Download The Ethnobotany of the Miami Tribe

The Ethnobotany of the Miami Tribe: Traditional plant use from historical texts
A thesis submitted to the Miami University
Honors Program in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for University Honors
By
Brian C. King
May, 2003
Oxford, Ohio
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ABSTRACT
THE ETHNOBOTANY OF THE MIAMI TRIBE:
TRADITIONAL PLANT USE FROM HISTORICAL TEXTS
by Brian C. King
The purpose of this research project was to organize and clarify information found in historical documents
pertaining to traditional Miami plant knowledge. It serves as a field guide to plants used as foods and
drinks, industrially (fibers, building materials, dyes, etc.), medicinally and ceremonially. Plant references
were extracted from the larger language documents. Botanical identities were clarified by comparing the
species range to that of the Miami Tribe. Uses mentioned in the text were compared to other uses found
reported in the literature. Botanical descriptions and illustrations are included to aid in identification of the
plants. Preparations are also included, where applicable. A total of 86 plants are included in this guide, 49
of which had a documented Miami use. Of these, 29 were used as a food or drink, 17 were used
industrially, and 8 were used either medicinally or cerimonially.
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The Ethnobotany of the Miami Tribe: Traditional plant use from historical texts
by Brian C. King
Approved by:
____________________________, Advisor / Reader
Dr. Michael A. Vincent
____________________________, Advisor / Reader
Mr. Daryl W. Baldwin
____________________________, Reader
Dr. Kimberly E. Medley
Accepted by:
____________________________, Director,
University Honors Program
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following people and organizations, without whom this project would not have
been possible. Thanks to my two advisors, Dr. Mike Vincent and Daryl Baldwin. Dr. Vincent is the
curator of the Willard Sherman Turrell Herbarium at Miami University in Oxford Ohio. His knowledge of
the local flora was an invaluable tool while clarifying the botanical identity of the more difficult plants.
Mr. Baldwin is the director of the Myaamia Project at Miami University, and was instrumental in initiating
this project. He acted as my connection to the tribe, and taught me about the Miami culture as well as
helping with the plant information. Thanks to Dr. Kim Medley, who was part of my Honors committee,
along with Dr. Vincent and Mr. Baldwin. I’d also like to thank Mike Gonella, who is a graduate student in
Botany at Miami University. His research in ethnobotany will bring a new level of depth to the information
supplied by the historical sources. Thanks to Dustin Olds, the land manager for the Miami Tribe of
Oklahoma, who showed me and Mike around the Miami tribal lands while we were collecting specimens.
Also thanks to Dr. David Costa at U.C., Berkeley. The work by Dr. Costa, Mr. Baldwin, and others on
Miami language has provided the basis for this project and the Myaamia Language Project in general.
Thank you to Dr. Noel Holmgren, the illustrators of the Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist’s
Manual and the New York Botanical Garden Press for their permission to reproduce the drawings
presented in this thesis. Thanks to Miami University and the Undergraduate Summer Scholars program for
supporting this and other projects related to preservation of Miami cultural information. And of course,
thank you to the Miami Tribe. I hope this project helps you maintain a strong cultural identity.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
Approval Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Miami History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Introduction to This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Catalog of Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
General Miami Plant Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
Glossary of Botanical Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Harvesting Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
Miami Language Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Other References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Plants Used by the Miami as Food or Drink
by Scientific name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
by Common name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
by Miami name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Plants Used by the Miami Industrially
by Scientific name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168
by Common name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
by Miami name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Plants Used by the Miami Medicinally or Ceremonially
by Scientific name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
by Common name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
by Miami name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Plants Used by Other Groups as Food or Drink
by Scientific name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
by Common name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
by Miami name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Plants Used by Other Groups Industrially
by Scientific name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177
by Common name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
by Miami name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
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Plants Used by Other Groups Medicinally or Ceremonially
by Scientific name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
by Common name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
by Miami name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Index of Plants
by Scientific name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
by Common name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
by Miami name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
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Miami History
The Miami lived along timbered river valleys in what are now eastern Illinois, Indiana and western
Ohio. They shared many linguistic and cultural traits with neighboring Algonquian tribes. The Miami
belong to the Central Algonquian linguistic family, and are closely related to the Illinois. They lived in the
transition zone of the Eastern forest and prairie, and grew crops as well as hunting large game like deer and
buffalo. The Miami were allied with the French during the French and Indian Wars, from 1689 to 1783.
Unfortunately, a century of struggling to protect their homelands in combination with introduced diseases
and alcohol all drastically reduced the Miami population by the mid 1700s. Still, they joined their former
adversary the British to fight the American rebel colonists during the American Revolution from 1775 to
1783. Before and after the Americans won the war, more settlers were arriving in Indian territories west of
the Appalachian Mountains. The Miami and other tribes resisted this westward expansion. To protect the
settlers and control the land, President George Washington ordered an army be sent to Fort Washington,
what is now Cincinnati, on the Ohio River. These soldiers fought the Miami and their neighboring tribes
the Chippewa (Ojibwa), Ottawa, Potawatomi, Delaware, Shawnee and Illinois from 1790 to 1794 in what is
known as Little Turtle’s War, or the Miami War. Miami leader Little Turtle led the military confederation
to stop the American from trespassing on their land. The tribes were successful in winning several key
battles. However, Little Turtle realized that they would eventually be overwhelmed by the American
soldiers. He pushed for a peace agreement in 1794, but many warriors wanted to continue the resistance
against European encroachment. Soon after, the confederation suffered a crushing blow at the Battle of
Fallen Timbers. In 1795, the chiefs of the Indian alliance (including Little Turtle) signed the Treaty of Fort
Greenville, which ceded much of the Ohio lands to the American government, although the tribes were able
to reserve other lands further west.
During the first half of the nineteenth century, the Miami lost most of their lands through the
treaty making process. The U.S. Government then persuaded the Miami to accept relocation west by the
terms of the 1840 treaty. In 1846, approximately 300 Miami were relocated to a reservation in Kansas,
while several Miami families were exempt from the removal and allowed to remain in Indiana. The
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Indiana Miami, as they were known, would organize themselves and be included in subsequent treaties,
which laid the foundation for them to assert tribal status. However, by 1897 a US attorney general ended
that status, and the Indiana Miami today have been unable to establish a government-to-government
relationship with the U.S. federal government. For those who were forced to relocate to Kansas, they
would soon find themselves relocated again to northeastern Oklahoma. Despite the continual forced
relocations and loss of lands, the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma has been able to maintain its sovereign status
with the US Government. The land base of both groups was eventually allotted to families, but by 1930,
most of that land had been lost to land speculators and tax sales at one point both communities would find
themselves landless as a nation. Some Indiana Miami chose to move west to Oklahoma, while many
remained in the homeland of Indiana. In 1992, the total enrollment of the Miami Nation of Indiana was
variably reported to be from 5,000 to 6,000, with about 2,500 residing in Indiana. The Miami Tribe of
Oklahoma toady claims approximately 3,000 members.
Unfortunately, a century of relocation and boarding school education erased parts of the cultural
memory of the tribe. The language was in some cases prohibited, and by the middle of the twentieth
century, it had fallen out of use. However, the tribe is making an effort to perpetuate its cultural identity
among their children through a variety of language and cultural programs that continue today. A recent
effort that directly benefits cultural preservation for the Miami Nation is the Myaamia Project, which was
established at Miami University during the summer of 2001. Its mission is to assist the Miami Tribe in
efforts to preserve, promote and research Miami Nation history, culture and language. The project is a true
collaboration between the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio.. In 2002, the
tribe and university signed an agreement to establish a central repository for Miami Indian linguistic and
cultural resources at Miami University. It will include items such as records, photographs, maps, tribal
records, and other related objects.
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Introduction to this Guide
Removals, boarding schools and deliberate attempts to eradicate language and culture made it
difficult to maintain traditional beliefs, values and knowledge. Because the Miami Tribe’s culture is
ecologically based, some of the traditional knowledge of the environment began to fade away. This work is
intended to assist the Miami in preserving and in some cases regain traditional botanical knowledge. The
primary sources for this are a number of extent records of Miami-Illinois language that were compiled from
the late seventeenth century until the early 1960s. These records contain valuable information on Miami
language and culture including botanical references. Recently, Dr. David Costa, Daryl Baldwin, and others
affiliated with the Myaamia Project have begun identifying and organizing that botanical information.
They have reviewed the original sources, and compiled every plant reference in those documents into a
database. The information I began with was in the following form:
akanteemiši
akándämîndjî (Dunn-M / dogwood tree; Dunn-P / the wood of this tree was used for arrows. The bird
arrows were made with blunt points out of dogwood and hickory wood, both of which will sink in the
water.); see also ihkalwi
Dogwood (Cornus spp.)
In the case of Dogwood, Dunn noted that the fruit of the Dogwood was red (under “ihkalwi”). The only
native Dogwood in our range with a red berry is Cornus florida, the Flowering Dogwood. After
confirmation with the director of the Myaamia language project, the Miami names were further clarified.
“akanteemiši” is the Miami term for this plant, while “iihkalomiši” is the Peioria term for the same plant.
My role was to clarify and re-organize this information into a more accessible format. In the
summer of 2002, I participated in Miami University’s Undergraduate Summer Scholars program during
which I spent ten weeks working on the project. Many of the species names could be clarified by
comparing the range of the plants to the range of the tribe (as described above). After I was confident of
the identity of the species in question, I supplemented the information pertaining to Miami use with a
review of the literature on plant use. I then compiled information on how other people had used the plants.
