Pungent when burned, New England Aster was historically used by various Native American tribes in reviving unconscious persons and covering their scent while stalking wild game.
The many uses for wild bergamot were shown to colonists by Native Americans in what is now New York. The plant was frequently eaten raw as a salad green and added to cold drinks, jellies, and meats for flavoring. When dried and brewed, the leaves produce a drink very similar to black tea. Bergamot tea was seen as the patriotic alternative to the foreign, taxed black teas of England following the Boston Tea Party in 1773, when imported black tea was suddenly unavailable in the American colonies.
An old favorite of human palates, blackberry shrubs have been prized for thousands of years. The sweet fruit has been used in jams, jelly, wine, and various desserts throughout Europe. There is even forensic evidence taken from the frozen remains of an Iron Age Haraldskær woman that blackberries were a staple in the human diet 2500 years ago. Fast growing and tolerant of poor soil, blackberry shrubs were allowed to grow wild in wasteland and vacant lots with little direct cultivation from humans. The bounty of wild blackberries does have a time limit though, as the fruit becomes susceptible to an unpleasant and potentially toxic mold when the weather begins to turn cold.
Bleeding heart’s namesake flower structure is, according to Japanese legend, said to be the result of a heartbroken man. The story tells of a young man who tried to win the love of a young lady with various gifts and tokens of his affection. The lady, having refused his increasingly extravagant presents, continues to reject the man until one day when he becomes so distraught that he pierces his heart with his sword and from the fallen drops of his blood springs the bleeding heart plant.
Among American wildflowers, bloodroot is easily ranked among the most historically useful. Its common name refers to the bright red juice that seeps from the plant’s stem when punctured. This juice was used by Native Americans to color baskets, weapons, and clothing. Colonists adopted the practice and the brilliant red dye became so desired that for a time it was a major export to France. Sanguinarine, a plaque-inhibiting agent derived from fresh bloodroot, was a common ingredient in toothpaste until the early 2000s when it was removed from commercial oral hygiene products because of its potential to produce precancerous lesions in the mouth.
Although, when undisturbed, Blue-Eyed Mary can carpet the eastern woodlands where it grows in early spring, it is listed as an endangered species in New York and Tennessee. Because it is of no medicinal value this flower has not been extensively studied or collected. Indeed, among its more interesting facts is the detail that its genus name honors not the man who discovered it (Thomas Nuttall) but rather another botanist entirely (Zacchaeus Collins). Fleetingly beautiful, Blue-Eyed Mary blossoms stay open for only 5 days, providing early pollinators like ants and holly blue butterflies (Celastrina argiolus) with valuable sources of nectar.
In the medicine kit of any American settler, boneset was an essential. Folklore specified that at the onset of any cold or fever, a tea could be made from the plant’s dried leaves to help fight off the illness and to break the fevers and shaking chills of those with the flu. The concoction was reported to relieve “breakbone fever”-intense shaking chills due to fever-hence the name. As recently as fifty years ago, boneset drying from exposed beams was a common sight in many rural homes. Today, there is no known medicinal value.
When troubling times threaten peoples’ morning brew chicory is often called into action. Introduced to North America by Europeans who roasted and ground the roots to make a coffee-like beverage, chicory quickly established itself in the wild across the temperate, eastern half of the continent. Chicory had been used in place of coffee as far back as the Napoleonic Wars in France and since then has been used during the American Civil War, World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II, when importing coffee from South America or Africa was impossible or too expensive. To this day whenever coffee prices rise too high, American and European manufacturers openly pad coffee grounds with locally grown chicory to keep product prices down without affecting flavor.
Red clover was an early farmer’s best friend. Primarily grown as a fodder crop for livestock, red clover was introduced to North America by Europeans. The nutritional plant itself was a particular favorite of cattle. Farmers frequently said that their animals seemed more docile and happy when they grazed upon it. It was also greatly beneficial to the land as well since clover contributes high quantities of nitrogen back into the soil as it grows, providing healthy soil for the next crop to take its place the following season.
According to the Victorians receiving a bouquet of columbine was a sign that the recipient’s partner was unfaithful.
Among the many dangers that faced American frontiersmen illness was easily the most formidable. Purple coneflower was used by Native Americans for centuries to treat common injuries like burns, insect bites, snake bites, toothache, sore throat, and coughs. Its most effective use, then and now, was to stimulate the immune-system and reduce the severity of colds and flu symptoms. In a time when health and physical strength were necessary to simply survive to the next day, purple coneflower was seen as a miracle plant that helped settlers endure and develop the North American wilderness.
