FLORA / PLANTS

From earliest times, people relied on the plant life around them for many things, including nutrition, medicine and ceremony. The medicinal use of plants is still important. This is a list of commonly used plants that were pointed out by Kathleen Thorpe of Pelly Crossing. Ms. Thorpe kindly provided the drawings of these plants.

High bush cranberry can grow up to 12 feet high. It has maple-like leaves and white flowers. Tea from the bark relieves menstrual and stomach cramps.

White spruce needles are dark green and the tree has small cones on the tip of its branches. The pitch draws poison. Chewing the old pitch is good for the gums. You can boil the pitch for a cough medicine. The inner bark is good for coughs and bladder infections.

Labrador tea can take the place of black tea and is rich in vitamin C.

Balsam poplar is fast growing. The slender tree may grow up to 80-100 feet tall and its smooth gray bark darkens with age. The leaves and bearberry, or kinnikinnick, help diarrhea.

Willow grows to over 10 feet tall on sandbars along watercourses. The bark prevents swelling and relieves pain.

Kinnikinnick has green leaves with dark spots and the deep red willow-like bush also has black spots on the bush stems. The bark was smoked for tobacco.

White cushion moss grows 2-4 inches tall. The dense white cushion is blue-green when wet. It makes good dressings for wounds and you can use it in cradles instead of diapers for babies. Many cabins in Fort Selkirk are chinked with moss.

Coltsfoot has green leaves, pinkish green stems and yellow dandelion-like flowers. You can crush the leaves for insect bites but the plant is not used internally.

Sage grows to about 12-15 inches high and is blue-silver in colour. It is good for colds and used to make a smudge for getting rid of bugs and mosquitoes.

Caribou horn lichen tea is pale green and works for arthritis pain.