Names

Shoshone: goo·kee·toy·p

English: Scouring Rush

Scientific: Equisetum hyemale

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

• Not Specified
  • In both Upper Foothills and Montane

Primary Uses

• Kidney and Bladder Infection and Join Pain

Secondary Uses

• Polishing and Scrubbing especially fine sanding of wood, metal items

Cautions

• Too much tea can damage intestinal lining

Active Principle(s)

• Silicon Dioxide for scrubbing aids in calcium recycling
• Calcium

Video Description of Plant

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Notes

Medicinal Uses

• Antibacterial: Topical wash or tea for kidney or UTI
• Anxiety: Tea can reduce anxiety in some people with low blood calcium
• Arthritis: Tea as a calcium supplement
• Congestion: Tea
• Cough: Tea
• Healing: General antimicrobial
• Immune: Tea aids in immune response
• Infection: General antimicrobial
• Kidney Nephritis: General aid in kidney function
• Old People’s Medicine: Aids in calcium recycling
• Osteoporosis: Source of dietary calcium. Aids in calcium recycling
• Stomach: Tea
• Throat: Tea
• Urinary tract infection: Tea
• Yeast Infection: Good for urinary tract health

Process Prep

• Young shoots cooked as food
• Older stems used for medicinal tea

Names

Shoshone: guhnk

English: Prairie Onion

Scientific: Allium textile

Zone

Desert

Harvest Time

• May
  • Heavy spring rains promote this as ground cover
  • Tops were preferred onion flavor part
• Tops of plants harvested for stews or flavor/garnish

Primary Uses

• Good carbohydrate source. Skin source of quercetin

Secondary Uses

• Used to flavor meats

Cautions

• None Listed

Active Principle(s)

• None Listed

Video Description of Plant

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Notes

Medicinal Uses

• Antibacterial: bulbs eaten for food poisoning
• Diarrhea: Eat bulbs to treat dysentery
• Vitamin C: Potherb flowers and leaves

Names

Shoshone: gah.boe.n.zee.nee

English: Fleabane

Scientific: Erigeron sp.

Zone

Alpine

Harvest Time

• June or July depending on the elevation

Primary Uses

• Repels fleas

Secondary Uses

• Not edible

Cautions

• Too bitter to eat

Active Principle(s)

• None Listed

Video Description of Plant

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Notes

General Notes

• Dried plants powdered and used in flea colors

Process Prep

• Dry and powder the entire plant and save it in an airtight jar.

Names

Shoshone:

English: American Bistort

Scientific: Polygonum bistortoides

Zone

Alpine

Harvest Time

• Spring and early summer

Primary Uses

• Root: eaten fried, or in stews

Secondary Uses

• Cure for scurvy
• Roots: wound dressing

Cautions

• None Listed

Active Principle(s)

• None listed

Video Description of Plant

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Notes

Medicinal Uses

• Abrasion: Root poultice
• Antibacterial: Mashed roots
• Anti-inflammatory: Mashed roots
• Bleeding: Mashed roots to stop bleeding
• Burns: Mashed roots applied to burns
• Diarrhea: Roots eaten as food
• Healing: Root poultice applied to all wounds
• Hemorrhoids: Roots eaten as food
• Infection: Root poultice
• Intestinal Health: Roots eaten for parasites
• Liver: Roots eaten for jaundice
• Rash: Root poultice
• Stings: Root poultice
• Ulcers: Roots
• Vitamin C: Plants with roots
• Wounds: astringent

General Notes:

• Good food and medicine
• Astringent

Process Prep:

• Cook roots as food
• Mash roots as medicine

Names

Shoshone: ay.fee.by.hy.d

English: Alpine Bluebells

Scientific: Mertensia alpina

Zone

Alpine

Harvest Time

• Spring

Primary Uses

• Gut health: flowers eaten as pre-biotics

Secondary Uses

• Immune booster

Cautions

• May cause some nausea till you get accustomed

Active Principle(s)

• glucopoly-saccharides
• Vitamins C, B, A

Video Description of Plant

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Notes

Medicinal Uses:

• Abrasion: Crushed leaves and poultice
• Antibacterial: Mashed leaves in poultice
• Vitamin C: Food

Process Prep

• Raw or cooked as food

Names

Shoshone:

English: Moss Campion

Scientific: Silene acaulis

Zone

Alpine

Harvest Time

• Early summer

Primary Uses

• Flowers Edible; sweet

Secondary Uses

• None listed

Cautions

• None listed

Active Principle(s)

• None listed

Video Description of Plant

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Notes

Names

Shoshone:

English: Alpine Sedges

Scientific: Carex sp.

Zone

Alpine

Harvest Time

• All parts edible, depends on plant’s stage

Primary Uses

• None Listed

Secondary Uses

• None Listed

Cautions

• None Listed

Active Principle(s)

• None Listed

Video Description of Plant

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Notes

Food Notes

• All parts edible, depending on plant’s stage

Names

Shoshone:

English: Mountain Sorrel

Scientific: oxyria

Zone

Alpine

Harvest Time

• Before flowering
• Early summer

Primary Uses

• Lemon/citrus flavor
• High in Vitamin C and A

Secondary Uses

• To flavor bland foods

Cautions

• May trigger kidney inflammation if prone to problems w/ oxalates
• Limit intake due to oxalates

Active Principle(s)

• oxalates

Video Description of Plant

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Notes

Medicinal Uses

• Abrasion: Crushed leaves on sores and injured skin
• Cancer: Leaf poultice for skin cancer
• Diarrhea: Tea
• Fever: Leaf tea
• Healing: Leaves applied to wounds
• Infection: Leaf poultice soothing to wounds
• Itching: Leaf poultice
• Rash: Plant infusion
• Skin: Mashed plants used on any skin problem
• Stings: Mashed leaf poultice
• Stomach: Leaf tea for stomach problems
• Swelling: Leaf poultice
• Ulcers: Leaf tea
• Vitamin C: Leaf tea or cooked as food

General Notes

• Treatment for scurvy
• Itch medicine

Names

Shoshone:

English: Compass Flower

Scientific: Hymenoxis grandiflora

Zone

Alpine

Harvest Time

• Not Specified

Primary Uses

• Compass, because faces east

Secondary Uses

• None Specified

Cautions

• Not edible

Active Principle(s)

• None Listed

Video Description of Plant

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Notes

Names

Shoshone: doo.ay.fee.boe.goe

English: Thin Leafed Huckleberry

Scientific: Vaccinium membrenaceum

Zone

Subalpine

Harvest Time

• Mid to late summer

Primary Uses

• Berries: Purple
• Has proanthocyanidins for cardiovascular health

Secondary Uses

• Old People’s Medicine

Cautions

• None listed

Active Principle(s)

• None listed

Video Description of Plant

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Notes

Medicinal Uses

• Diarrhea: leaf tea
• Eyes: Leaf and berry tea as eye medicine and to prevent blindness
• Heart: Dried leaf and berry tea to strengthen the heart
• Vitamin C: Dried leaf and berry tea

General Notes

• Dried leaves and berries were a standard good-tasting tea