First brought to the continent to feed horses, oxeye daisy quickly established itself throughout North America. Medicinally, the plant was used to treat many ailments including: whooping cough, asthma, bruises, wounds, ulcers, inflammation, and “women’s complaints” but none of the purported uses have stood up under modern testing. Because of its ubiquity, many folktales have followed the flower. Besides the popular ‘he loves me, he loves me not’ incantation, dreaming of the daisies in spring was said to be good luck but doing so in the autumn was very bad luck. Farmers in Scotland are said to have hated the plant so much that they hired “goolriders” to eradicate the flower from their fields. The practice rapidly became a competition and the farmer with the largest crop of daisies pulled from his fields was made to pay a fine of one castrated ram.
Though inoffensive by today’s standards, Dutchman’s breeches caused a stir in Victorian society for being named after an article of clothing that covers that part of the body. Its characteristic trouser-shaped blossoms are specifically evolved to keep its nectar and pollen sealed off and protected from rain and wind until it can be pollinated by the female bumblebee’s uniquely long tongue. Though small, it is capable of causing convulsions and even death in cattle that graze upon it, earning it the nickname “staggerweed”.
Fleabane earned its name from the practice of burning the dried plant indoors to reduce flea and bed bug populations. The staggering number of homes reduced to glowing embers limited its popularity.
Prized for thousands of years as a general tonic that boosts good health and the immune system, dwarf ginseng is always in high demand resulting in rapid decline of sightings in nature. The genus name ‘Panax’ is derived from the Latin word for panacea or cure-all. Before the California gold rush those looking to make quick money on natural resources became “sang-diggers” who harvested American ginseng for Asian markets, leading the native population to plummet. Because it takes up to seven years for a plant to develop a mature root, demand has quickly outpaced supply. Wild plants in North America are under federal protection though poaching still occurs. Sadly, there is no scientific confirmation of any of the claims made about ginseng.
Rather unassuming for such a brightly colored plant, Yellow Goatsbeard was a helpful flower to have around while working in the fields. Commonly called “noon-flower” in its native England, yellow goatsbeard was used as a natural clock by farmers because its blossoms close everyday around noon, thus signaling the men that it was time for lunch.
Historically, Heal-all was felt to be effective when treating sore throats, fevers, diarrhea, internal bleeding, heart maladies, irritated skin, infections, chronic disease, allergies, and respiratory ailments. Modern testing shows no efficacy for any of these conditions.
A famous poison used since antiquity, poison hemlock has rightly earned its bad reputation. The delinquent of the Apiaceae family (which includes many edible plants such as celery, carrot, fennel, and parsley) hemlock’s trouble with humans over the centuries stems from the fact that it is both extremely toxic and easily mistaken for one of its more friendly cousins. Hemlock’s most famous victim was the Greek philosopher Socrates who willingly ingested the poison after being convicted of corrupting the youth of Athens in 399 BCE. Over the centuries, many practitioners have tried to employ hemlock as a folk remedy for various ailments frequently resulting in the patient’s permanent paralysis or death. A dose as small as six fresh leaves contains enough coniine toxin to kill a grown man.
Naturalized in many countries well outside of its native range in eastern Asia, Japanese honeysuckle can become a dangerously invasive plant. Its rapid growth and tiny fruit seeds, that have been welcomed into the diets of local wildlife, make it nearly impossible to control once established. Now known to be essentially useless, Japanese honeysuckle has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine to treat fever, headache, cough, and sore throat.
When researching wildflowers, it is not uncommon to find that plants as poisonous as Dwarf Crested Iris have been used historically to treat many ailments. Although ingesting any part of the plant can cause stomach pains and vomiting, it has been falsely claimed to heal ulcers and improve liver function. The dried and powdered root was also often used as a spice in cooking. Its most curious use; however, was to stave off thirst. Nineteenth century hunters in Virginia were said to chew bits of the sweet then bitter root while out in the forest to keep from making frequent water breaks while stalking prey. Now Iris is seen most often in residential gardens where it has been bred to be an ornamental plant. No part of the plant is safe to ingest.
An innocent enough looking plant, Jack-in-the-Pulpit actually causes intense pain to those foolish enough to eat it. The root contains crystalline calcium oxalate, a substance so bitter that it can burn blisters on sensitive human skin with a single touch. The crystals are shaped like sharp, microscopic needles which cut and poison any flesh it comes in contact with. Meskawaki tribesmen were said to have used this property to great effect during war. They allegedly grated the root and added it to meat which they then offered to their Sioux enemies, who are said to have died screaming.
