Gathering and Using Medicinal Herbs in the Cherokee Tradition

The Cherokee have been gifted by the Creator with an understanding of the gathering, use and preservation of medicinal herbs. The Cherokee believe that these plants were put on this earth to provide not only healing methods, but preventative measures, as well.

Many plants have disappeared throughout the years, or have become extremely scarce. Because of this, we recommend extreme care in gathering wild herbs and other plants. The old ones taught that when you gather, only pick or dig every third plant you find. This will ensure that enough specimens remain to continue propagation. Many traditionalists carry on the practice of asking the plant’s permission to be gathered, and leave a small gift of thanks. This can be a small bead or other such item. It is also recommended by Cherokee traditionalists that should you find a wild crop of useful herbs, do not share it’s location unless it is to a person very close to you. This will ensure that large numbers of people do not clean out an entire wild crop in a short time.

Additional information regarding the gathering, usage and application of medicinal herbs can be found by talking to the elders of a Cherokee family. Many of these people will still recall some of the home remedies that their families used, as well as provide information on herbs which they themselves use.

Please remember that these plants are very valuable as medicines because of the great chemical powers they contain. At the same time, these chemicals can be potentially dangerous if used in the wrong way. Cherokee herbalists have great experience, and have gone through extensive training and observation. Novice herbal practitioners are advised to seek out and develop a close relationship with Cherokee herbalists or their elders to learn how to use these medicines properly.

American Elm
The inner bark is noted for its soothing properties. Internally it is helpful where inflammatory irritation exists, as in sore throat, diarrhea, dysentary, and urinary ailments. Externally it is applied as a poultice to irritated and inflamed skin as well as to wounds of a minor nature. * Be careful when removing bark from this tree, it is easily diseased and has a poor population.

Blackberry
One of the herbs known the longest time for soothing stomach problems is the backberry. Using a strong tea from the roots is helpful is reducing and soothing swollen tissues and joints. An infusion from the leaves is also used as a tonic for stimulating the entire system. A decoction from the roots, sweetened with sugar or honey, makes a syrup used for an expectorant. It is also healing for sore throats and gums. The leaves can also be chewed fresh to soothe bleeding gums. The Cherokee historically use the tea for curing diarrhea.

Black Gum
Cherokee healers use a mild tea made from small pieces of the bark and twigs to relieve chest pains.

Black Willow
The bark may be used to cure fever and similar ailmanets. Williow bark tea is good for stopping internal bleeding and works well to calm. For calming I prefer mint to be added.

Buck Brush
This herb is used by Cherokee healers by making a weak decoction of the roots for a diuretic that stimulates kidney function.

Black Walnut
A decoction of the bark can be taken for diarrhea, and as a mouthwash for soreness in the mouth or inflamed tonsils. The leaves make a good cleansing wash for the skin. The fruit rind makes a nice poultice to get rid of ringworm, it can also be pounded and thrown into small streams to render the fish "dumb" where they float to the surface and can be easily dipped out.

Cattail
This plant is not a healing agent, but is used for preventative medicine. It is an easily digestable food helpful for recovering from illness, as it is bland. Most all parts of the plant, except for the mature leaves and the seed head, are edible. Due to wide-spread growing areas, it is a reliable food source all across America. The root has a very high starch content, and can be gathered at any time. Preparation is very similar to potatoes, and can be mashed, boiled, or even mixed with other foods. The male plant provides a pollen that is a wonderful source for protein. You can add it as a supplement to other kinds of flour when making breads.

Cone Flower
Used to treat headaches, stomach upsets, sore throats. It is also used for purifacation in the osi (sweat lodge). It is used to detoxify the body. Decoction of the root drunk for flux, used as a wash for snake bites and swellings, and dropped into inflammed eyes.

Corn = The type of corn grown in the South-East traditionally was Eastern Flint Corn (Zea mays var. indurata). Corn in general is very sacred to the Cherokee and most other Native people. The Cherokee word for corn "selu" comes from the name of the Corn Mother, Selu. It is said that corn was created upon the Corn Mothers death as her blood seeped into the Earth.

