Names

Shoshone:

English: Edible Valarian

Scientific: Valeriana edulus

Zone

Montane

Harvest Time

• Not Specified

Primary Uses

• Sleep aid or anxiety

Secondary Uses

• Sedative medicine 1/2 tsp dried root

Cautions

• Do not use when fresh; bad odor

Active Principle(s)

• Isovaleric acid

Video Description of Plant

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

Notes

Processing Notes

• Save, dry the root

Root Uses

• Antibacterial, Anxiety Aid, Ear infection, headache, sleeplessness, anxiety, epilepsy, relaxant, PTSD, sleep aid

Names

Shoshone:

English: Wolf Lichen

Scientific: Letharia vulpina

Zone

Montane

Harvest Time

• Not specified

Primary Uses

• Spiritual protection from strangers who may want to harm you or steal from you

Secondary Uses

• Was used by sheep ranchers to kill wolves

Cautions

• Deadly Poison

Active Principle(s)

• None Listed

Video Description of Plant

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

Notes

Preparation

• Keep it dried, and on your body for the protection

Names

Shoshone:

English: Black Tree Lichen

Scientific: Bryoria pseudofusescens

Zone

Montane

Harvest Time

• Any time of year with long poles to get from tall trees

Primary Uses

• A black jello dessert

Secondary Uses

• The camouflage used by the wildman (sasquatch)
• Cooked and dried as a thickener for soup stews, and bread making

Cautions

• Most lichens are not edible, but deadly for consumption by people. But not this one

Active Principle(s)

• None Listed

Video Description of Plant

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

Notes

• Cooked and dried and powdered used as a thickener
• Tea uses
  • Antibacterial, antiviral
• Process Prep
  • Steam underground rocks and leaves take 12-20 hours serviceberries can flavor jelly

Names

Shoshone:

English: Wild Chives

Scientific: Allium sibiricum

Zone

Montane

Harvest Time

• 1. Food: spring and summer
• 2. Medicine
  • June: low elevation
  • July: Montane zone

Primary Uses

• Flavor in cooking
  • Top:
    • Meats, stews
  • Buds:
    • The sweetest onion flavor

Secondary Uses

• Crushed plants applied to rattlesnake bites and other venoms

Cautions

• Not necessary to dig up roots, since whole plant has the onion flavor

Active Principle(s)

• None Listed

Video Description of Plant

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

Notes

Food Uses

• Antibacterial-eaten to combat bacterial food poisoning
• Cough plants boiled down to thick syrup
• Intestinal Health-Cold infusion of plant for intestinal worms and parasites
• Old people’s medicine-to stimulate appetite
• Pain-24 hour cold infusion applied to venomous stings and bites
• Stings-mashed plants applied to stings and bites such as rattlesnake
• Throat-mashed plants with sweetener for sore throat
• Medicine for coughs and sores

Process Prep

• Food: raw or boiled
• Medicine: plant soaked 24 hours

Names

Shoshone: sy.p

English: Cattail

Scientific: Typha latifolia

Zone

Montane

Harvest Time

• 1. Spring: stems, roots
• 2. July: flower spikes
• 3. August: pollen
• 4. September: seed fluff

Primary Uses

• Pollen as protein in bread

Secondary Uses

• Leaves woven for mats
• Seed fluff for insulation
  • padding, diapers, pillows

Cautions

• Modern use: boil all underwater stems and roots to kill parasites that may be in the water

Active Principle(s)

• None Listed

Video Description of Plant

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

Notes

General Notes

• Pollen is 98% digestible protein
• Used as a thickener in soups and stews
• The whole plant is food
• Flower spikes eaten
  • Rootstocks –> flour
  • Stems cooked
• Pollen as protein in bread
• Leaves woven for mats, seed fluff for insulation (i.e., padding, diapers, pillows)

Stem Uses

• Anti-inflammatory – lower stems cut and applied to wounds for cooling
• Boiled rootstocks chewed or taken as tea – stems chewed for cough
• green flower spikes chewed for diarrhea
• Infection-dried, powdered rootstocks put on open wounds
• Intestinal Health – green flower spikes eaten for digestive distress
• Pain – sticky juice from stems applied to toothache
• Dried rootstocks put on rashes
• Green flower spikes eaten for upset stomach
• Rootstocks chewed to increase urine flow