Many flowers have been named after living people (past and present), but Joe-Pye Weed is one of the very rare instances of a plant that was named after a Native American. Joe-Pye was a medicine man in the New England area who traveled between colonial settlements using his namesake herb to treat typhoid-a common and often deadly infection at the time. Today, this plant has no know medicinal properties.
All parts of Lily of the Valley are poisonous. Ingesting a very small amount can result in abdominal pain, vomiting, reduced heart rate, and blurred vision. Despite its toxicity, it is a popular addition to wedding bouquets having been carried by both Grace Kelly and Catherine Middleton at their royal weddings. According to Victorian flower language, Lily of the Valley means “a return to happiness” because it blooms in May after winter has finally ended. It is a custom in France for partners to exchange sprigs of Lily of the Valley on the first of May.
Though it may look innocent, Great Blue Lobelia contains two poisons (lobelamine and lobeline) that can cause heart problems, vomiting, tremors, and paralysis if ingested. Despite (or perhaps because of) its toxic potential, lobelia was used by the Meskwaki as a love medicine. When a couple argued, family members would discreetly slip some of the chopped roots into the couple’s food. The pair would then unknowingly eat them and either find themselves reconciling and falling in love all over again or in extreme distress. If the dose was high enough, lobelia was then called upon again as a powder made from the plant was traditionally scattered into an open grave after a funeral.
Easily the most noxious invasive plant in North America, purple loosestrife has infested an estimated sixteen million acres in the United States alone. Initially brought to the country by beekeepers to provide nectar for their bees during high summer, when most native plants die back from the heat, loosestrife quickly made itself at home, clogging waterways and choking out local plant life in the process. It is difficult to eradicate because a single plant can produce up to 2.5 million seeds in a single season and those seeds all have a 90 percent germination rate, leading to quick and thorough swarms of the plant in delicately balanced ecosystems like marshes.
Explorer John Smith was one of the first Europeans to encounter Mayapple. He was most impressed by its unique flavor, which has been described as being both sweet and intensely sour. The plant’s namesake apple shaped fruit is its only edible part. In fact, the seed has evolved such that it must be eaten and pass through the digestive track of an animal in order to facilitate germination. Mayapple’s toxic qualities were exploited by Native Americans to create an insecticide and also to aid suicide. Today, a topical agent called podophyllin, is used to treat skin cancers and genital warts.
Fresh common milkweed is toxic enough to induce heart attacks in large grazing animals, so humans learned to wait to exploit milkweed until it had produced its fluffy, downy seeds in late summer. Milkweed down has had many useful purposes in the past, including stuffing in mattresses and pillows, and for making cloth, hats, and paper. During World War II, when raw materials were scarce, American citizens were asked to collect milkweed down for the war effort much like tires and paper. The down was then used to fill life preservers for the Navy and to line airmen’s outfits for the Air Force.
Among wildflowers, it is rare to find one with so many wildly different purposes. Native to Europe, Common Mullein’s sturdy flowering stalks, which can grow up to eight feet tall, were often used as torches by the ancient Romans who would dip the tapers in fat and then set them alight. This practice continued well into medieval times when they were used in funeral processions. Women accused of witchcraft were said to carry them to light the way to their nocturnal meetings with the devil. This association led to mullein’s reputation for warding off evil spirits and curses in later centuries. Seeds found in soil samples dating back to this time period are, remarkably, still viable and readily produce healthy plants as though no time has passed.
When the plant came with Europeans to the New World, its fuzzy leaves were put to use insulating coats and shoes for extra warmth during winter months. Even dolls were kept warm by mullein leaves when little girls used them to dress the beds in their dollhouses. When rubbed on the skin, the velvety leaves produce a reddening effect leading to its use by women as a natural cheek rouge. A rinse made from the flowers was also said to bring out the yellow in blonde hair. By far its most innovative use was in fishing. Mullein seeds contain a narcotic that intoxicates only fish so fishermen looking for a quick day’s work would throw mullein plants into their local streams thus immobilizing the nearby fish making them easy to snare.
Used in the past as a medicinal herb to treat toothaches, insomnia, hysteria, and other ‘female diseases’, Pink Lady Slipper likely only exacerbated ailments as ingesting too much of it can cause hallucinations. Unlike its medical uses, it is now treasured for its beauty. Thousands of plants were taken from the wild during the nineteenth century to feed the Victorian era’s lust for exotic plants leaving native populations decimated. Pink Lady Slipper’s uniquely shaped blossom has only contributed to its difficulty in maintaining healthy wild populations as many insects find the labellum too difficult to navigate. Such a complex flower takes years to develop and then less than 1% of flowering plants are successfully pollinated each year. Though a single plant can easily live for 20+ years, it may take decades before it produces seeds.