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To aid in identification and clarification of what plant was being discussed, I included line drawings as well
as written botanical descriptions. During my senior year at Miami University, I refined the guide and am
using it as my thesis for the University Honors Program. Eventually, this will be published by the tribe and
made available as an educational tool throughout the tribal community.
In some cases, it was difficult to assign a Latin name to a Miami name, because the reference was
too vague in its description of a particular plant. Sometimes there would be one Miami name used for
several unrelated species, other times there would be multiple Miami names for a single species. In some
cases, the species had to be inferred based upon the range and frequency of the plant, when compared to the
traditional range of the tribe. For example, “makiinkweemina” is the Miami term for “blackberry,” and
while there are over 120 species of blackberry, Rubus allegheniensis is the only common native blackberry
in the Miami’s range. If there are several closely related species that a term could refer to, all are
presented. Some references only give a name for a plant (for example ateehimini = strawberry), but do not
give a use. In other words, it was not explicitly stated that the Miami ate strawberries. In situations like
this, the use was confirmed by tribal members. Thus, there is some reliance on oral knowledge. If a plant
was especially difficult to determine, it has either been noted or omitted. This is by no means a complete
documentation of Miami botanical knowledge. This is the first work to deal specifically with Miami plant
knowledge, and it is without doubt that further research will refine our information regarding the botanical
knowledge of the Miami People. The plants and Miami language included in this work are those we felt
reasonably comfortable with in terms of their identification.
Another observation worth noting is the use of medicines and references to medicines in this
document. I became aware early in my exposure to traditional plant usage that medicinal plant information
was traditionally highly guarded knowledge, at least among woodland people. The knowledge of healing
and plant remedies generally was not shared either inside or outside the community. This is likely the
reason why little information was found in the historical records that pertained specifically to medicines. I
was also warned early on by tribal members that information derived from other published sources should
be viewed as suspect. I did chose to use medicinal information claimed to have come from other tribes, but
this is just for reference. It is true that many plants do possess medicinal qualities, but many of the
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references to these uses were vague, or were highly variable from source to source. I included medicinal
information in this work when the sources supported each other to a certain degree, and I felt reasonably
assured that there was some validity to the reference. However, many plants contain powerful toxins as
well as medicines (often it is just a question of dosage), and users of this document should be cautious
about the use of plants either as foods or medicines without further investigation.
Brian King
April, 2003
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Catalog of Plants
The following pages make up the bulk of this thesis. Illustrations as well as botanical descriptions
are given to help identify collected material. The Latin, common and Miami names are given. An asterisk
(*) implies uncertainty of meaning, identification, or in some cases a spelling of a Miami word. If a
reference was particularly vague, the species in question was omitted. Major uses of plants as reported in
the literature are included and specific use to the Miami is underlined.
A total of 86 plants are included in this guide, 49 of which had a documented Miami use. Of
these, 29 were used as a food or drink, 17 were used industrially, and 8 were used either medicinally or
cerimonially.
WARNING:
Some of the plants described in this guide are HIGHLY
POISIONOUS.
Some of the edible
plants are toxic unless properly prepared, and even then may not be 100% free of toxins. And many of the
medicinal plants are toxic as well – often the difference between a medicine and a poison is only a matter
of dosage. If a certain plant may be toxic, it will be noted along with the use. However, I am not an expert
in plant toxins, and the information in this guide will inevitably be somewhat incomplete. I recommend
checking other sources before consuming any wild plants. Be especially cautious with plants that require
substantial preparation to render them edible. And it is a good idea to begin with a small portion, to
determine whether you have an allergy to the plant, and just how edible that plant might be. In addition,
some non-toxic plants may have toxic look-alikes. Do not eat anything unless you are sure of what it is,
and that it will not hurt you. Please use discretion when dealing with toxic plants, and check other sources
on how to prepare them.
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NOTE:
The original version of this document contained copyrighted images, which have been omitted for posting
on the web. To maintain the proper page numbers in the indexes, some blank pages have been inserted.
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Acer negundo L.
Box Elder, Ashleaf Maple
Aceraceae (Maple family)
Miami Term: šiišiikweehkihsi
Use: syrup, medicine
Parts Used: sap, inner bark
Botanical Description:
Medium sized tree, 30-75’ tall, 2-4’ wide. Twigs green or purplish, glossy, white-powdery, or
rarely hairy, buds white-hairy. Leaf scars meet in raised points on opposite sides of the twigs. Leaves
opposite, pinnately compound (unique among eastern N. American maples), 4-10” long, with 3-5 and
sometimes 9 leaflets, coarse toothed or toothless, 2-4” long, 1-1½” wide, end leaflet often somewhat lobed,
turning yellow or red in fall. Blooms from April-May. Fruit a paired samara, 1-1½“ long, from Sept.-Oct.
Found in moist and fertile soils of riverbanks, floodplains and uplands. Range from s. Alberta east to Nova
Scotia, south to Fla., west to cent. Tex. and Mexico, scattered in the West and Calif., also in Guatemala.
Miami Use:
Gatschet noted that a decoction of the Box Elder was made. It is not clear whether this is in
reference to boiling the sap to make sugar syrup, or to making a medicinal decoction.
Other Use:
Box Elder may be tapped to make maple syrup or sugar (See Sugar Maple, Acer saccharum). This
was done by the Cheyenne, Dakota, Montana Indians, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca and Winnebago.
The Meskwaki, and Ojibwa used a decoction or infusion of the inner bark as an emetic (to induce
vomiting).
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Acer saccharinum L.
Soft Maple, Silver M.
Aceraceae (Maple family)
Miami Term: wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
Use: syrup, dye, beverage
Parts Used: sap, leaves, twigs
Botanical Description:
Medium to tall tree, 40-90’ tall, 1-3’ in diameter. Bark light gray, flaking off in large plates to
reveal brown inner bark. Twigs and buds like A. rubrum, but when broken release a foul smell. Leaves
opposite, with 5 deep, long pointed lobes, the middle tending to be more narrow, undersides whitish,
somewhat hairy, doubly serrated edge, 2-10” long and wide, turning pale yellow in fall. Flowers in spring,
Feb.-May. Fruit a paired samara, green to red, 1½-2½” long, mature in April-June. Found in wet soils of
river banks, swamps and floodplains. Range from Minn. east through Ontario to New Brunswick, south to
nw. Fla., west to e. Okla.
Miami Use:
The Miami made sugar from the sap of the Soft Maple (Gat). Also, when cooking the roots of the
wild potatoes, sometimes a few leaves of the Soft Maple were added to the boiling water to turn the roots
black (Trowbridge).
Other Use:
The sap from the Silver Maple may be collected and boiled to make maple syrup (see Sugar
Maple, Acer saccharum). Syrup was made from this tree by the Chippewa, Dakota, Iroquois, Ojibwa,
Omaha, Ponca, and Winnebago. The Iroquois fermented the sap to make an alcoholic beverage.
The Omaha and Winnebago used twigs of the Soft Maple to make a black dye for tanning hides.
The Omaha would mix iron-rich clay with grease, and then roast the mixture. Meanwhile, twigs were
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boiled, and the water was added to the grease and clay. Hides were soaked for three days to give a brown
color, and up to seven days to give a black color.
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Acer saccharum Marsh.
Sugar Maple
Aceraceae (Maple family)
Miami Terms: ahsenaamši
ahsenaamišaapowi (maple syrup)
Use: syrup, food, beverage
Parts Used: sap, fruit
Botanical Description:
Tree, 40-120’ tall, 1-3’ wide. Bark light to medium gray, rough and deeply furrowed into narrow
ridges. Young twigs rough and glossy, greenish to reddish brown to gray, buds slender. Long and hairy
leaf stalk, leaves opposite, simple, palmately lobed and 5-veined, 3½ - 5½” long and wide, hairless above,
mostly hairless and lighter below, with a few narrow, long pointed teeth, turning red, orange and yellow in
the fall. Fruit a paired samara at an angle greater than 120˚, 1 – 1¼”, flat and with a long wing, from June –
Sept. Found in rich, moist or dry soil in upland and valley forests, sometimes in pure stands. Range from
sw. Manitoba, east to Quebec and Newfoundland, south to N. Carolina, west to e. Kansas
Miami Use:
Sugar Maple was used to make syrup (Hockett).
Other Use:
The most common use of the Sugar Maple is to make maple syrup by boiling the sap. This was
done by the Quebec Algonquin, Cherokee, Dakota, Iroquois, Malecite, Menominee, Meskwaki, Micmac,
Mohegan, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi. The Iroquois fermented the sap to make an alcoholic beverage.
Today, syrup is produced commercially, and is a staple with almost any pancake breakfast.
Maples, Walnuts, Hickories, Sweet Birches and Sycamores can all be used to produce syrup. However
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Sugar Maple sap has the most sugar. Each tree yields between 5 and 60 gallons of sap, and about 32
gallons of sap are needed to produce 1 gallon of syrup, or 4½ pounds of sugar.
There are several methods of making maple syrup. Generally, the sap is collected from the trees,
and then it is concentrated either by freezing or by boiling. The unboiled sap may be used as drinking
water. Sometimes, the sap is allowed to sour to make a maple vinegar. Trees are tapped from January until
early spring (around April), as things are thawing out, but before the leaves appear. It is best to collect on
warm, sunny days after cold nights.
To collect the sap, choose a tree at least a foot wide. Those on southern slopes in sandy soil are
best. Drill a hole ¼-½” wide. It should be angled slightly upwards, so that the sap will flow out. Insert a
spile (tube through which sap flows out), sharpened end first, so that ½” of it remains outside. Spiles may
be bought at the store, or you can make your own from Sumac or Elderberry branches. Take a 5” section of
an Elderberry branch, punch out the pith, and make a diagonal cut to make a sharpened tip. Nail a bucket
underneath the spile. Make some sort of cover to place over the bucket to keep out falling debris. Do not
put more than 2-3 buckets per tree, to avoid stressing it. Empty the buckets daily for a week. When done,
plug the holes with wooden pegs to protect the tree from pests and disease.