Process Prep

• Raw or boiled in stews
• Medicine: plant soaked 24 hours

Names

Shoshone:

English: Water Sedge

Scientific: Carex aqatilis

Zone

Montane

Harvest Time

• Early Summer
• Gathered any time as survival food

Primary Uses

• The underwater stems are nutritious
  • Rhizomes

Secondary Uses

• Baskets from leaves

Cautions

• Boil stems first, danger of Giardia

Active Principle(s)

• None listed

Video Description of Plant

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

Notes

Food Uses

• Stems are nutritious
  • Anti-inflammation – lower stems cut and applied to wounds for cooling
  • Stems and roots are survival food

Other Uses

Baskets from leaves

Process Prep

• Pull up underwater stems and rhizomes. Cut into pieces, boil. May cook with cattail stems and roots.

Names

Shoshone:

English: Willow “Yellow Willow”

Scientific: Salix sp.

Zone

Montane

Harvest Time

• Spring Time for medicine
  • “when willows are waking up for baskets when willows go to sleep – in spring collect young stem-strips of bark, dry for future analgesic use”
• Fall for baskets
  • Analgesic use

Primary Uses

• #1 common cold and sore throat
• Topical bandage

Secondary Uses

• Cordage (Strong fibers)

Cautions

• Modern use: do not use with blood thinners such as coumarin

Active Principle(s)

• Salicin

Video Description of Plant

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

Notes

Medicinal Uses

• Willow bandage
  • Add arnica/goldenrool pollen
• Inner bark
  • Anti-inflammation, arthritis, fever reducer, headache, hemorrhoids, pain (used like aspirin), pneumonia, toothache, sore throat

Other Uses

• Making baskets
• The original source of salicylic acid (aspirin)

Process Preparation

• Willow Bandage: Add arnica/golden root pollen

Names

Shoshone: doe.zah

English: Osha Root “Shoshone Bear Root”

Scientific: Lingusticum sp.

Zone

Montane

Harvest Time

• 1st Week in September

Primary Uses

• treat lung infection or breathing problems
• In sweat lodge powdered on hot rocks to engender empathy

Secondary Uses

• Tops:
  • Leaves
  • Flowers
  • Seeds

Cautions

• Sustained internal use may alter or damage gut flora

Active Principle(s)

• None Listed

Video Description of Plant

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

Notes

Food Uses

• Dry roots, wear root and nibble on during infectious seasons

Root Uses

• Abrasion – raw root or infusion rubbed on skin to prevent infection
• Antibacterial – root tea or inhaled smidge for internal or topical infection
• Antiviral, Anxiety, chest cold, congestion, cough, depression, ears, infection, intestinal health, lungs, Lyme disease

General notes

• The “panacea” for an illness

Process Prep

• Dry roots, wear root, and nibble on during infectious seasons.

Names

Shoshone:

English: Desert Parsley

Scientific: Lomatium dissectum

Zone

Montane

Harvest Time

• Not listed

Primary Uses

• Protect from getting sick
• Antiviral, antimicrobial

Secondary Uses

• Leaves into stews, hence “parsley”
  • seeds as a spice

Cautions

• Leaves edible like parsley

Active Principle(s)

• None Listed

Video Description of Plant

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

Notes

Food Uses

• Root is dried
  • Antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, congestion, depression, fever, healing, infection, lung infection, sore throat, wounds
  • Chew on root for toothache
• Leaves can be dried
• Can be bought in stores
• Smudge yields oxytocin, an empathetic hormone

Names

Shoshone:

English: Cow Parsnip

Scientific: Heracleum lanatum

Zone

Montane

Harvest Time

• During seed production
• July – August – September

Primary Uses

• Nerve Stimulant-
  • seeds as tea to reverse paralysis
  • stimulate nerve growth
  • roots also for nerve healing, if seeds not available

Secondary Uses

• Stems make “rubbing stick”

Cautions

• Older leaves, eaten can cause photosensitivity
  • Do not confuse with water hemlock, poisonous

Active Principle(s)

• Testimony about the treatment of a paralyzed person

Video Description of Plant

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

Notes

Medicinal Uses

• Nerve Stimulant

Food Uses

• Ground up seeds make a tea
  • depending on injury
  • Anti-inflammatory, nerve stimulant, neuropathy, nerve pain, stomach, applied to wounds