Mountain Folk Remedies: The Foxfire Americana Library (9) (3 page)

Catnip
(Nepeta cataria)
is strongly scented, grows in height to two or three feet, and has fine white hairs on the stems, giving it a white appearance. The almost heart-shaped leaves are also covered with fine white hairs on the underside and are about two inches long. Summer brings flowering spikes of white flowers that are dotted with purple. (For a photo and a drawing of catnip, see
Foxfire 3
, page 334.)

Catnip is gathered during the spring and summer for the leaves and flowered tops. This common plant is not native to the region but was introduced here by colonists. It grows well in dry soil.

One of Mrs. Laura Patton’s favorite home remedies was catnip tea (made from the leaves), which she used when her children had the flu or were teething. She said it was good for helping them sleep.

Numerous Marcus told us, “Catnip tea is good for breaking up colds. It’ll break out the hives too. You don’t need to take but just a teacup at a time. I use the leaves on catnip. I don’t use the root. I’d take the leaves and put them in a pot, then pour boiling water over them and let them set for a few minutes. Take the leaves out and pour the tea in your cup, sweeten it with sugar or honey, either one. Little fellers would smack their mouths on that. To keep catnip up through the winter, I gather the leaves, dry them out, and put them in a container where they can get a lot of air. They’ll keep a long time.”

Catnip tea is made by pouring about a pint of boiling water over a half cup of broken leaves and stems. Let this mixture stand for several minutes and then strain it.

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LLUSTRATION 6
Christmas Fern

Christmas Fern
(Polystichum)
is an evergreen that got its name because of its generous use as a decoration at Christmas-time. It was used in the winter for ills caused by cold and wet. Root tea was used for fever and
chills. The toxicity of this plant is unknown.

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LLUSTRATION 7
Colic Root

Colic Root
(Alertis)
is found in dry, sandy soil and is gathered in the fall for the roots. This herb can be one to three feet tall with grass-like base leaves only. The leaves surround the stem in the form of a star. A white-yellow spike of flowers is produced from May through August. A concoction made from the root was used for diarrhea, rheumatism, and jaundice. It was also used for colic.

Colt’s Foot
(Tussilago farfara)
grows along streams in wet, clay soil and has yellow spring blooms, which are seen before the leaves. This plant has many stalks, with each producing a yellow disc-shaped flower that only opens to the sun. The leaves, shaped like horses’ hooves, arrive from the roots and can be as large as seven inches wide. They are covered on the underside by thick, woolly hairs.

Colt’s foot, which is not native to Southern Appalachia, is gathered for the roots and the leaves. Leaves are usually taken near full-growth size. Gertrude Mull shared that colt’s foot is good for coughing. “Just take [the leaves] of colt’s foot and make tea out of it.”

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LLUSTRATION 8
Comfrey

Comfrey
(Symphytum officinale)
is found in wasteland and has rough, thick leaves in branch fashion. The plant, which was introduced to the Southern Appalachian region, stands up to three feet tall and has large lower leaves and smaller, stemless upper leaves. Summer flowers are clustered, green, and four-petaled. Comfrey is collected in early spring
or fall for the root. This plant can be dangerous if overused; therefore, readers should be cautious if they attempt to gather and use it.

Of comfrey, Numerous Marcus said, “I’ve got some comfrey root growing in the garden. It’s good for arthritis and for when you get the gout in your foot. It’s good for your blood. It helps keep it purified. You have to boil the root and make a tea out of it. You put it in alcohol so it won’t sour. Most herbs you can use the roots. There’s not many that you can use the leaves off of. But you can take comfrey root and use the roots and leaves, either that you wish.”

Dogwood
(Coruns florida)
is found in well-drained soil throughout the Southern Appalachian Mountains and is used in the fall for bark from the root. This spring bloomer displays numerous showy white petals on delicate branches, followed by small leaves that turn red in the fall.

“Dogwood is easy to get,” according to Charles Thurmond. “It’s a stimulant; it picks you up. If you have got circulatory problems, it’s supposed to be good for them. The dogwood bark and flowers are tonics.”

Elderberry
(Sambucus canadensis)
likes damp, rich soil and can grow to ten feet in height. It possesses many smooth, light gray stems and large leaves on short stalks. Flowers are fragrant, five-lobed, and wheel-shaped, followed by clusters of juicy, small, round fruit. This shrub is gathered in June and July for the flowers and then from July to September for the berries, which are purplish black in color. The flowers are dried quickly. Berries must be carefully dried to avoid mold. Native Americans used a poultice of elderberry on cuts, sore limbs, and headaches. The bark, roots, leaves, and unripe berries are toxic, but the flowers and ripe berries are edible.