To make syrup or sugar, the sap needs to be concentrated. This is usually done by boiling. When
boiling, it is best to do so outside to avoid sticky walls in your kitchen. If you choose to boil the sap from
the beginning, rather than freezing first (see below), be sure to boil slowly, taking care not to let it boil over
or burn. Syrup is ready when a candy thermometer reads 7˚ F (4˚ C) higher than the temperature at which
the syrup first boiled (217 ˚F (104 ˚C) at sea level). To make sugar, let the temperature rise to 22 ˚F (12 ˚C)
higher than the temperature at which it first boiled (234 ˚F (112 ˚C) at sea level).
An alternative to boiling the sap from the beginning is to concentrate it by freezing first. To do
this, place the sap in gallon jugs. Leave them outside overnight, or place them in a freezer. When the jugs
are completely frozen, bring inside and let 1/3 of it melt. Collect the liquid (which has the sugar) and
discard the ice (which is mostly water). Repeat with the concentrated liquid, but this time let ½ of the jug
thaw. Then evaporate off the desired amount of water on a stove. Keep in mind that it will become more
“syrupy” as it cools. Yield is approximately 1 pint syrup for every 5 gallons of sap.
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The paired samara of the sugar maple are edible as well. Collect them in the fall. To prepare,
roast them at 250˚ F for 20-30 minutes, or until they are crisp. They may also be boiled. These are good
served with butter and salt.
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Aesculus glabra Willd.
Ohio Buckeye
Hippocastenacaceae (Horse-chestnut family)
Miami Term: mihsihkiišikomiši
Use: medicine, fish poison
Parts Used: root, fruit
Botanical Description:
Medium sized tree, 40-70’ tall, 1-2’ in diameter. Bud scales ridged, twigs reddish brown, and
emitting a foul odor when broken. Bark scaly. Leaves opposite, palmately compound, 4-15”, with 5-7
toothed leaflets, each 2-6” long, ¾-2¼” wide, turning yellow or orange in fall. Flowers 1” long, yellow,
bell-shaped, in upright clusters, 4-6” long. Blooms April-May. Fruit a loculicidal capsule with a pale
brown husk splitting on 2-3 lines, armed with weak spines, containing 1-3 large dark brown seeds, from
Sept.-Oct. Found in rich, moist, well drained soils of slopes, sometimes along stream banks as a thicket
forming shrub, or in mixed forests. Range from cent. Iowa, east to s. Ont. and w. Penn., south to cent. Ala.,
west to se. Okla.
Miami Use:
Trowbridge noted, “there were many roots and weeds used as emetics (to induce vomiting), the
most common of which was the root of the buckeye.”
Other Use:
The Delaware used the pulverized nuts as a fish poison. They called it “fish peyote” and said that
it made the fish dizzy.
15
Allium canadense L.
Wild Garlic
Liliaceae (Lily family)
Miami Term: wiinhsihsia (wild onion)
Use: food, medicine, insect repellant
Parts Used: bulb, bulblets, leaves
Botanical Description:
Herb, 8-24” tall. Leaves coming from a bulb, grass-like, flat, 6-18” long. Flowers perfect, ½”
wide, with 3 petals and 3 petal-like sepals, pink or white in an umbel, 3 bracts beneath. Variety in the east
often with flowers replaced with bulblets, flowering varieties in the west and south. Blooms May-July.
Fruit a 3-lobed capsule. Entire plant has a strong onion-like odor. Found in low woods, thickets, prairies
and meadows. Range from N. Dak. east to Ontario and New Brunswick, south to Fla., west to Tex.
Miami Use:
Wild Onions were a preferred vegetable of the Miami Indians. To prepare them, they would
“clean them, cut them fine, and cook them in grease till wilt. Then they would add a little water, salt and
pepper, and then thicken with flour.” (Dunn)
Other Use:
Wild onions were widely eaten, and they are quite nutritious as well, containing more vitamin C
than an equal weight of oranges, and twice as much vitamin A as spinach. Wild Onions may be eaten raw
or parbroiled. The leaves are best collected in the spring before the flower stalk appears and may be
cooked as greens or added to salads. They may be collected later in the summer, but they wilt and fall off
as the year progresses. The bulbs may be collected year round, but are best gathered in May through
August. If adding wild onions to soups or stews, it is best to do so during the last 10 minutes of cooking, as
16
cooking them longer may make them slightly bitter. They are also good baked in bread. To make an onion
or garlic flavored oil, put peeled bulbs in a jar and cover with oil. Let it sit, and the oil will take up the
flavor. The same bulbs may be used for several fillings of oil.
Wild onions were widely used by Native Americans as medicines as well. A. cernuum was used
by the Cherokee to treat colds, sore throats and “liver complaints.” A decoction of the bulbs of A. stellatum
was used by others to treat colds as well. Wild onion soup is a good meal when one is sick.
Wild onions may also be used as an insect repellant, however this may also keep fellow humans
away, as well as the bugs.
These plants are easily propagated by transplanting the bulbs or bulblets.
17
Allium cernuum Roth.
Nodding Wild Onion
Liliaceae (Lily family)
Miami Term: wiinhsihsia (wild onion)
Use: food, medicine, insect repellant
Parts Used: bulb, bulblets, leaves
Botanical Description:
Similar to A. stellatum, but umbel nodding, flowers rose or white, and blooms earlier (July-Aug).
Usually flowering, without bulblets. Found in dry rocky soils and open woods and prairies. Range from
B.C. east to Alberta and to N.Y., south to Georgia, west to Texas, north to S. Dak. and Mo.
Miami Use:
Wild Onions were a preferred vegetable of the Miami Indians. To prepare them, they would
“clean them, cut them fine, and cook them in grease till wilt. Then they would add a little water, salt and
pepper, and then thicken with flour.” (Dunn)
Other Use:
All wild onions are used similarly, see Allium canadense.
18
Allium stellatum Ker. Gawler.
Wild Onion
Liliaceae (Lily family)
Miami Term: wiinhsihsia (wild onion)
Use: food, medicine, insect repellant
Parts Used: bulb, bulblets, leaves
Botanical Description:
Herb, 1-2’ tall. Leaves 6-18” long, less than 1” wide, grass-like, arising from a bulb, strongly
aromatic. Flowers perfect, lavender to pink, ¼” long, 3 petals, 3 petal-like sepals, in an erect umbel, 2½”
wide. Blooms July-Sept. Fruit a capsule with three lobes. Found on rocky slopes, prairies and shorelines.
Range from Saskatchewan east to Ontario, south through Ind. to Ark., west to Tex.
Miami Use:
Wild Onions were a preferred vegetable of the Miami Indians. To prepare them, they would
“clean them, cut them fine, and cook them in grease till wilt. Then they would add a little water, salt and
pepper, and then thicken with flour.” (Dunn)
Other Use:
All wild onions are used similarly, see Allium canadense.
19
Allium vineale L.
Field Garlic
Liliaceae (Lily family)
Miami Term: wiinhsihsia (wild onion)
Use: food, medicine, insect repellant
Parts Used: bulb, bulblets, leaves
Botanical Description:
Like A. canadense, but with green, white, pink or purple flowers, small, long tailed bulbs, leaves
cylindrical and hollow, one bract beneath inflorescence. Strong garlic odor. Introduced from Europe, now
a weed from Wisc. east to Ontario and Maine, south to Fla. and west to Louisiana.
Miami Use:
Wild Onions were a preferred vegetable of the Miami Indians. To prepare them, they would
“clean them, cut them fine, and cook them in grease till wilt. Then they would add a little water, salt and
pepper, and then thicken with flour.” (Dunn)
Other Use:
All wild onions are used similarly, see Allium canadense.
20
Apios americana Medik.
Common Groundnut
Fabaceae (Legume family)
Miami Term: eepiikanita
Use: food
Parts Used: tubers, seeds
Botanical Description:
Small, perennial twining vine, to 10’ long. Flowers maroon to reddish brown, clustered in a
compact raceme in leaf axils, individual flowers ½” long, pea-shaped with keel upturned and sickle-shaped.
Blooms June-Sept. Leaves alternate, 4-8” long, pinnately compound, with 5-9 smooth, egg-shaped leaflets,
1½-2½” long. Fruit a dry, coiling pod, 3/16-3/8” long, with several seeds. Root a string of usually 2 or
more walnut sized tubers, 1-1½” thick. Found in rich, moist soil of thickets, meadows, streambanks and
open woods. Range from N. Dak. east to Maine and Nova Scotia, south to Fla., and west to Tex.
Miami Use:
The Miamis ate the tuberous roots.
Other Use:
The tubers may be eaten and were an important food source for the Native Americans and early
European settlers. The root was eaten by such tribes as the Cherokee, Chippewa, Dakota, Delaware,
Huron, Iroquois, Menominee, Meskwaki, Mohegan, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, Potawatomi, Seminole, and
Winnebago. The Menominee were known to cook the roots with maple sugar. Groundnuts were so
important to the early European colonists that they passed a law in the mid-seventeenth century which
prohibited Native Americans from digging groundnuts on land claimed by the settlers.
To prepare Groundnuts, peel the roots and boil for 20 minutes. You may also roast them, or fry
them in fat or oil. They were often cooked with fatty meats. The taste becomes disagreeable when cold.
