@ai6yr Unfortunately some kind of nettle started spreading here, as well as bur clover and foxtails/lash grass. Hopefully my new gloves are thick enough to pull it with less ouch involved
@mybarkingdogs I need better gloves to deal with the nettle/wild asparagus. Wild asparagus is edible, but getting to the stems is a chore! (the nettle is not as much of an issue...)
@ai6yr@mybarkingdogs It is a great tea! And it is delicious cooked. Mostly we have used it medicinally. Stinging Nettle Tea, hot or cold, is unlike anything else. It is delicious
@Catawu@mybarkingdogs That was my thought initially (OUCH!), but I am now pulling it up barehanded myself. The irritation is present, but brief. I work in the garden enough if I only touch it with my hands (NOT my arms!!!) I am fine. Calloused hands from working are nettle immune. Also, don't get it on your legs, LOL.
Apparently edible; used to treat (depending on what random, un-trusted Internet website you run across), menstrual cramps, ward off fleas (known as fleabane), for soups and stews, in salad. However, given the spammy content of the internet and AI regurgitated crap, haven't yet found a definitive, trusted source on this one.
@ai6yr not in plains style lodges. perhaps some tribes did use it.
but I wonder if that came from a colonizer misidentification. the top photo looks an awful lot like some varieties of mugwort, which IS used in native ceremony (though not necessarily plains style sweat lodge)
@exador23 Yeah, I have my doubts sometimes on the mention of "this plant was used by natives" with zero references and backup information... I notice there are many bits of information which somebody shoved in a book from 1835 and propagate themselves as "lore" when it's not necessarily true at all.
@ai6yr If it has medicinal or nutritional benefits there's a good chance it was known and used.
Is it aromatic? all of the plants used in lodge are.
cedar. sweet grass. sage (white or south dakota). red willow bark (that's what is smoked in the pipes). sometimes copal (a tree sap - more common with southern tribes). bear root/osha.
tobacco is used in ceremony, but not inside the lodge.
@ai6yr if it's unpleasant, I seriously doubt it was used in lodge. almost all the stuff brought in is placed on the hot stones and people breathe in the smoke.
that sound's like it would chase everyone out. lol.
@ai6yr I'd have to smell it and compare to mugwort. that looks awfully similar to what we'll harvest before sundance. but my identification is by the smell, which is unmistakeable.
it isn't burned for smudge. the dancers make head, ankle, and wrist bands out of it, wrapped in red clothe. they're not supposed to be touched, so the helpers grab the wrist bands to lead them around. the head bands or 'crowns' help shade their faces. It's also laid out in various places.
@ai6yr cedar smells wonderful. sweet grass is divine. bear root is kinda spicy/earthy and is really good for your respiratory issues.
red willow bark is hard to describe. very light. maybe a hint of sweetness. really good stuff (it's the really thin, soft inner layer of bark. takes a lot of effort to harvest just a little. the outer bark is harsh)
copal is kind of like frankincense. easy to overdo it. creates a lot of smoke.
Sage isn't really burned in the lodge, except before the people go in to smudge it off. But it's offered to people as they come in the door. or any time we circle up formally.
"For all the bad press that horseweed gets today, it was well-respected and considered very useful just a couple hundred years ago. It has definite astringent properties, so is helpful in treating bleeding problems such as hemorrhoids and flesh wounds. The fresh leaves were crushed and applied to the problem areas to reduce blood flow. "
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