Cucumber
Though not an indigenous plant to the americas, it has been cultivated and used by the Cherokee for a very long time. Aperient and diuretic. It has the ability to eliminate water from the body and it helps dissolve uric acid accumulations such as kidney and bladder stones. It is also good for treating chronic constipation. The juice has good effects on the intestines, lungs, kidneys, and skin. It has also been beneficial in treating minor burns.

Dogwood
The bark can be boiled to make a tea to treat fever.

Fleabane
It is used to treat diarrhea, dysentary, internal hemorrhage, and hemorroids. A tea of this plant may be used to treat menstrual irregularities and rheumatism. In the old days, as it's name (Fire Maker) suggests, it was used to make fire.

Ginseng
Though this plant is not an evergreen it is held as sacred. It is addressed as the Little Man. A Decoction of the root is drunk for cramps, headache, and female conditions. It is a demulcent. * Make sure you use thoroughly dried roots and pay due respect and compensation. Because of the low population I recommend that one use the asian variety instead of the american.

Green Bean
The bean pods help lower blood sugar levels. The fresh pods are more effective than dried ones. Pod tea is good for treating edema, chronic rheumatism, and kidney and bladder problems. It is ued for prolonged periods to treat acne. Bean meal can be applied to the skin to treat eruptions. Brown Beans, duya aniwodige, which crack open in the cooking pot are rubbed by mothers on their infants lips to make them grow up good tempered with a nice smile.

Greenbriar
A decoction of the small roots of this plant is useful as a blood purifier. It is also a mild diuretic. Some healers make a salve from the leaves and bark, mixed with hog lard, and apply to minor sores, scalds and burns. Some Cherokee healers also use the root tea for arthritis.

Hazel Nut
Witch Hazel or Hazel Nut leaves and bark have been used externally in astringent preparations and internally to treat diarrhea. Other external uses include a gargle for mouth and throat irritations and as a vaginal douche for vaginitis. For skin irritations, insect bites and stings, minor burns, and poison ivy, an ointment taken from the fluid extract may be applied. A poultice from the inner bark should be good to treat hemorrhoids and eye inflammation. The inner bark has sedative and hemostatic properties.

Hickory
The green wood of this tree is burned when smoking meats to lend them a pleasent flavor.

Honey Locust
Take the ripe pods and split them in half, soak in hot but not boiling water, and strain. Hot or cold this is a good beverage.

Huckleberry
Antiseptic and astringent. The leaves can cause poisoning.

Lady Slipper
A tea of the root makes a good tranquilizer for nervous headache, general nervousness, insomnia, hysteria, and delirium tremens. It is also helpful to use against cramps and muscle spasms. In large doses it may be used to produce hallucinations. * The fresh plant can cause severe dermatitis after contact. The roots are to be gathered in the fall. A decoction of the root is used to treat worms in children.

Maidenhair Fern
A decoction of the leaves is used to treat coughs and congestion. It is also used to treat rheumatism because the young fronds are curled up but straighten out as they grow, this quality exhibited by the plant may be imparted to the patient. The patients contracted muscles should "unbend" and "straighten out". A decoction may also be used to treat fever.

May Apple
Excellent purgative but overdose can be fatal. In the old days this plant was used to commit suicide, though suicide was not a common occurance.

Meadow Rue
A decoction of the root is drunk to treat diarrhea with vomiting.

Milk Thistle
The leaves may be used to treat common stomach problems like lack of appetite and dyspepsia. The seeds are good for lthe liver, gall bladder, spleen, and to treat jaundice and gallstone colic.

Milkweed
The juice is rubbed on skin eruptions, especially on childrens heads. The juice is also used to treat cancer. It can be used as a purgative. A Decoction is drunk for gonorrhoea.

