524 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 



L.), blue cohosh or papoose root {G aulophyllum thalictroides (L.) 

 Michx.), sassafras (S. o^cinale Nees & Eb.), and bloodroot {San- 

 guinaria canadensis L.) are well known. Indian physic or Bowman's 

 root {Gillenia trifoliata (L.) Moench.) (pi. 3, fig. 2) ; avens {Gevm 

 canadense Jacq., G. rwale, and G. strictum Ait.) in fever and diarrhea ; 

 cherry {Pninus serotina Ehr.) bark for coughs (pi. 4, fig. 2) ; yellow 

 wild indigo {Baptisia tinctoria (L.) E. Br.) and cranesbill {Geranium 

 maculatwn L.) for summer complaint were common colonial reme- 

 dies. Sumac (Rhus typhina and glabra L.), New Jersey tea (Geano- 

 thus americanus L.), basswood {Tilia americana L.), and leatherwood 

 {Dirca palu^tris L.) bark for wounds, and willow herb {Epilohium, 

 angy^ti folium L.) were not so widely known. 



The ginseng family — Panax quinqaejoliwm and P. trifolium L., 

 spikenard (Aralia racemosa L.), and wild sarsaparilla {A. nvdicaulis 

 L.) — have been discussed, as well as waterhemlock {Cicuta maxmZata 

 L.). Angellica {A. villosa (Walt.) BSP. and A. atropurpurea L.) 

 for respiratory ailments is less known than several species of dogwood : 

 Cornus fiorida L. for arrows, spoons, and weavers' tools (Kalm), and 

 red osier dogwood (<7. stolonifera Michx.), "green osier" {C. altemi- 

 folialj. f.), and kinnikinnik {G. Amomum) as emetics; while Prince's 

 pine {Ghimaphila umhellata (L.) Nutt.), trailing arbutus {Epigaea 

 repens L.), and wintergreen {GaultJieria procumbent L.) for blood 

 and kidneys were used by Indians and settlers alike in western New 

 York. 



Likewise, ague weed {Gentiana quinquefolia L.), two species of the 

 dogbane family {Apocynun^ amdrosaemifoliumi L. and A. cannabinum, 

 L. [Indian hemp]) for fiber and "bloody flux" (Kalm), and stoneroot 

 {GoUinsonia canadensis L.) were formerly much used by Indians and 

 are still demanded by traders. Indian tobacco {Nicotiana rustica L.) 

 is still grown by the Iroquois, and hare figwort {Scrophularia lanceo- 

 lata Push.) for blood, and Culver's root {Veronica mrginica L.), a 

 cathartic, are the great medicines of the Allegany Senecas. Par- 

 tridge berry {Mitchella repens L.) or "squaw vine," feverwort {Trio- 

 steum aurantiacum Bicknell) , elder {Sambucus canadensis L.) , a whole 

 pharmacy in itself whose proper use the Iroquois understand, and sev- 

 eral species of Lobelia^ the great "love medicine" of the Iroquois, for 

 which Kalm advanced antivenereal qualities, enter into many 

 formulae. 



Of the many species of the aster family (Compositae) that the Iro- 

 quois employ, some were naturalized from Europe, but use of two 

 groups was acquired very early by the whites: Joe-Pye weed {Eupa- 

 torium tnaxMlatum L. and purpurev/m L.) for kidneys, and thorough- 

 wort {E. perfoliatum L.) for colds and fever (pi. 5, fig. 1) ; and rattle- 

 snake root {Prenanthes alba L. and altissima L.) . Life in the colonies 