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LLUSTRATION 9
Ginseng root and plant

Ginseng
(Panax quinquefolia)
grows well in moist, rich soil in the mountains. It is usually about one foot tall and has three larger leaves at the top with thin leaflets. As many as twenty small greenish white flowers bloom in a cluster from May through August, and crimson berries appear in July and August. The root is thick and can be three inches long and one inch thick. (For a photo of ginseng, see
The Foxfire Book
, page 235.)

This increasingly rare plant is gathered in fall for the root. It is important to gather the root in the fall only, because roots gathered at other times shrink more during the drying process. But because this plant is rare and endangered, readers are asked to refrain from gathering it.

Ginseng’s root is revered for its strong medicinal properties. It has been used for an aphrodisiac, for coughs, and as a heart stimulant. Because it is so popular, regulations have been placed on digging it.

Numerous Marcus believed that “ginseng is good for arthritis and for sick stomachs. To use it for arthritis, you can make a tea and drink it. Just take the roots and boil them, get the strength out of them. Or you could take the liquid and rub it on your joints, and it would have the same effect. I’ve got ginseng growing right there in the garden. It takes ginseng about two years to come up.”

Charles Thurmond said, “Another thing that is used around here [Southern Appalachians] a lot, but is very scarce, is ginseng. It is good for your stomach and has a calming effect on your nerves.”

Goat’s Beard
(Aruncus dioicus)
resembles a shrub and sometimes reaches a height of six feet. It has tiny, yellowish white flowers that bloom March through May. It was also called ghost breath. If you had a bad dream, you made a tea from the roots of ghost breath. Tea was also used to bathe swollen feet. The Cherokee Indians made a poultice of its root to treat bee stings.

Golden Ragwort
(Senecio)
is found in swampy areas and damp meadows. A perennial plant reaching two to four feet in height, this herb has smooth, slender stems approximately two feet long. It has two leaf types—heart-shaped or rounded and lance-shaped—which grow from the base of the plant and can be tinted purple on the underside. The flowers are yellow and found in clusters at the top of the plant. They bloom from March through July. The root and leaves of ragwort were made into a tea traditionally used by Native Americans and settlers for childbirth complications; it was also used for lung ailments, dysentery, and difficult urination. It is primarily gathered for the entire herb and the root.

Goldenseal
(Hydrastis canadensis)
is an increasingly scarce plant found in the open woods on hillsides, where soil drainage is good. It grows in patches and has a thick yellow root. Hairy stems come directly from the root and are about one foot tall with branches near the top. Each branch houses one small leaf, one large leaf, and a flower. Leaves can reach eight inches in diameter and have five to nine lobes. In spring, an unusual flower blooms, which is greenish white in color. Flowers are followed by large heads that turn red in the fall and resemble raspberries. Fresh roots are bright yellow throughout and become brittle when dry. Goldenseal is gathered in the fall after the heads are ripe for the root and in late summer for the leaves.

Marie Mellinger wrote, “Best known as sang-sign is the ‘little brother of the ginseng’: the goldenseal.” Other names for
Hydrastis
include turmeric-root, tonic-root, ohio cucuma, orange-root, and jaundiceroot. Its use as an eyewash gives it such names as eye-root and eye-balls.

“Goldenseal has two divided green leaves topped by a whitish fuzzy flower in early spring. The blossoms have an oddly aromatic odor that attracts small bees and the bee-like flower flies. The single fruit resembles a red raspberry, but is poisonous if eaten. The medicinal part is the thick yellow rootstock collected in the autumn. The roots are a bitter demulcent and contain three strong alkaloids: berberine, canadine, and hydrastine. They were used in medicines called ‘bitters.’ In 1856, S. G. Goodrich wrote, ‘Bitters are esteemed as a sort of panacea, moral as well as physical, for even then morning prayer went heavily without it.’
The Herbalist
states that goldenseal is ‘one of the most agreeable and expensive stomachics of the botanical kingdom, recommended for and esteemed as tonic for the liver and stomach. Weakened stomachs with enfeebled digestive powers are greatly benefited by its use. Goldenseal was used to stimulate circulation when hands and feet were cold, and the skin turned blue. It is also a fine herb to use on exzema or minor skin irritations.’

“Any plant with yellow roots or strong yellow coloring matter was, according to the doctrine of signatures [if the plant was shaped like, or resembled, a human organ or disease characteristic, then that plant was useful for that organ or ailment], a remedy for yellow jaundice.
Hydrastis
was sometimes called yellowroot when used as jaundice medicine.”