21
They may also be dried, ground into flour, and used when making bread or thickening soup. Especially
important as a winter and famine food. Some consider the taste to be superior to candied yams. The tubers
may be collected year-round, but are best in late fall to early spring.
The seeds may also be cooked and eaten. Uncooked seeds a substitute for pinto beans. Collect the
seeds in summer.
Groundnuts are easily propagated. Plant the tubers 2-3 inches deep in the early spring. Once the
young shoots emerge, provide something for them to climb on. They are ready to harvest after one or more
years of growth. The yield of tubers per plants is relatively low, but research has been done on developing
more productive varieties.
22
Apocynum cannabinum L.
Indian Hemp, Dogbane
Apocynaceae (Dogbane family)
Miami Terms: ahsapa
Use: cordage, medicine, gum
Part Used: outer bark, leaves, sap
Botanical Description:
Colonial, bushy perennial, 1-4” tall. Stems reddish-purple, exuding milky sap when broken.
Leaves opposite, smooth. One erect, fertile main stem, with side branches sterile. Flowers small, bell-like,
¼” long, in erect clusters, radially symmetric, calyx and corolla of 5 fused parts, corolla often twisted in
bud, white to green, fragrant. 5 stamens. Blooms June-Aug. Fruit is 2 pods, paired, 3-8” long, slender,
containing plumose seeds. Found in fields, thickets, moist woodland borders, along ponds and streams and
on sandy shores. Range from s. Canada south, mostly from N. Dak. east to NY, south to Fla., west to Tex.,
occasionally found in the west to the Pacific. POISONOUS.
May be confused with Bitter Root, also known as Spreading Dogbane (A. androsaemifolium). A.
cannabinum is somewhat smaller, the leaves are oblong and the flowers are greenish white and erect, while
A. androsaemifolium is generally larger, the leaves are rounded at the stalk and tapered at the end and the
flowers are pink and nodding. Both species are POISONOUS.
Young shoots may be confused with the edible Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).
Milkweed shoots are more stout and downy-hairy, while Dogbane shoots are quickly branching and
hairless.
Miami Use:
Fiber and cordage was obtained from this plant. Its primary use was to make fishnets (Dunn).
23
Other Use:
Dogbane was used by many tribes for cordage, including the Cahuilla, California Indian,
Cherokee, Chippewa, Kickapoo (called it a0apya), Kutenai, Luiseño, Mendocino Indian, Meskwaki,
Modoc, Nez Perce, Okanagan-Coolville, Okanagon, Northern Paiute, Shawnee (called it waaph0apya),
Shuswap and the Thompson. The Thompson cut the stems in October. These were soaked, and sometimes
split in half. The fibrous outer skin was peeled, and the brittle inner skin was discarded. Dried, the fiber
could be stored indefinitely.
A poultice of chewed up leaves was applied to wounds. The plant was also used to treat
rheumatism, cough, poisoning, worms, and rabies (hence the name Dogbane). However, since a decoction
of roots taken monthly supposedly renders one permanently sterile, using this plant medicinally is not
advised.
The Isleta made a chewing gum by mixing the gummy latex with clean clay. The Kiowa made a
gum from Dogbane latex as well, by letting it dry overnight.
24
Aralia nudicaulis L.
Wild Sarsaparilla
Araliaceae (Ginseng family)
Miami Term: maahkwana*
Use: tonic, beverage, medicine
Part Used: root
Botanical Description:
Perennial herb, 8-20” tall, with a long rhizome. Three compound leaves, with 3-5 leaflets, lanceshaped to ovate, 3-6” long, finely toothed. Flowers clustered into 2 or more umbels of small greenishwhite flowers, with five reflexed petals, clusters 2” wide. Blooms July-Aug. Fruit a cluster of dark purple
berries. Found in upland woods. Range from Alberta east to Newfoundland, south to the mountains in
Georgia, west to Neb. and N. Dak. Also in the Northwest.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
An infusion of the roots was used by many tribes as a tonic or beverage, including the Bella
Coola, Chippewa, Oklahoma Delaware, Meskwaki, Iroquois, Mohegan, Ojibwa, Okanagan, and Thompson
Indians.
A poultice of the root was used by several tribes to treat burns and sores. A decoction of the root
was used to treat cough. Sarsaparilla was also used to treat acne.
25
26
Arisaema triphyllum (L.) Schott.
Jack-in-the-pulpit, Indian Turnip
Araceae (Arum family)
Mismi Term: wiikopayiisia*
Use: food, medicine
Part Used: root
Botanical Description:
Perennial herb, 1-3’ tall. Flowers typical of the Araceae, with a spadix (“Jack”) sitting inside a
spathe (“the pulpit”) with a curved hood, 2-3” tall, solitary, green often with purple stripes. Blooms AprilJune. Usually 2 leaves, on long stalks, with 3 leaflets and parallel veins. Mature fruit a cluster of scarlet
berries. Found in rich, moist woods and swamps. Range from Manitoba east to Nova Scotia, south to Fla.,
west to Tex.
Miami Use:
The root of this plant was eaten by the Miamis. Since the plant contains chemicals which cause
burning in the mouth, they dried it to make it edible. Dunn observed that Jack-in-the-pulpit “is an actual
poison if it is eaten raw; but [the Miami] cut it in very thin slices, and cook it in an oven during three days
and three nights; thus by heat they cause the acrid substance which renders it poisonous to evaporate in
steam . . .” (Dunn)
Other use:
WARNING: Like Skunk Cabbage, the entire plant of Jack-in-the-pulpit contains calcium oxalate
crystals, and the undried plant causes a burning sensation or even blistering. Thinly sliced and dried, this
plant can be eaten like potato chips, or ground into a flour. Like the Miami, the Potawatomi also cooked
the thinly sliced roots for three days. Collect corms from fall to early spring.
A poultice of the root was used to treat headache by the Cherokee, Pawnee, and Iroquois. It was
used to treat swellings, bruises and sores by the Cherokee, Iroquois, Micmac, Mohegan, Pawnee,
27
Penobscot, Rappahonnock, and Meskwaki. It was used to treat sore eyes by the Chippewa, Iroquois,
Menominee and Ojibwa.
28
Asclepias syriaca L.
Common Milkweed, Purple M.
Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed family)
Miami Term: leninši
Use: food, medicine
Parts Used: shoots, young leaves, flower buds,
flowers, young fruit, latex, outer bark
Botanical Description:
A colonial perennial, 2-6’ tall, covered in downy hairs, generally unbranched, stem exuding milky
sap when broken. Leaves opposite, oval to elliptic, large, thick and downy underneath, 4-10” long.
Individual flowers small, ½“ wide, pink, in clusters 2-4” wide. Blooms from May-Aug. Seed pods are
pointed, gray-green and warty, containing many seeds with silky tufts of white hairs. Found in prairies,
pastures, old fields, waste places, disturbed areas and along roadsides. Range from N. Dak. east to Nova
Scotia, south to Georgia, and west to Texas.
CAUTION: Do not confuse with A. tuberosa (Butterfly Weed), which has orange flowers and
lacks a milky sap. Butterfly Weed is POISONOUS. Young shoots of the edible A. syriaca may be
confused with those of the POISONOUS Dogbanes, except Milkweed is downy-hairy and slow to branch
while the Dogbanes are hairless and quickly branching.
Miami Use:
The shoots of the Common (Purple) Milkweed (A. syriaca) were preferred as greens, and prepared
like asparagus. One source noted that plants with four leaves or fewer were used. Godfroy described the
plant by saying it “has substance.” Adding vinegar improves the taste. The flower buds were added to
soup (Dunn).
29
Other Use:
Common Milkweed was widely eaten among Native Americans, including the Chippewa, Dakota,
Iroquois, Meskwaki, Mohegan, Ojibwa, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, Potawatomi, and Winnebago. It makes
one of the better wild greens. The milky sap is bitter and slightly toxic, but these qualities are lost upon
boiling. To prepare the young shoots, leaves, flower buds and young pods, boil in 6” of water for 15 min,
using several changes. Make sure to use boiling water to change. Using cold water and bringing it back to
a boil is less effective, and tends to fix the bitterness. The first few changes of water should be rapid, with
just over a minute between changes. They may be cooked with meat or added to cornmeal mush. Flower
clusters may be dipped in boiling water for 1 minute, then in batter and fried to make fritters. Collect
shoots (less than 8” tall) and young leaves in spring. Collect the buds, flowers and pods (less than 1” long)
during the summer. It is also possible to harvest the sweet dew from the flowers. Collect the flowers in the
morning, when still covered in dew, squeeze, and boil to make sugar.
Milkweed is nutritious, and contains vitamins A and C. It also contains a host of other chemicals,
such as cardiac glycosides, similar to those found in Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), used to treat heart
diseases. It also contains resinoids and alkaloids. Monarch Butterfly caterpillars eat milkweed, and use
these chemicals to make themselves toxic to predators.
Common Milkweed has a number of medicinal uses. An infusion of the root combined with
Virgin’s Bower can be taken for backache. The milky sap was used to treat bee stings, cuts and ringworm.
The Cherokee, Iroquois, and Rappahonnock also used Milkweed to treat warts. An infusion of dried,
pulverized roots and rhizomes was taken by women as a temporary contraceptive. Milkweed was also said
to produce post-birth milk flow in the mother.
Industrially, the outer bark was used to make a fine thread by the Cherokee, Menominee, and
Meskwaki. The fibers were chewed by little boys to make popgun wadding. The milky sap was used as a
glue.
Milkweed is easy to propagate. Sow the seeds in the fall, or stratify (cold treatment) and plant in
the spring. It may also be propagated by spring cuttings, or root divisions in the fall or early spring.