Mint
Mint teas are a stimulant for the stomach, as it aids in digestion. The crushed and bruised leaves can be used as a cold compress, made into a salve, or added to the bath water which relieves itching skin. Cherokee healers also use an infusion of the leaves and stems to lower high blood pressure.

Mistletoe
This is an evergreen so it must be regarded with particular care and respect. Emetic and nervine. It can be used to induce abortion though it is highly advised against because As the name signifies, union or marriage, it is disrespectful to use it in a manner destroying a union. * The berries are poisonous and can kill. It can be used in love formulas.

Mulberry
Axis of the leaf contains a milky juice used to cure ringworms on the scalp. * The milky juice of the unripe fruit can induce hallucinations, nervous stimulation, and upset stomach.

Mullein
This is one of the oldest herbs, and some healers recommend inhaling the smoke from smoldering mullein roots and leaves to soothe asthma attacks and chest congestion. The roots can be made into a warm decoction for soaking swollen feet or reducing swelling in joints. It also reduces swelling from inflammation and soothes painful, irritated tissue. It is particularly useful to the mucous membranes. A tea can be made from the flowers for a mild sedative.

Persimmon
Can be mashed into a pulp and laid in the sun until suffeciantly dried where it should keep for several weeks.

Pine
This is an Evergreen, which means it is sacred and thus it must recieve much care and respect. Rubefacient and diuretic. It can be used internally to treat bladder, kidney, and rheumatic ailments as well as diseases of the mucous membranes and respiratory complaints. Externally it may be used as a poultice. This plant is also used as incense in death rites. My sister and I sometimes make a strong incense by collecting the dried sap, carefully heating it to a liquid consistency using a candle and spoon, and then pouring it into a little mold to harden. This is used by taking a hot coal out of the fire and placing the incense on it, or by placing it on a heated stone. It produces a large amount of white aromatic vapor and is perfect for offerings to the Honored Ones or to use in death rite. But since the pine is a sacred tree, the sap must be collected carefully and respectfully. Be sure to leave compensation.

Poke
Cooks up good when the young shoots and leaves are boiled in two changes of water. Juice of the fruit has been used to treat cancer. The dried root has been used to treat skin parasites. * All of this plant is poisonous, but the young leaves and shoots are good to cook and eat if prepared properly.

Rebud
If eaten raw and in large amounts, the leaves are poisonous, causing toxic reactions and painful gastrointestinal irritation. Dried root powder is used as a styptic to stanch blood loss from deep wounds. Made into a thick wet paste, the remedy is applied to cancerous sores and tumors. Bark powder is sprinkled on skin irritations and on swellings. Made into a dark tea, it is sipped in measured doses for treating diarrhea and dysentery, easing the painful spasms and misery associated with these diseases. The bark powder tea also has value as a substitute for quinine and is dispensed in measured doses to suppress fever symptoms, including violent shivering and chills, high body temperatures, lower backaches, bone and joint pains, muscle spasms and blinding headaches. The bark powder tea has been utilized successfully against dengue and river fever diseases.

Sassafras
The roots are boiled to make a tea for fever and similar ailments. The wood of this tree is not supposed to be burned.

Sourwood
This tree is used to make spits for cooking meat because it imparts a pleasent flavor to the meat. It can be used in several ways to drive away and even kill witches. It must never be used as fuel wood. Lye made from the ashes of this tree will bring sickness. It is safe to make eating utensils of this wood though.

Soloman's Seal
The root makes a good poultice for inflammations and wounds. A tea can be taken from the root to treat female ailments. A wash may be used to counter the effects of poison ivy.

Sumac
All parts of the common sumac have a medicinal use. Mild decoctions from the bark can be used as a gargle for sore throats, and may be taken for a remedy for diarrhea. A tea from the leaves and berries also reduces fevers. Fresh bruised leaves and ripe berries are made into a poultice which soothes poison ivy. A drink from the ripened or dried berries makes a pleasant beverage which is a good source of vitamin C.

