Common

Name

Scientific

Name

Aboriginal

Group that

Used the plant

Plant part used

Uses of the plant

Balsam-root

Balsamorhiza

sagittata

Siksika (Siksika)

Kainai

Leaves

Seeds

Roots

-Salad for Sun Dance Ceremony

-Ground into flour and made into a biscuit

-Tender portion of root used in stew

-Roots burned as incense before a battle to bring good luck

-Used as a “holy turnip” in the Sun Dance Lodge

-Extract made for stomach trouble

Bearberry,

Kinnikinnik

Arctostaphylos

Uva-ursi

Cree

Chipewyan

Siksika (Siksika)

Kainai

Leaves

Stems, roots

Leaves

Leaves

Fruit

Fruit

Leaves

-Mixed with tobacco for smoking

-Boiled in water the liquid is drunk to treat diarrhoea

-Mixed with tobacco for smoking

-Mixed with tobacco for holy ceremonies of Horn Society

-Eaten raw or preserved for later use

-Dried, boiled then eaten, put in rattles, or made into necklaces

-Tea, brewed to cure haemorrhage

Bear Grass

Xerophyllum tenax

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Roots

-Boiled roots are steeped and utilized as a hair tonic and to ease sprains, or the brew is evaporated and the residue used as soap

Bergamot,

Wild Horse Mint

Monarda

fistulosa

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Kainai

Leaves

-Boiled leaves were applied directly to pimples to dry them up

-Extract for birth control

-Extract for person spitting blood

-To treat sores

Birch,

Paper or White Birch

Betula

papyrifera

Cree

Wood

Bark

Leaves

Sap

-White rotten wood boiled into an extract, wood then dried and powdered. Powder used for chapped skin

-Birch bark documents for Medicine Men

-Canoes, baskets

-Innermost bark produces a dye

-Leaves made into a tea-like beverage

-For syrup

Bitter-root

Lewisia

pygmaea

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Roots

-Pounded and chewed for sore throat

-Dried, scraped and used for food

Double Bladder-pod

Physaria didymocarpa

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Kainai

Leaves

-Steeped as a remedy for sore throats and stomach trouble

-Plant held between teeth for a toothache

-Brewed for haemorrhoids and liver trouble

-Horse medicine

Indian Bread-root

Psoralea esculenta

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Root

-Eaten or roasted fresh, dried for winter use

-Dried in the sun and ground between stones for flour to mix with soup

Cushion Cactus or Ball Cactus

Mamillaria Vivipara

Kainai

Fruit

Plant

-Eaten raw

-Cut and put in dirty water to clear it

-Used to cure diarrhoea in children

-Extract used to treat sore eyes

Death Camas

Zygadenus gramineus

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Bulbs

Roots

-Poisonous bulbs are pulped and applied as a wet dressing to sprains and bruises

-Mashed and applied to swollen knees and aching legs

Common

Cattail

Typha latifolia

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Flowers

Roots

-Downy seeds are used to make dressings for burns and scalds; diaper padding for cradle-boards

-Ground into flour; served raw or roasted

Ground Cedar

Lycopodium complanatum

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Entire Plant

Spores

-Extract of plant used to treat lung and venereal diseases

-Applied as an antiseptic dust on wounds or sniffed for nosebleeds

Wild Black Currant

Ribes americanum

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Cree

Roots

Stems, bark, roots

-Liquid extract of root taken for kidney ailments

-A tea is made and used to help women conceive

Red Osier Dogwood

Cornus stolonifera

Cree

Chipewyan

Bark

-Bark mixed with tobacco for smoking

-Fine scraping of young bark used to induce vomiting; to cure coughs and fevers

-Dying and tanning hides

Alpine Fir

Abies lasiocarpa

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Leaves

-Perfume

-Needles burned as incense

-Tea for colds

-Smudge

Sweet Grass

Hierochloe odorata

Kainai

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Entire Plant

Entire Plant

-Incense either lit or placed on hot coals for all holy ceremonies

-Burned as an offering to mark numerous activities with spiritual significance

-Inhaled for nosebleeds

-For chapped skin

-Soaked in water to be used to wash a woman after she gives birth

-Brewed and drunk for haemorrhage

-Natural sachet

-Sewn into clothing

Gumweed

Grindelia squarrosa

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Cree

Leaves and Flowers

Entire Plant

Entire Plant

-Resin from these parts used to treat bronchitis and asthma; to produce spittle and for relief from muscle spasms

-Used to make a beverage prized for its tonic qualities; to purify blood; to clear up colds and lung trouble

-Tea drunk for kidney trouble

-Combined with Chamomile to treat kidney pains; prevent childbearing

Bluebell

Campanula rotundifolia

Cree

Root

-Dried, chopped root made into a compress to be placed on a cut or other wound to stop bleeding, reduce swelling and speed healing

Indian Hemp

Apocynum cannabinum

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Root

-Extract taken as a laxative, to reduce fever, and to prevent falling hair

-Induces vomiting

Ground Juniper

Juniperus communis

Cree

Branches

-For sore throat boil about six inches of branch in three cups of water and gargle

Labrador Tea

Ledum groenlandicum

Cree

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Leaves

-Dried, crushed, and boiled in water for a tea to treat chest colds

-Powdered leaves made into an ointment for burns and scalds; tea used as a diuretic, used to induce vomiting

-Dye

Wild Licorice

Glycyrrhiza lepidota

Kainai

Roots

-Root chewed and liquid swallowed to strengthen the throat for singing

-Treatment for toothache

-Extract of root boiled to treat fever in small children and diarrhoea

-Extract for coughs and stomach trouble

Western Wood Lily

Lilium philadelphicum

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Flower

-Pulverized flowers are made into a wet dressing to treat the bite of a small, brown, poisonous spider

Yellow Pond Lily

Nuphar variegatum

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Seeds

-Roasted or ground into flour; highly nutritious

Lupine

Lupinus sp.

