(Prairie Smoke or “Mtn. Avens or 3-flowered avens”)

Names

Shoshone:
Unknown

English: Prairie Smoke or “Mtn. Avens or 3-flowered avens”

Scientific: Geum triflorum

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

  • Any time

Primary Uses

  • Peel root bark to white succulent core; lay into wound, site in bleeding. cook peeled root in a soup, for diarrhea

Secondary Uses

  • None listed

Cautions

  • Too much tea may cause constipation

Active Principle(s)

  • Vitamin C and B-vitamins

Video Description of Plant

Click play on the video to learn more about this plant.

Notes

Medicinal Uses:

  • Rash: root infusion applied to rashes to soothe and heal
  • Ulcers: root tea is astringent for ulcers
  • Bleeding: Root powder or infusion
  • Diarrhea: Root tea

Process Prep

  • Root fresh or dried made into tea
  • Tea – 2-3 cups/day. 1 Tbls root/cup water boiled

bee·yah·soe·reenp (Giant Wild Rye or “Great Basin”)

Names

Shoshone:
bee·yah·soe·reenp

English: Giant Wild Rye or “Great Basin”

Scientific: Elymus cinereus

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

  • harvest between flowering and seeding

Primary Uses

  • Specific blades’ edge were used to remove eyelid growths: archeologists use this grass asa confirmation of the SheepEater/Duka-Dika peoples’ campsite location in high elevation.
  • From rain/snow melt, due to unique water-shedding of leaf blades when bundled

Secondary Uses

  • For grazing animals, in heavy-snow winters, this serves as survival grass

Cautions

  • None listed

Active Principle(s)

  • None listed

Video Description of Plant

Click play on the video to learn more about this plant.

Notes

General Use:

  • Folded leaves used to scrape away dust inflammation inside eyelids for wounds

Process Prep

  • Tie in bundles for thatching
  • Bend mid leaf to make scraping tool for sand abrasions and pustules

bah·hoonh (Wild Tobacco or “coyote tobacco”)

Names

Shoshone:
bah·hoonh

English: Wild Tobacco or “coyote tobacco”

Scientific: Nicotania trigonophilia

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

  • When flowering

Primary Uses

  • On a rack, where meat is drying
  • Used on arthritic joint

Secondary Uses

  • Flower/specifically, the calyx part; smoke it.

Cautions

  • Leaves alkaloid content is so high that mouth + tongue burns, if leaves are smoked without being diluted with a secondary plant

Active Principle(s)

  • Nicotine, anabasine, and several other toxic alkaloids

Video Description of Plant

Click play on the video to learn more about this plant.

Notes

Medicinal Uses

  • Antibacterial: Standard infusion wound wash
  • Anti-inflammatory: Infusion for muscle ache. Sitz bath menstrual cramps
  • Arthritis: Infusion as topical analgesic
  • Burns: Infusion as an analgesic
  • Ears: Smudge blown in-ears to relieve congestion
  • Hemorrhoids: Infusion topical
  • Pain: Infusion for muscle pain and joint pain
  • Skin: Poultice, analgesic for skin injuries
  • Stings: Poultice for bee, wasp, scorpion stings
  • Swelling: Poultice, analgesic
  • Wounds: Wound dressing infusion

Process Prep

  • Dry leaves for medicine
  • Dry flower calyx for smoking