Virginia Snake Root
The root is mashed and used to treat snake bite. The bruised root is placed under the nose to alleviate soreness caused by excessive blowing and it is also placed in the tooth hollow to treat toothache. * Extreme care should be taken as this plant contains an alkaloid which can paralyze the respiratory system.

Watercress
It stimulates glandular activity. Prolonged use can cause kidney problems. The pure juice can inflame the throat and stomach.

Wild Ginger
The Cherokee commonly recommend a mild tea of this herb, made from the rootstock which is a mild stimulant for the digestive system. It can also help colic, intestinal gas, or the common upset stomach. A strong, hot infusion of the roots can act as an expectorant in eliminating mucus from the lungs. Fresh wild ginger may be substituted for the regular store-bought ginger roots as a spice for cooking.

Wild Hemp
Stimulates appetite and can be used to produce hallucinations. Has a tranquilizing effect. This plant is used for rope.

Wild Plum
A decoction of the inner bark may be gargeled for sores in the mouth.

Wild Onion
As an antiseptic it helps end putrefactive and fermentation processes in the gastrointestinal tract. It is good for the heart, so says my Grandmother. Onion can help gas pains and heartburn. Externally it can be applied to wounds.

Wild Raspberry
Tea made from the leaves is a good remedy for diarrhea, and when combined with cream it will relieve nausea and vomiting. Fresh raspberries are a mild laxitive.

Wild Rose
The ripe fruit of the Wild Rose is a rich source of Vitamin C, and is a reliable preventative and cure for the common cold. The tea from the hips is a mild diuretic, and stimulates the bladder and kidneys. When the infusion of the petals is used, it is an ancient remedy for sore throats. Cherokee healers recommend a decoction of the roots for diarrhea.

Wild Senna
An excellent laxitive. It is used to cleanse the system. It is also used to treat the disease called Gvhnigei "black." The bruised root when moistened with water may be used as a poultice for sores.

Wild Strawberry
A tea of the root and leaves can be used for diarrhea, dysentary, and hematuria. It may also be used in love formulas.

Wild Tobacco
A very sacred plant! The smoke produced from burning the dried leaves is used to expel witches on account of their severe dislike of the smell. This is the tobacco cultivated and smoked by the Cherokee, in truth the plant's name means "old tabacco", from Tsola "tobacco" and Agayvli "old". This is not the same tobacco commercialized by the tobacco industry, that is Nicotiana tobaccum L. The smoke is used as an instrument of purifacation. The leaves and smoke of this plant are also used as offerings to the Honored Ones.

Wild Violet
Makes a good detoxifying tea and can elliminate throat tumors and alleviate difficulty in breathing. It has a tonic effect on the mucous membranes. This cool woodlands shade lover is a personal favorite!

Woundwort
As a tea it is good for internal wounds, and as a wash for external wounds. It may also be used to expel worms.

Yarrow
Yarrow has many uses. The best known use is to stop excess bleeding. Freshly crushed leaves can be applied to open wounds or cuts, and the properties of the herb will cause the blood to clot. A fresh juice of yarrow, diluted with spring or distilled water, can held internal bleeding such as stomach and intestinal disorders. The leaves, prepared as a tea, is believed to stimulate intestinal functions and aid in digestion. It also helps the flow of the kidneys, as well as the gallbladder. A decoction made of the leaves and stems acts as an astringent, and is a wonderful wash for all kinds of skin problems such as acne, chapped hands, and other irritations.

Yellow Dock
This plant is not only a medicinal herb, but also a food. It is much like spinach, but believe it or not, contains MORE vitamins and minerals. Because of the long taproot, it gathers nutrients from deep underground. The leaves are a source of iron, and also have laxative properties. Juices from the stems, prepared in a decoction, can be made into an ointment with beeswax and olive oil, and used for itching, minor sores, diaper rash, and other irritations. Cherokee herbalists prescribe a warm wash made from the decoction of crushed roots for a disinfectant. Juice from the root, not prepared in any certain way, is said to be a cure for ringworm.