Chapters 6.29

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Lycopusasper.jpg

Suggested citation for this chapter.

Vandenbroek, A. (2022) Greens, Fleshy Stems and Gourds. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/

Introduction

The Water-horehound is a type of mint that grows in Canada as a wild species. Indigenous people have used different parts of the plant for separate uses, for many years. There are benefits to using the plant for Indigenous people and to Canadians who harvest the plant from their habitat. This paper will talk about these topics and many more to educate Canadians about the Water-horehound.

Figure 1: Flowers of Lycopus asper (Minnesota Wildflowers, 2022).

About The Water-Horehound (Lycopus asper)

The plant is a perennial herb that is a type of mint. The plant is green with small white flowers, and the leaves and flowers have a strong mint fragrance (Brenet et al., 2012). The plant grows with four nulets which are the seeds of the plant. These seeds can be planted on the surface of moist soil for the growth of new plants (Friends of the Wild Flower Garden, 2020). The seeds are small, therefore it is important to plant them very shallowly on the surface of the soil. Since the plant grows in moist soil, the seeds should be watered many times a day, so that the soil stays damp. The plant flowers in the late summer (Friends of the Wild Flower Garden, 2020). The seeds can Therefore be harvested once the flowering is over. As the plant grows from the seed it will grow into a plant with a green square stem, and leaves that are bright green that grows in opposite pairs. In the late summer, the plant provides small white flowers. The plant is also commonly known as rough bugleweed and rough water horehound.

Figure 2: Lycopus asper plant and the stages from flowering to seed production

Graphical Origins

Figure 3: Map of places Lycopus asper was found (Brenet et al., 2012).

The water horehound grows mostly in Western and Central North America (Go Botany Project, 2022). The plant is usually found in wet areas like marshes, or on the shores of rivers and lakes (Go Botany Project, 2022). The plant can also be found in places like damp forests, ditches, along roadsides and railways, and any other moist areas (Missouri Department of Conservation, n.d.).

Figure 4: Leaf of Lycopus asper. (Slichter, 2006)

Medical Uses

The plant the Water Horehound is commonly used in medicine for many different reasons, separate parts of the plant are also used for different reasons. There are different cases that the plant can aid in like, in people with anxiety, and in people with increased heart rate or stress (Sweet, n.d.). The plant has many benefits to the digestive system and can also aid in preventing or decreasing the symptoms of illnesses. The Haudenausaunee (Iroquois) used the plant as a laxative and gave it to children that needed it (Herrick, 1977). Blackfoot people used the stems that they dried and used in medical teas (Kuhnlein & Turner, 1991). The water horehound was also used in medicine and made into cough remedies (Friends of the Wild Flower Garden, 2020). Any part of the plant that is above ground can be harvested while the plant is in flower .

Figure 5: The roots of Lycopus asper. (Minnesota Wildflowers, 2022)

Cooking and Consumption

The plant was eating in a variety of forms. It was sometimes eaten raw, boiled or baked to eat with a meal. And sometimes dried and stored for later uses (Sweet, n.d.). The Chippewa used the roots, see Figure 5, which they dried and later boiled to eat them as what they called “crow potatoes” (Kuhnlein & Turner, 1991). The Water-horehound was generally used as a flavouring in teas and different foods that they cooked (Kuhnlein & Turner, 1991). Generally, the plant is used in tea, so that plant would be stored or used right after it is harvested.

Human Benefits

The plant is still used today in different herbal medicines (Sweet, n.d).T he plant is a wild plant so precautions should be taken when using and preparing the water-horehound. For example, pregnant women shouldn’t use this as herbal medicine since it could harm the fetus (Sweet, n.d.). The plant is used in medicine to benefit people generally people with a cold. The plant would provide a natural remedy which benefits people in the way that there is little to no cost to provide treatment.

Yielding

Since the plant is wild, it doesn’t yield as much as a cultivated plant (Sweet, n.d.).When the plant is dried or boiled for use, it loses a significant amount of mass. Since the plant is a perennial herb it will produce for many years and will come back each year to be harvested that harvest season. This allows the plant to be harvested year after year. Most plants will yield 5 seedlings (Henderson, 1960). As the plant gets older it will produce the most in its younger years and then less once it gets too old. The wild plants would not be fertilized, and this might contribute to the low yield. If the plants were fertilized there could be potential for a higher yield.

Association with Indigenous People

Many different groups of Indigenous people used different parts of the plant to make teas and flavouring in their food. Some examples of the uses include the Ojibwa people, located in Northern Ontario, Southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which used the water-horehound as a flavouring in different meats and teas (Kuhnlein & Turner, 1991). Blackfoot people dried the leafy stems, then used them to flavour soups and teas (Kuhnlein & Turner, 1991). This plant is a mint species and generally, Indigenous peoples would drink it in tea. They also used them medically for sicknesses like coughs, colds, stomach pains and chest pains. Sometimes they were also used as heart ailments. Some people also believed that the plant could help prevent illnesses (Turner, 2019).