30
31
Asclepias variegata L.
White Milkweed
Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed family)
Miami Term: alemontehsa
Use: none
Parts Used: none
Botanical Description:
A. variegata is similar to A. syriaca, but usually about 3’ tall, flowers white, or pink tinged, in
clusters 2½”-3” wide. Blooms from May-June. Found in open woods and thickets. Range from Oklahoma
northeast to Illinois and Ohio, east to NY. and Conn., south to Fla.
Miami Use:
The Miami did not eat the shoots of the smaller species of milkweed, nor the white-flowered
milkweed (A. variegata), which is considered poisonous. They don’t use the small purplish stemmed plant
with slim sharp-pointed leaves (Dunn).
Other Use:
None.
32
Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal
Pawpaw, Indiana Banana
Annonaceae (Custard-apple family)
Miami Terms: mihsiimišaahkwi
mihsiimini (fruit)
ahsiimini (alt. form)
Use: food, cordage
Parts Used: fruit, inner bark
Botanical Description:
A small understory tree, 6-20’ tall. Bark mostly smooth. Twigs somewhat hairy. End buds long,
naked, and dark brown to reddish-hairy. Flowers with six maroon to purple petals, nodding and appearing
before the leaves in the early spring, 1” wide. Leaves alternate, toothless, 6-12”. Fruit large and fleshy,
slightly resembling a banana, 2½-6” long, 1-1½” wide, in clusters of 3-5, and with large seeds, appearing
from Aug.-Oct. Found in rich soil, along stream banks and in woods. Range from e. Neb and s. Iowa east
to N.J. and s. Ont., south to Fla., west to e. Tex.
Miami Use:
The fruit was eaten (Dunn).
Other Use:
This is many people’s favorite native food. In addition to the Miami, Pawpaw was eaten by the
Cherokee and Iroquois. The pulp is eaten raw or cooked. The fruit is collected in the fall when green, and
then set aside until dark brown and ripe. Fully ripened fruits are difficult to find in the wild, as they are
favorites of opossum, squirrels, raccoons, foxes, and other wildlife.
33
Pawpaw is good in recipes for pies and bread. To make Pawpaw ice cream, add 3 cups raw
pawpaw pulp, 5 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 grated lemon peel, 1 cup orange juice, and 1½ cups honey.
Whip, and add 3 cups cream. Pour in a cake pan and freeze. Makes about 2 quarts.
The Cherokee made a strong fiber from the inner bark.
34
Carpinus caroliniana Walt.
Ironwood, Musclewood, Hornbeam
Betulaceae (Birch family)
Miami Term: myaalwaamiši
Use: none
Parts Used: none
Botanical Description:
Tall shrub or small tree, 20-40’ tall, 10-20” wide. Bark smooth and grey, trunk deeply rippled and
muscular-looking. Twigs either hairy or smooth. Leaves alternate, simple, oblong, 1-5” long, doubly
toothed. Plants monoecious, with flowers in catkins. Blooms in April. Fruit a small nut, attached leafy
bracts with 3 points, from Aug-Oct. Found in rich soils of moist woods in bottomlands, and elsewhere.
Range from e. Minn. east to Nova Scotia, south to New England and Fla., west to Tex.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
None.
35
Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch
Pecan
Juglandaceae (Walnut Family)
Miami Terms: kaanseenseemini (fruit)
Use: food, syrup, medicine
Parts Used: nut, sap, leaves
Botanical Description:
Tall tree, to 120’ tall and 4’ in diameter. Bark light brown to gray, irregularly furrowed into
narrow ridges. Leaves large, 12-30” long, pinnately compound with 9-17 leaflets, leaflets narrow, glossy,
asymmetrical and often recurved at the tip, edges slightly toothed, turning yellow in fall. Male
inflorescence a slender catkin, female flowers in spikes of 3-10. Fruit a nut surrounded by a dark brown,
thin, oblong husk which splits into four sections, 1¼-2”, 3-10 in cluster. Found in rich, moist and well
drained soil of floodplains and valleys, especially in mixed hardwood bottomland forests. Range from
Iowa, east to Indiana and sw. Ohio, south to Ala., west to cent. Tex. and northern Mexico.
Miami Use:
The plant grows fast in the Quapaw Reservation and in same latitude elsewhere begins to bear
fruit when six or seven years old. The plants grow taller in sheltered (understory) areas than in the open.
Plants in the prairie branch sideways due to frequent storms (Dunn). Today, there are several pecan groves
on tribal property in Miami, Oklahoma, and the tribe runs a pecan business.
Other Use:
The nuts are gathered in the fall, and used like those of the Black Walnut (Juglans nigra). Pecan
is one of the most valuable cultivated plants originating in North America. The sap may be tapped in early
spring and used to make syrup (see Sugar Maple, Acer saccharum).
The Comanche used a poultice of pulverized leaves to treat ringworm.
36
37
Celtis occidentalis L.
Northern Hackberry
Ulmaceae (Elm family)
Miami Term: pakamaakaniši
Use: firewood, spice
Parts Used: wood, fruit
Botanical Description:
Medium to large tree, 20-90’ tall, 1-3’ in diameter. Branches often deformed and referred to as
“witches’-brooms.” Bark gray or light brown, smooth with warts and ridges. Twigs light brown, mostly
hairy, chambered. Leaves alternate, ovate, upper portion sharply toothed, base round and unequal, smooth
or rough-hairy above, usually hairy on 3 main veins below, 2-7” long, 1½-2 ½” wide, turning yellow in fall.
Flowers ephemeral, in the spring. Fruit a dry drupe, orange-red to purple, ¼-3/8“ in diameter, with a
conspicuously pitted stone, appearing in Oct-Nov. Found in moist, rich soil of river valleys, upland slopes,
bluffs and mixed hardwood forests. Range from Manitoba and N. Dak. east to New England, and s.
Quebec, south to n. Ga., west to nw. Oklahoma, locally in NC, Ala. and Miss. Distinguished from other
hackberries by having toothed leaves.
Miami Use:
“The tree gives a good fuel.” (Gatschet)
Other Use:
The hard stone and fruit were pounded and used as a meat seasoning. The Dakota, western Keres,
Meskwaki, Omaha and Pawnee used it as a food or spice.
38
Cercis canadensis L.
Redbud
Fabaceae (Legume family)
Miami Term: eeyoonsaaweekiša
Use: food, medicine, dye
Parts Used: buds, flowers, young fruit, roots, inner bark
Botanical Description:
Small tree, 40-50’ tall, diameter to 1’. Showy pink clusters of ½” perfect flowers. Redbud is one
of the first colors to emerge in the early spring, before the leaves, from March-May. Leaves heart shaped,
2-6”, smooth margin, turning yellow in fall. Twigs hairless. Buds scaly, mostly more than one bud per leaf
scar, end bud false. Leaf scars mostly fringed with hairs. Fruit a dry pod, 2½-3¾” long, appearing in July
and lasting throughout the winter. Found in moist soils of valleys, slopes and hardwood forests. Range
from Conn. and New Jersey, south to cent. Fla., west to central Tex., north to Neb., also in northern
Mexico.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
The buds, flowers, and tender young fruit are all edible, and are good simmered in butter for 10
min. Collect flowers and buds in early spring, young pods in early summer.
The red roots yield a dye.
An infusion of the roots and inner bark was used by the Alabama for congestion and fever. An
infusion of the bark was used by the Cherokee to treat whooping cough, and by the Delaware (Okl.) to
reduce fever and calm nausea.
39
40
Cornus florida L.
Flowering Dogwood
Cornaceae (Dogwood family)
Miami Terms: akanteemiši (M)
iihkalomiši (P)
iihkalwimini (fruit)
Use: arrows*, dye, medicine
Parts Used: branches, root, root bark
Botanical Description:
Smaller tree, with spreading to horizontal branches, 10-40’ tall, 8-18” wide. Bark checkered, dark
reddish brown. Young twigs sometimes green, but mostly purple. Flower buds on long stalks. Flowers
small, appearing in spring before the leaves, usually clustered in groups of 4, subtended by four large
showy white or seldom pink bracts (not true petals), 3-4” across. Blooms March-June. Leaves opposite, 25” long, elliptical, with 5-7 curved veins on either side of the midvein, hairless above, fine hairs beneath,
short stalked, turning bright red in fall. Fruit a small, elliptical berry-like drupe, 3/8-5/8”, shiny red,
clustered on the end of a long stalk, appearing from Aug.-Nov. Found in moist and dry soils of uplands and
valleys, in old fields and the understory of hardwood forests. Commonly cultivated. Range from s.
Ontario, to sw. Maine, south to n. Fla., west to e. central Tex. and ne. Mexico, north and east to cent. Mich.
Miami Use:
The wood of dogwood trees was used to make bird arrows with blunt tips. Hickory wood was also
used for this purpose. Both sink in water (Dunn). Gatschet makes a special note of iihkalwimini
neehpikanki, the dogwood berry, observing that it was red. There are several species of dogwood in this
area, but the only one with a red fruit is the Eastern Flowering Dogwood, C. florida.
41
Other Use:
Powdered bark may be turned into a toothpaste, or mixed with iron sulphate to make a black ink.
Root bark yields a red dye.
An infusion of the root bark was used medicinally by the Cherokee and Houma to treat fevers and
malaria. It was used as a general blood tonic by the Cherokee, Delaware (Okl.), Iroquois and the
Rappahannock.
42
Cornus sericea L.
Red Osier Dogwood
Cornaceae (Dogwood family)
Miami Term: neehpikaahkwi
Use: ceremonial, arrow poison
Parts Used: bark, sap
Botanical Description:
Small shrub with several main branches, or rarely a tree, usually less than 10’ tall, 3” in diameter.
