are two species in genus Romneya, which was named for Irish astronomer John Thomas Romney Robinson. They are known commonly as Matilija poppies or tree poppies and are native to southern California and northern...
, (Romneya coulteri) is applied topicalTopicalIn medicine, a topical medication is applied to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes such as the vagina, anus, throat, eyes and ears.Many topical medications are epicutaneous, meaning that they are applied directly to the skin...
ly to treat sunburn.
- WillowWillowWillows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
Salix spp. used to treat headache and as an antipyreticAntipyreticAntipyretics ; an-tee-pahy-ret-iks; from the Greek anti, against, and pyreticus, are drugs or herbs that reduce fever. Normally, they will not lower body temperature if one does not have a fever. Antipyretics cause the hypothalamus to override an interleukin-induced increase in temperature...
due to the content of salicylic acidSalicylic acidSalicylic acid is a monohydroxybenzoic acid, a type of phenolic acid and a beta hydroxy acid. This colorless crystalline organic acid is widely used in organic synthesis and functions as a plant hormone. It is derived from the metabolism of salicin...
.
- YarrowYarrowAchillea millefolium or yarrow is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. In New Mexico and southern Colorado, it is called plumajillo, or "little feather", for the shape of the leaves. In antiquity, yarrow was known as herbal militaris, for its use in...
(Achillea millefolium) is used for various ailments including cramps, fevers, and toothache.
Books
There are several books about western medicinal plants:A comprehensive collection of many plants with descriptions of their uses. Very thorough discussion of California medicinal plants. A partial list of plants used in the west. A field guide with photographs of each plant and descriptions of their uses. Gives the Chumash Indian and scientific basis for use of many plants, along with color photographs of each plant. Cecilia Garcia is a Chumash healer. A discussion of Cahuilla
Cahuilla
The Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
Indian plants and their uses. Saubel is a Cahuilla Indian.