Kainai

Leaves

-Incense

-Chewed during Ghost Dance

-Extract used for bloated stomachs, hiccups

Wild Mint

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Leaves

-Tea and medicine; par fleches are lined with leaves before filling them with dried meat to be stored for the winter

Wild Onion

Allium sp.

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Entire Plant

-Sore throat remedy

-Boiled with meat, eaten fresh or preserved

Cows Parsnip

Heracleum lanatum

Cree

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Kainai

Roots

Young stems and roots

Young stems and roots

-Cure for toothache

-Eaten after being roasted on hot coals

-For Sun Dance Ceremony

-Treatment of rheumatism and arthritis; boiled and taken for intestinal pains

-Dried plant taken with a drink of water for a broken leg

Prairie Parsley

Lomatium triternatum

Kainai

Roots

-Induce abortion

-Extract used to stop nosebleeds

Puccoon

Lithospermum incisum

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Flowers

Roots

-Dried tops burned ceremonially

-Incense

-Violet dye

-Pounded fine and dried in the sun to produce a flour, which is boiled in fat broth

Wild Red Raspberry

Rubus strigosus

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Roots

-Scraped roots made into an extract, which is given to children with bowel trouble.

Rose

Rosa sp.

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Roots

Fruit

-Bitter drink brewed and used in treatment of diarrhoea.

-Rose fruits were used to make necklaces before trade beads were acquired.

Pasture Sage

A. frigida

Cree

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Entire Plant

Roots or Tops

Leaves

-Infusion of pasture sage used for bathing.

-Boiled and liquid taken for fever.

-Tops only chewed for heartburn.

-Tea made to treat coughs and colds.

Pasture or Prairie Sagewort

Artemisia frigida

Kainai

Cree

Leaves

Roots

Entire Plant

Entire Plant

-Used to plug a bleeding nose

-Toilet paper

-Chewed and used to bandage cuts

-Menstrual pads

-Cleanser after childbirth

-Brew made for aching liver and vomiting

-Holy, used in offering

-In Sun Dance Ceremony it was tied around head, wrists, and ankles of those who would go through self-torture

-Chewed before holy ceremonies to reinforce powers

-Incense

-Plant dried, pulverized and dropped on hot stones, then fumes inhaled for headache

Saskatoon Berry

Amelanchier alnifolia

Cree

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Kainai

Stems

Fruit

Fruit

Stems or branches

Fruit

Roots

-Arrow shafts, pipe stems

-Added to pemmican

-Added to soups, stews, and meats; dried for winter use

-For religious rituals

-Brewed for stomach ache

- Berry soup eaten on special occasions

-Made into tobacco

Silverweed

Potentilla anserina

Kainai

Roots

-Long roots taken for diarrhoea

-Brewed for chest pains

-Chewed up and sprayed onto clean sores to dry them up

Skeleton Weed or Prairie Pink

Lygodesmia juncea

Cree

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Stems

Stems

Leaves

-Chopped and brewed to make a tea for treating morning sickness or periodic pains

-Tea used to treat sore eyes

-Juice from broken stems permitted to harden and then chewed for its flavour (candy).

-Tea given to nursing mothers into increase milk flow.

Wild Strawberry

Fragaria virginiana

Cree

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Kainai

Roots

Roots

Leaves

-Combined with root of yarrow in the form of a cooled tea; used to cure insanity

-Extract of roots used to treat diarrhoea

-Extract used for diarrhoea

-for treating eyes

Common Annual Sunflower

Helianthus annuus

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Seeds

-Eaten raw

-Oil extracted and used to lubricate face or body; a hair decoration

Yellow Umbrella Plant

Eriogonum flavum

Kainai

Stem

Roots

-Brewed and used as face wash for drying up sores and reducing swelling

-Chewed and put in children’s ears to keep out water when swimming

-Children eat them for sweets; too many will make you sick

Willow

Salix sp.

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Kainai

Seeds

Bark

Roots

-Fluff of seed pods used to line babies cradles

-Contains a large percent of tannin, which is used for tanning hides

-Burned bark is powdered and applied to green wounds and ulcers

-Cut into small pieces, dried and brewed for haemorrhage and “waist trouble.”

-Pulverized bark removed and mixed with grease from kidneys for soaking hair for scalp sores and dandruff

-To straighten curly hair, along with kidney grease mixture

-Brew drunk to clear throat

Pussy Willow

S. discolour

Siksika (Blackfoot)

Twigs

   
    Buds

-Twigs gathered, preserved and steeped in boiling water, the extract taken to cure fever or as a pain killer

-Spring buds produce red dye