Bark gray or brown, smooth or in flat plates. Twigs slender, purplish red, with rings at nodes and white
pith. Leaves opposite, 1½-3½” long, elliptical, toothless, 5-7 long curved veins on each side of midvein,
whitish green, with hairs beneath, turning red in fall. Flowers white, small, ¼”, in umbel-like clusters.
Blooms from May-Aug. Fruit a small, whitish drupe, from July-Oct. Found in moist soils, especially
along streams, often forming thickets inside forests. Range from cent. Alaska east to Newfoundland, south
to n. Va., scattered in the west to Calif. and n. Mexico.
Miami Use:
The dried bark of the Red Osier Dogwood was dried and scraped fine, and used for killikinnick
(Dunn, George Winter).
Other Use:
This plant was used ceremonially by several tribes, including the Apache, Cheyenne, Dakota,
Gosiute, Montana Indians, Ojibwa, Omaha, Ponca and Thompson Indians.
The Thompson Indians used the sap as an arrow poison.
43
Corylus americana Walter.
American Hazelnut
Betulaceae (Birch family)
Miami Terms: paahkiteensaahkwi
paahkiteensi (fruit)
Use: food
Part Used: nut
Botanical Description:
Shrub, to 10’ tall. Twigs and leaf stalks with stout hairs, bundle scars 3 or more. Blunt buds, with
scales and false end buds. Leaves alternate, somewhat heart-shaped, with doubly toothed edges, 1-5”.
Separate male and female inflorescences. Blooms as the leaves appear, from March-May. Fruit a dry nut,
½”, in hairy, ragged edged husks, ½-1”, opening at one end to expose nut, from March-Sept. Found in dry
or moist soils of thickets and along the edge of forests. Range from Saskatchewan east to Maine, south to
Ga., west to Okla. and Mo.
Miami Use:
None recorded
Other Use:
The nuts were eaten by many tribes, including the Cherokee, Chippewa, Dakota, Iroquois,
Menominee, Meskwaki, Ojibwa, Omaha, Ponca, Potawatomi, and Winnebago. Many tribes preferred the
nuts while they were in the “milk stage,” before they were hardened and fully ripe. At this point, the meat
is softer and sweeter. The nuts are also known as filberts. Be quick to gather them in late summer or early
fall, as they are a favorite of wildlife as well as humans. They may be eaten raw, roasted, ground into flour,
or candied.
44
Wild hazelnuts have more flavor than the European cultivars. Several cultivars are available. To
ensure cross pollination, plant at least two different cultivars a few yards apart. Hazelnuts do well as screen
hedges around homes and along fences.
45
Diospyros virginiana L.
Common Persimmon
Ebenaceae (Ebony family)
Miami Terms: pyaakimišaahkwi
pyaakimini (fruit)
Use: food, tea
Parts Used: fruit, leaves
Botanical Description:
Shrub or tree, 20-70’ tall, 1-2’ in diameter, sometimes colonial. Bark black to brown, in small
square scaly blocks. Twigs brown or gray, hairy. Buds with two scales, very dark, end buds false, 1
bundle scar. Leaves alternate, ovate or elliptical, toothless, hairless above, hairless to densely hairy below,
2-6” long, 1½-3” wide, turning yellow in fall. Flowers greenish-yellow, 4-lobed, bell shaped and fragrant.
Plants functionally dioecious (separate male and female plants), the female plants with nonfunctional
anthers. Blooms May-June. Fruit an orange to purplish-brown berry, 1½” in diameter, containing 4-8
large, flat seeds, mature before frost (Aug.-Oct.) and often persisting throughout winter. Found in moist
soils of valleys, dry uplands, roadsides, old fields, clearings and mixed forests. Range from e. Kans. and
extreme se. Iowa east to s. Conn., south to s. Fla., and west to cent. Tex.
Miami Use:
The Miami ate persimmon fruit.
Other Use:
The flavor of the fruit resembles that of dates. They are eaten fresh, or used to make pudding,
cake, beverages, and bread. They may also be dried and stored. The fruits are ripe around the time of the
first frost, but do not ripen because of the frost. To collect in bulk, spread a sheet under the tree, shake the
branches and separate the ripe from the unripe fruit. The pulp is rich in iron, potassium, and vitamin C.
46
The dried leaves may also be used to make a tea rich in vitamin C.
47
Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.
Beech
Fagaceae (Beech family)
Miami Term: sansakamiši*
Use: food, oil
Part Used: nut
Botanical Description:
Tall tree, 60-80’ tall, 1-3’ in diameter. Bark smooth gray. Twigs hairless or with long hairs, buds
with many scales, slender. Leaves elliptic, coarse-toothed, 1-5” long, 1-3” wide, turning yellow and brown
in fall. Male and female flowers on the same plant, the male inflorescence a small, drooping head, the
female flowers usually paired. Flowers from April-May. Fruit a small and triangular nut (3/8”), enclosed
in a bur-like husk (½-¾”), each containing 2-3 nuts, from Sept.-Oct. Found in rich, moist soils of upland
forests, and well drained soils of lowlands. Range from e. Wisc. east to s. Ontario and Nova Scotia, south
to n. Fla. and west to Tex.
Miami Use:
None recorded
Other Use:
The nuts were eaten by several tribes, including the Algonquin, Chippewa, Iroquois, Menominee,
Ojibwa and Potowatomi. Native Americans frequently relied on the winter stores of chipmunks and deer
mice. These were found in hollow logs or fallen trees when there was snow on the ground, or by the litter
around the cache. A single store could contain 4-8 quarts of nuts. This was an efficient way to gather nuts,
as it saved hours of collecting and shucking. Also, the mice only collect high quality nuts. The kernels are
good roasted and eaten whole or ground into flour. A high quality vegetable oil can be squeezed from the
crushed kernels. Roasted, they may be used as a coffee substitute. Usually, only the trees in the north
48
produce large quantities of nuts. Collect them in October, when they fall to the ground during the first few
frosts.
49
Fragaria vesca L.
Wood Strawberry
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Miami Term: ateehimini (fruit)
Use: food, tea
Parts Used: “fruit,” leaves
Botanical Description:
Like F. virginiana, but has flower stalks longer than the leaves, and the leaves are more sharply
pointed. Also the “fruit” is more conical, with the seed-like fruit on the surface of the receptacle rather than
in pits. Both flowers and fruit smaller. Found in moist, rocky woods and openings. Range from Canada
and the n. U.S. south to Mo., Va.
Miami Use:
The Miami ate strawberries.
Other Use:
Both species of strawberry were widely used by Native Americans. The Ojibwa regarded the fruit of the
Wood Strawberry to be a delicacy, and used it ceremonially. See F. virginiana.
50
Fragaria virginiana Duchesne.
Common Strawberry
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Miami Term: ateehimini (fruit)
Use: food, tea, medicine
Parts Used: “fruit,” leaves, root
Botanical Description:
Low, perennial creeping herb, reproducing asexually by runners. Flowers white, small, ½-1”
wide, on stalks usually shorter than the leaves, 3-6” long. 5 petals, 5 sepals, many pistils, many stamens.
Blooms Mar.-June. Leaves in basal rosettes, compound with 3 coarse-toothed leaflets, 2” long, on a long
hairy stalk. Fruit small and seed-like, in depressions on red, fleshy, enlarged receptacle. Found in open
fields, meadows and along the edges of woods. Range throughout North America, except for the Arctic
Islands and Greenland.
Miami Use:
The Miami ate strawberries.
Other Use:
Both species of strawberry were widely used by Native Americans. The fleshy red “fruit”
(enlarged receptacle) is good eaten raw, or turned into jelly and jam. Strawberries contain more vitamin C
than an equal weight of oranges. The fruit is ripe from May-July, and the Potawatomi called June the moon
of strawberries.
A tea, rich in vitamin C, can be made from the dried leaves.
An infusion of the root was used by the Ojibwa and Chippewa to treat “Cholera infantum” and
stomach aches.
51
52
Fraxinus nigra Marsh.
Black Ash, Basket A.
Oleaceae (Olive family)
Miami Term: peepihkwilakiki*
Use: baskets
Part Used: wood
Botanical Description:
Medium sized tree, 30-80’ tall, 1’ in diameter. Bark gray, corky and scaly. Twigs brown and
stout. Leaves pinnately compound, opposite, 12-16” long, with 7-11 leaflets, lance shaped, finely toothed,
stalkless, with tufts of rust-colored hairs on the midvein, each 3-5” long, 1-1½” wide. Flowers purplish,
lacking petals and sepals, in small, many-flowered clusters, 1/8” long. Blooms from April-May, before the
leaves appear. Separate male and female trees. Fruit a key, with a broad, oblong wing forming a flat body,
1-1½” long, in clusters, from June-Sept. Found in wet soils, swamps, bogs and streams, particularly in
poorly drained cold standing water. Range from se. Manitoba east to Newfoundland, south to W. Virg.,
west to Iowa.
Miami Use:
Used for baskets (Dunn).
Other Use:
When short logs are repeatedly pounded on their ends, the wood splits along the growth rings.
This is then cut into strips and used for weaving. Black Ash was used by several tribes for making baskets,
including the Abnaki, Chippewa, Malecite, Meskwaki, Micmac, and Ojibwa.
53
54
Gleditsia triacanthos L.