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Benefits to the Environment

Lycopus asper can be beneficial to the environment in many different ways, to different parts of the ecosystem. Lycopus asper can be very beneficial to the environment, and they sometimes provide a food source for several insects. They are a nectar source to many different flying insects. They are also a source of food for crawling insects like grasshoppers, aphids etc. (Missouri Department of Conservation, n.d.). They feed on the foliage or scrap of the plant. Mammals are not likely to consume any parts of the plant (Missouri Department of Conservation, n.d.). This could be from the leaves at the top of the plant that can have coarse teeth (Missouri Department of Conservation, n.d.). Since the plant grows in riverbanks and other moist soils it can help prevent soil erosion and can stabilize these soils. (Missouri Department of Conservation, n.d.) this aid the ecosystem in maintaining the structure of the land.

Limitations

The plant is a wild plant and used as a medical herb, precautions should be taken. The herbs should be taken in moderation, and sometimes will need some extra preparation before it is consumed (Lower, 2022). The plant could cause allergic reactions in certain people (Lower, 2022). It would be best for anyone intending to use this plant to talk to a healthcare provider about the benefits to their health, regarding any implications (Lower, 2022). It is also very important to analyze the plant when foraging carefully to correctly identify it , otherwise a plant to looks very similar but is toxic could end up being consumed (Lower, 2022). Pregnant women should always make sure they talk to a healthcare provider before taking in new foods, especially when taking in medical herbs (Lower, 2022).

Toxicity

Although fiddlehead ferns possess several health benefits, the plants are toxic under certain conditions (Jordan 2022). The first large outbreak of foodborne illness due to the fiddlehead fern occurred in 1994 (Jordan 2022). The cause was due to the consumption of raw or undercooked fiddlehead ferns (Jordan 2022). Foodborne illness related to raw and/or undercooked fiddlehead ferns may result in symptoms such diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and headaches (Jordan 2022). Symptoms may occur 30 minutes to 12 hours after consuming the plant (Jordan 2022). The symptoms usually last less than 24 hours but may last up to three days and may be mild or severe depending on the case (Jordan 2022).

Figure 3. Life Cycle and Reproduction through spores of Ostrich Ferns (Britannica Kids n.d.).

References

1.Dziuk , P. M. (n.d.). Minnesoda Wildflowers. photograph. Retrieved November 14, 2022, from https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/udata/r9ndp23q/white/lycopus-asper-rough-bugleweed_0815_174118-t.jpg.

2.Friends of the Wild Flower Garden. (2020). American water horehound, Lycopus americanus Muhl. ex W.P.C.Barton. Friends of the Wildflower Garden. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org/pages/plants/bugleweed_american.html

3.Go Botany Project. (2022). Lycopus asper (western water-horehound): Go Botany. Go Botany. Retrieved September 26, 2022, from https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/lycopus/asper/

4.Henderson, N. C. (1962). A Ttxonomic revision of the genus Lycopus (Labiatae). The American Midland Naturalist, 68(1), 95–138. https://doi.org/10.2307/2422639

5.Herrick, J. W. (1977). BRIT. BRIT - Native American ethnobotany database. Retrieved September 26, 2022, from http://naeb.brit.org/uses/21526/

6.Kuhnlein, H. v., & Turner, N. J. (1991). Traditional plant foods of Canadian Indigenous people (Vol. 8). Gordon and Breach Publishers.

https://courselink.uoguelph.ca/d2l/le/content/770429/viewContent/3240682/View

7.L, C., & Berent, L. (2012, September Sunday). Species Profile - Lycopus asper. Nonindigenous Aquatic Species. Retrieved September 26, 2022, from https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/GreatLakes/FactSheet.aspx?Species_ID=2688

8.Lower, R. (2022, July 15). Water Horehounds - Lycopus SPP.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Culvert Mint of Wild Plants. Song of the Woods. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.songofthewoods.com/water-horehounds-lycopus-spp/

9.Missouri Department of Conservation. (n.d .). American Bugleweed. Missouri Department of Conservation. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/american-bugleweed

10.NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species. (2022). Species Observations . photograph. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://nas.er.usgs.gov/viewer/omap.aspx?speciesID=2688.

11.Slichter, P. (2006). Pacific Water Horehound, Rough Bugleweed, Rough Water-horehound. photograph. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from http://science.halleyhosting.com/nature/gorge/5petal/mint/lycopus/asper/lycopusasperlf1a.jpg.

12.Sweet, H. ((n.d.)). Bugleweed, Wild Edible and Alternative Herbal Remedy. Eat The Planet. Retrieved September 30, 2022, from https://eattheplanet.org/bugleweed-wild-edible-and-alternative-herbal-remedy/

13.Turner, N. J. (2019, May 1). Indigenous Peoples' Medicine in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/native-medicines

14.Wikipedia. (2022). Lycopus. photograph. Retrieved November 14, 2022, from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Illustration_Lycopus_europaeus0.jpg/440px-Illustration_Lycopus_europaeus0.jpg.