Passionflower was used by Native Americans to treat physical maladies such as boils, cuts, and inflammation as well as physiological conditions like anxiety, insomnia, and nervousness. Modern clinical trials have shown no medical efficacy. Domestically, the edible fruit has been used to make jams and jellies since pre-colonial times.
Though the cooking process is tricky, the young leaves of poisonous pokeweed can be made edible. Early settlers would frequently dig up a chunk of the plant’s massive rootstock (often as thick as a man’s thigh!) to keep in their cellar where resilient young shoots would grow and provide valuable nutrition over the winter. The deeply crimson berries garnered the plant’s most commercial success as a food dye. During the eighteenth century the practice of enhancing the color of red wine with pokeweed berry juice was so widespread that King Louis XIV of France was forced to enact a ban on the coloring, prohibiting its use in wine “on pain of death!” The colorful berries found a better use during the American Civil War when confederate soldiers turned to them to help write their letters home when their stores of black ink ran low.
Legend has it that Queen Anne’s lace got its name from the sixteenth century Queen of England herself. Busy sewing lace with her ladies in waiting one day, the Queen looked out the window into her garden, saw the blooming wildflower, and challenged her ladies to create a lace more beautiful and delicate than the flower’s intricate blossom. The Queen, of course, won the challenge and the flower was given its name after her victory. While its relative, the cultivated carrot, is said to be good for the eyes, wild Queen Anne’s lace is apparently good for the skin. An oil made from the seeds has been used in many commercial anti-wrinkle creams and cosmetics since the nineteenth century.
Although all parts of hellebore are poisonous, it was still frequently used as a medicine in ancient Eurasia particularly in the treatment of insanity. The key to effective medicine in ancient times was to administer small doses of highly toxic substances to patients so as to enjoy the plants’ beneficial side effects, such as pain relief, without the harmful ones, such as death. Unfortunately for Alexander the Great, his physicians had yet to master this balance as it is widely believed that an accidental overdose of hellebore caused the king’s death in 323 BCE.
Despite its unfriendly thorns, roses are wildly beneficial to humans both commercially and medicinally. In England during World War II, fresh fruit was scarce leading health officials to worry about diseases related to malnutrition such as scurvy. The Ministry of Food turned to native edibles growing wild throughout the country and tasked schoolchildren with collecting tons and tons (250 a year to be exact) of rose hips, which were then boiled with sugar into a vitamin C-rich syrup. Officials then distributed bottles of the syrup to every household with instructions for children to take one spoonful a day to help keep them healthy until regular fruit import could be reestablished after the war.
Highly poisonous, white snakeroot sneakily claimed thousands of lives for centuries before it was caught. Unlike many plants that cause death through direct consumption, snakeroot kills indirectly. When cattle graze on the plant, its toxins poison their milk. Unassuming humans then drink the milk resulting in what became known as “milk sickness.” The disease was nasty and incurable, killing many settlers including Nancy Hanks Lincoln, the mother of President Abraham Lincoln.
In the early 1800s, Dr. Anna Bixby of Illinois was the first to notice the seasonality of the illness and proposed that a plant was to blame. She led a campaign to eradicate snakeroot in her area and effectively eliminated milk sickness in her community by 1834. However, her discovery was not recognized by the broader medical community and it wasn’t until the 1920s (when a male doctor finally made the same discovery) that white snakeroot was officially identified as the cause of milk sickness.
One of the first flowers of the calendar year to bloom, Snowdrops have rightfully earned their nickname “February fairmaids.” The species name “nivalis” is Latin for “of the snow” referring to the plant’s unique tendency to blossom while there is still snow on the ground. Wild Snowdrops in North America are likely all garden escapees as the delicate flower was a favorite among English settlers. As there is little to no other botanical competition when Snowdrops bloom in mid-winter, it is not uncommon to see blankets of the dangling white flowers growing along healthy forest floors.
Solomon’s Seal’s distinctive name is said to refer to markings found on the root-stock resembling Hebrew letters. Legend has it that King Solomon pressed his signet ring into the root-stock as testimony of the plant’s medicinal value. Varieties of Solomon’s Seal are found around the world and were used to heal or “seal” fresh wounds or broken bones. Today, it has no medicinal uses.