Honey Locust
Fabaceae (Legume family)
Miami Term: akaawinšaahkwa
Use: snack
Part Used: fruit pulp
Botanical Description:
Tall tree, 70-80’ tall, 2-3’in diameter. Bark dark, somewhat scaly, with stout, branched thorns,
several inches long. Leaves on spur shoots pinnately compound, those on long shoots are bipinnatelycompound, 4-15”, with 3-7 pairs of pinnae, each with 9-14 pairs of leaflets, turning yellow in fall. Leaflets
slightly toothed, oblong, 3/8-1½”. Leaf bases and scars encircling buds, end buds false, three bundle scars.
Flowers small and greenish, with separate male and female inflorescences. Blooms May-July. Fruit a
flattened, twisted pod, 8-18” long, with numerous oval seeds, surrounded by sweet pulp, from Sept.-Feb.
Found in rich woods and fields, often in flood plains and dry upland limestone hills, also in waste places.
Range from se. S. Dak. east to Penn., south along Appalachian mountains to nw. Fla, west to se. Tex.
Similar to Water Locust (G. aquatica) but Honey Locust is larger, with narrower leaflets, thorns
branching, and pods only 2” long. Also similar to Black Locust (Robinia pseudo-acacia), but Honey
Locust is branched, unpaired thorns, while Black Locust has unbranched, paired thorns. CAUTION: Do
not confuse pods with those of the POISONOUS Kentucky Coffee-tree (Gymnocladus dioica), which is
thornless, has larger leaves and smaller pods.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
The sweet pulp from unripe fruit makes a tasty snack.
55
56
Helianthus tuberosus L.
Jerusalem Artichoke
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Miami Term: oonsaapeekateeki
Use: food
Part Used: tubers
Botanical Description:
Perennial wildflower, 3-10’ tall, branching at tops. Stem green or brown, rough-hairy. Leaves
with three main veins, broad, rough, lance-shaped, with winged stalks, upper leaves alternate, lower
opposite, 4-10” long. Flower sunflower-like, 2-3” wide, 12-20 “petals” (ray flowers), inner disc yellow,
bracts narrow and long-pointed. Blooms from Aug-Oct. Fruit dry, egg-shaped, hairy, less than ¼” long.
Found in moist soil in fields, roadsides, ditches, waste areas, damp thickets and along fencerows and
streambanks. Range from Saskatchewan east to Ontario, south to Ga., west to Ark. and Okla., also found in
the northwest, except in the far north.
Miami Use:
The tubers were eaten (Dunn).
Other Use:
The tuberous roots of Jerusalem Artichoke were used as food by the Cherokee, Cheyenne,
Chippewa, Dakota, Hopi, Huron, Iroquois, Lakota, Malecite, Micmac, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, Potawatomi
and Winnebago. This plant was often cultivated for its tubers. They may be eaten raw, or prepared like
potatoes. They may also be boiled briefly, and pickled for a few weeks in wine vinegar. Consume in
moderation, as this plant may cause gas. Baking them slowly makes them sweeter and more digestable.
Collect the tubers between the first frost and before the spring shoots emerge. One plant will produce 2-6
tubers, spreading 2 or more feet from the plant. Domesticated plants may produce more. To store tubers
57
over the winter, bury in a leaf insulated pit two feet deep. Cover with more leaves, then place a board and a
few plastic bags full of leaves on top. They will store this way for 2-3 weeks. Jerusalem Artichoke is high
in iron, and low in fat and carbohydrates. The sugar content of the tubers increases as they are stored.
The flower buds may be collected in the summer, and are good boiled, and served with butter.
58
Juglans cinerea L.
Butternut
Juglandaceae (Walnut family)
Miami Terms: kiinošiši
kiinošiši pakaani (fruit)
Use: food, oil, syrup, dye, medicine
Parts Used: nut, husk, sap, root, inner bark
Botanical Description:
Medium sized tree, 40-80’ tall, 1-2’ in diameter. Bark light gray, smooth to rough and deeply
furrowed. Twigs brown and stout, with sticky hairs and chambered pith. Leaves pinnately compound, 1524” long, with 11-17 leaflets. Leaflets 2-4½”, broadly lance-shaped, unequal at base, finely toothed,
stalkless, slightly hairy above and soft hairs beneath, turning yellow or brown in fall. Fruit an oily nut,
surrounded by a thick husk with 2 ridges and sticky, rust-colored hairs. Nut shell thick and light brown.
Found in moist or dry, rocky soils of hardwood forests in valleys or on slopes. Range from e. Minn. east to
s. Quebec and sw. New Brunswick, south to n. Georgia, west to Ark. Not in Oklahoma. Similar to Black
Walnut (J. nigra) but leaves usually with end leaflet, and fruit oblong and sticky. Butternut is becoming
very rare due to disease.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
The nuts of Butternut were eaten by several tribes, including the Quebec Algonquin, Cherokee,
Iroquois, Menominee, Meskwaki, and Potawatomi. The nuts become rancid quickly, and should be
harvested quickly after maturing from Oct-Nov. The immature fruits may be boiled and pickled. The nuts
59
are especially oily. The oil was used for cooking and ceremonially anointing the head. See Black Walnut,
J. nigra.
Butternut may be tapped in early spring for the sap to make syrup. See Sugar Maple, Acer
saccharum.
The husk of the fruit yields a yellow or orange dye. The roots and inner bark give a brown or
black dye.
The Potawatomi made a tea from the inner bark to treat upset stomachs.
60
Juglans nigra L.
Eastern Black Walnut, American W.
Juglandaceae (Walnut family)
Miami Terms: myaalweehki (Wea)
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P)
ayoonseeki (fruit, M, P)
myaalweehki pakaani (fruit, Wea)
Use: war bows, food, oil, syrup, medicine, dye
Parts Used: wood, nuts, husks, sap, leaves
Botanical Description:
Medium to tall tree, 70-100’ tall, 2-4’ wide. Bark dark brown, rough and deeply furrowed.
Young twigs brown and stout. Leaves large, 1-2’ long, and pinnately compound, often lacking terminal
leaflet, mildly spicy scented, turning yellow in fall. Leaflets 7-23, narrow and toothed, broadly lanceshaped, mostly hairless above, hairy beneath, 2½-5” long. Fruit a distinctly 2-valved nut inside a hard,
blackish brown shell, attached to a fleshy spherical green husk, 1½-2½” in diameter, appearing from Oct.Nov. Found in rich, moist, well drained soil, along streams and in deciduous woods. Range from s. Minn,
east to s. Ontario and w. Mass., south to nw. Fla., and west to e. Texas. Similar to Butternut (J. cinerea),
but leaves often without terminal leaflet, fruit more rounded and not sticky.
Miami Use:
No recorded use.
Other Use:
Black Walnuts were eaten by a number of tribes, including the Cherokee, Comanche, Dakota,
Iroquois, Kiowa, Lakota, Meskwaki, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, and Winnebago. The nuts are quite
nutritious, having 50% more protein per pound than meat. They may be consumed fresh, or dipped in
61
sugar to make a candy. They may also be ground into a flour. Crushed nuts when boiled will give a high
quality cooking oil, which separates from the water. The nuts are harvested in autumn, when they fall to
the ground, from Sept.-Oct. The husks must be taken off, and the nuts dried. One way to remove the husks
is to run them over with a car. CAUTION: The juice will stain hands and clothing. Spread the nuts in the
sun for 2-3 weeks to dry them, and then crack them open.
The sap can be tapped in early spring to make syrup. See Sugar Maple, Acer saccharum.
A dark brown or black dye can be made from the nuts and husks.
The Cherokee used a poultice of the leaves to treat ringworm. The Delaware (Okl.) used a
poultice of the husks for the same thing.
Black Walnut is one of the most desirable of the native hardwoods, and is now relatively scarce.
The wood commands such a high price that some trees have actually been stolen off properties.
62
Juniperus virginiana L.
Eastern Red Cedar
Cupressaceae (Cypress family)
Miami Term: šiinkwaahkwa (P)
(generic evergreen term)
Use: war bows, ceremonial, medicine, dye
Parts Used: wood, twigs, fruit, root, inner bark
Botanical Description:
Medium sized tree, 40’-50’ tall, 1-2’ in diameter. In open, windy areas may be shrubby and
creeping. Leaves evergreen, the older leaves scale-like and the younger needle-like or awl-shaped, 1/16”¾”, opposite along four rows, on leaders. Twigs 4-sided. Bark reddish brown, dry, fibrous and shredding.
Cones surrounded by fleshy tissue, berry-like, dark blue or whitish to blackish green, ¼” in diameter,
aromatic, juicy, sweet, containing 1-2 seeds. Found in dry uplands, especially on limestone, also in flood
plains and swamps, often along fencerows, sometimes in scattered pure stands. Range from North Dak.
east to s. Ontario, Maine and s. Quebec, south to n. Fla., west to Tex. Native in 37 states.
Miami Use:
Used to make the shorter or war bows. Black Locust and Mulberry were also used for this. Also,
the dried leaves were rubbed fine and used ceremonially (Dunn).
Other Use:
A compound decoction of twigs, fruits, and/or roots was used to treat rheumatism as an herbal
steam by the Chippewa and Delaware (Okl.). It was used internally by the Chippewa and Iroquois.
Smoke from smoldering branches was used to treat colds and coughs by several tribes. A
decoction of fruits and leaves was also used for this purpose.
The Ojibwa used the inner bark as a mahogany colored dye.
63
The boughs were placed on top of tepee poles by several tribes to ward off lightening.
64
Lindera benzoin (L.) Blume
Spicebush
Lauraceae (Laurel family)
Miami Terms: wiinaahkatwi
Use: tea, spice
Parts Used: twigs, bark, crushed berries, leaves
Botanical Description:
A highly branched shrub to 15’. Bark smooth. Leaves aromatic, elliptic, untoothed, smooth, 2-6”.
