(Cow Parsnip) “Blackfeet call this ‘Big Medicine'”

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

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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
Posted in Traditional Plant.