What it lacks in size Spring Beauty makes up for in numbers. Often carpeting eastern American woodlands in early spring, colonies of the flower spread widely because, when ripe, the seed pods explode and fire seeds as far as two feet in every direction. Spring Beauty’s small roots are not only edible but are considered delicious. When roasted they are said to taste like chestnuts, only sweeter and more flavorful. Native American children had to compete with bears for the special treat as it is one of the bear’s favorite snacks.
Common in forests throughout eastern North America, Squawroot is a flowering parasite. Because the plant completely lacks chlorophyll it relies on a host plant’s roots (typically oak or beech trees) to provide its nutrients. Squawroot plants can produce up to 100,000 seeds every year but rarely live longer than ten years. Host oak trees apparently take great offence to freeloaders so they gradually poison the parasites with tannin toxins. The trees get a helping hand in destroying the interlopers in black bears, who feast on the fiber-rich tubercles shortly after waking up from hibernation every spring.
Often referred to as the fourth sister to Native Americans’ famous three sisters crop system, Sunflowers were an invaluable plant to native peoples. Because of their uniquely high fat content, Sunflower seeds were pressed into a popular oil for cooking and hair. They were also used to fatten livestock. Nothing of the Sunflower went to waste: the crushed shells produced a purple dye used for coloring basket fibers, the leftover stalks were burned in heaps to create an effective fertilizer and the dried leaves were used as a substitute for tobacco.
Few plants have been as commercially successful on a global scale as the Sunflower. Believed to have been first cultivated in central Mexico, Sunflowers quickly spread across North America through trade between native peoples. When Europeans learned of the plant, which could be used to produce an oil, cloth, fiber, dyes, and livestock fodder, Sunflower seeds travelled even further until it became one of the most valuable crops in the world. Sunflower pith was discovered to be more buoyant and far less expensive than cork and was then used to manufacture lifejackets that were stocked on passenger vessels. Passengers who escaped with their lives after the Titanic sank had Sunflower filled lifejackets to thank.
Found throughout much of eastern North America, Teasel was one of the few invasive wildflowers introduced to the continent on purpose. The prickly seed heads were used widely in the textile industry as a natural comb for cleaning, aligning, and raising (teasing) the nap on fabrics during production. By the twentieth century, Teasel had been replaced by metal combs which were uniform and less breakable than dried Teasel heads. Its practical use is now forgotten and it grows wild in thick, prickly carpets across North America.
A popular component in the warmest frontier quilts, Common Thistle down helped heat woodsmen twice by acting as an effective tinder for their campfires as well. Though it is considered an invasive, noxious weed, American goldfinches don’t seem to mind as the seeds are now a major component of their diet and the down is used to line their nests. Perhaps it was because Thistle down was instrumental in keeping people (and birds) cozy during the winter that Clement Clarke Moore mentioned it at the end of his famous Christmas poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas:
“He sprung to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle;
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight —
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”
An old world plant, Thistle was probably brought to North America as a medicinal valued for treating convulsions and stiff necks. Thistle’s characteristic sharp spines make preparing it for medicinal use too challenging to bother for most. Thistle became the emblem of Scotland when, according to legend, an unlucky, barefoot Dane stepped on the plant during a surprise raid and cried out, alerting the unaware Scots to the impending attack. In fact, its name comes from the Saxon word for “to stab”. Today, it has no medical uses.
Specifically evolved to be pollinated by hummingbirds Spotted-Touch-Me-Not is named for its spring-loaded seed pods. When ripe, even the gentlest touch can cause the sensitive seed pods to burst, flinging seeds several feet into the air.
Though bright orange flowers like this are somewhat rare in native North American wildflowers, Western Wallflower blankets pockets of land from the Great Lakes all the way to the Pacific coast. The Zuni people of what is now the southwestern United States historically used the plant to soothe muscle pain and ease stomachaches. Now it is mostly used to attract pollinators to ornamental butterfly gardens. The idea behind this practice is that butterflies seem to be attracted to bright orange flowers making Western Wallflower a logical addition to such gardens. Problematically, it blooms very early in the year long before many flying insects are even active. Although it is meant to attract butterflies, Wallflower’s primary pollinator is actually the humble ant.
To ancient herbalists, Yarrow’s frilly, many-parted leaves were a sign from above of the plant’s innumerable uses. Historically it has been eaten, drunk, smoked, snorted, rubbed and bathed in by people across the Northern Hemisphere. Yarrow’s most important function was to stop bleeding. The genus name “Achillea” is derived from the legend that the Greek warrior Achilles brought yarrow along with him into battle to help treat his soldiers’ wounds during battle. Modern science has proven that yarrow’s mythic healing properties are unfounded.