Flowers yellow, with 6 petal-like sepals. Blooms from March to May, before the leaves. Fruit an aromatic
berry, green when unripe, yellow or red when ripe, from July to Sept. Found in damp woods along
streams. Range from Mo. and Iowa, east through s. Mich. and s. Ontario to sw. Maine, south to Fla. and
west to Tex.
Miami Use:
Made a tea called wiinaahkatwaapowi (Dunn).
Other Use:
Steep 1 handful of twigs, bark, crushed berries, or young leaves in 4 cups of water for 15 minutes
to make a pleasant tea. This was widely drunk for its restorative qualities and as a tonic.
Dried and powdered berries are a substitute for allspice. The Cherokee used the berries to season
meats with strong tastes, such as groundhog and opossum.
65
66
Liriodendron tulipifera L.
Tulip-tree, Yellow Poplar, Tulip P.
Magnoliaceae (Magnolia family)
Miami Terms: oonseentiaahkwi
oonseentia (alt. form)
Use: canoes
Part Used: trunk
Botanical Description:
Very tall tree, 50-120’ tall, 2-6’ wide, sometimes larger. Bark dark gray, thick and deeply
furrowed. Twigs brown, hairless, ring scars at nodes, chambered pith. Leaves simple, with 4-6 short
pointed lobes, overall leaf shape somewhat square, 3-10”, turning yellow in fall. Flowers cup-shaped, 1½2”, 4 green sepals, six petals, green at tips, orange in the center, with many large yellow pistils. Blooms
from May-June. Fruit light brown, cone-like, 3” long, an aggregate of 1-1½” 1 or 2 seeded, winged nutlets,
appearing from Sept.-Nov., with the central stalks persisting throughout the winter. Found in moist, well
drained soil of valleys and slopes. Sometimes in pure stands. Range from se. Mo. east to cent. Mich. and
Vermont, south to n. Fla. and west to Louisiana.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
Early American settlers introduced this native North American tree to Europe because of its high
commercial value. A single trunk was hollowed out to make a long and lightweight canoe.
67
Maclura pomifera (Raf.) Schneid.
Osage Orange, Bodark
Moraceae (Mulberry family)
Miami Term: oonsaawaahkwa
Use: bows, dye
Parts Used: branches, wood chips, root bark
Botanical Description:
Medium sized tree, coppiced, with several main stems, 50-60’ tall, 1-2’ wide. Bark gray to
orange-brown, furrowed, fibrous, inner root bark orange and papery. Milky sap. Twigs may have thorns,
buds ball-shaped, end buds false. Leaves 2-5” long, 1½ -3” wide, smooth edge, turning yellow in fall.
Fruit a large, grapefruit sized green ball, 3-5” in diameter, with small ridges, appearing in Oct. Found in
moist soils in valleys. Native to e. Tex., se. Okla., and sw. Ark., now widely planted and escaped.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
The wood was used to make bows by the Comanche, Kiowa, Omaha, Pawnee, Pima, Ponca,
Seminole, and the Tewa. One of the names of this plant, Bodark, comes from the French bois d’arc, which
means “bow wood.”
Boiled wood chips and root bark yield a yellow dye.
Osage Orange is widely cultivated, and often planted as a living fencerow.
68
Morchella esculenta, M. spp.
Common Morel, Yellow M., and others
Morchellaceae (Morel family)
Miami Term: minohsakayi
Use: food
Part Used: fruiting body
Botanical Description:
Mushroom. Cap spongelike, oval to bluntly cone shaped, tan to grayish, with deep pits and
whitish ridges. 2-4” tall. Found in moist woods, often in oak ridges or stands of tulip poplar with
Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) growing underneath, also in old apple orchards and burned fields.
Found in spring.
CAUTION: Do not confuse with false morels. True morels appear only in the spring. Time of
fruiting varies based on your location, but generally sometime around April Their false look-alikes appear
in the spring, summer and fall.
Miami Use:
The morels are eaten (Dunn).
Other Use:
Morels are prepared like mushrooms. Good sautéed in butter.
CAUTION: Morels contain a chemical that interferes with the body’s metabolism of alcohol. Do
not drink alcohol within 2 hours of eating morels.
69
Morus rubra L.
Red Mulberry
Moraceae (Mulberry family)
Miami Terms: mihtekwapimiši
mihtekwapimina (fruit)
Use: food, bows, fiber
Parts Used: fruit, wood, inner bark
Botanical Description:
Medium sized tree, to 70’ tall, 2-3’ in diameter. Bark red-brown. Twigs brown and hairless, with
milky sap in twigs and leafstalks. Leaves alternate, fine-toothed, rough above, hairy below, often with 2-3
lobes, 3 main veins arising from an unequal base, 3-7” long, 2½-5“ wide, turning yellow in autumn. Plants
monoecious (male and female flowers on the same plant) or dioecious (separate male and female plants).
Flowers tiny, in hanging clusters. Fruit hanging, compound, green or pink when unripe, purple when ripe,
approx. 1” long, resembling a blackberry, appearing from May-July. Found in rich soil in open woods,
along fencerows and in flood plains. Range from se. Minn. east through s. Ontario to sw. Vt., south to s.
Fla., west to cent. Tex.
Miami Use:
The fruits were gathered and cooked as a vegetable. The wood was used for making bows (Dunn).
Other Use:
The fresh and dried fruits were eaten by several tribes, including the Cherokee, Comanche,
Iroquois, Omaha and the Seminole. They may also be made into jelly. To make juice, crush the berries
and collect the juice, add lemon and honey, and chill. The fruits are quite refreshing, and not as sweet as
many fruits. Gather the fruits in early summer, from May-July.
70
The young shoots can be gathered when the leaves are first appearing in the spring. These are
POISIONOUS, but become edible after 20 minutes of boiling.
WARNING: Unripe fruits and raw shoots are POISONOUS.
The inner bark yields a fiber, which may be used like that of Basswood.
71
Nelumbo lutea (Willd.) Pers.
American Lotus, Water Chinquapin,
Yellow Water Lily
Nelumbonaceae (Lotus family)
Miami Term: poohkhšikwalia
Use: food
Parts Used: roots, leaves, seeds
Botanical Description:
Aquatic plant. Leaves either held above water (up to 3’), or floating on the surface, leafstalk
attached in the center of the leaves, cup shaped if held above the water, flat and disc-like if floating on the
surface, 1-2’ wide. Flowers perfect, with many pale yellow petals and petal-like sepals, with one fading
into the other, flowers 6-10” wide, receptacle 3-4” wide, with numerous pits containing the pistils. Blooms
from July-Sept. Fruit dry and nut-like, embedded in round, flat-topped structures. Found in ponds and
quiet streams. Range from Minn. east to Maine, south to Fla., west to Tex., mostly west of the
Appalachians.
Miami Use:
The Miami ate the roots and seeds of this plant. Dunn notes, “the common mode of its preparation
by the Miami women was to gather the roots (tubers), soak them in lye to loosen the skin, and then peel and
boil them. The seeds were likewise soaked in lye, and shelled. Of these they made soup or cooked them as
desired.” DeGannes observed, “these give them no trouble to prepare; they merely cut [the root] into
pieces half as thick as ones wrist, string them, and hang them to dry in the sun or in the smoke.”
Trowbridge mentioned that these dried pieces were then often boiled with meat or eaten raw.
72
Other Use:
This plant was used as food by many tribes including the Comanche, Dakota, Huron, Meskwaki,
Ojibwa, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, Potawatomi and Winnebago. The enlarged rootstock may be boiled like
sweet potatoes. Gather the roots from the fall to early spring. The young leaves while still unrolling can
be collected in spring, and prepared like spinach. The immature seeds may be eaten raw or cooked. The
kernel of the fruit while green can be boiled, salted, and buttered, and it tastes like sweet corn. Kernels
from ripe seeds may be eaten like nuts or ground into flour. Collect seeds just as they mature in the
summer and fall. This plant is high in starch and protein.
73
Nicotiana rustica L.
Wild Tobacco
Solanaceae (Nightshade family)
Miami Terms: ahseema (plant or material)
myaamia ahseema (specific variety)
Use: ceremonial, insecticide, medicine
Part Used: leaves
Botanical Description:
Coarse annual, 1.5-3.5 feet tall. Leaves alternate, simple, entire, ovate to elliptic, 4-8 inches long,
fleshy with sticky hairs. Inflorescence a panicle, individual flowers green-yellow, tubular, broadly
cylindrical, ½-3/4” long, less than ½” wide. Fruit a capsule, with many small seeds. Range is Andean
South America, from Ecuador to Bolivia, sporadically naturalized in eastern U.S., commonly cultivated in
Europe and Asia. Once widely cultivated and naturalized in North America, now very rare or extinct
outside of cultivation.
Closely related to N. tabacum, which is the species used by the tobacco industry, which has white,
pink or red flowers, and is more of a stout annual, 3-10’ tall.
Miami Use:
The Miami raised a variety of tobacco called miamia sama. It does not grow as large as other
varieties. It was only used on special occasions such as when one went to the doctor. (Dunn).
Other Use:
This is the older species of tobacco. It is thought to have originated in Peru, following the
hybridization of N. paniculata and N. undulata. There is speculation as to how the plant was introduced to
Mexico and eastern North America, whether as a weed, a cultivated plant, or a wild plant. Since its seeds
are small, it could have reached new areas by natural means. It is cultivated in Mexico and the eastern
74
U.S., but less so in South America, where N. tabacum, the other species of smoking tobacco, appears to
have become the major cultivated variety. N. tabacum is the species of choice for the commercial tobacco
industry. Both species contain high levels of nicotine, the chemical which makes tobacco addictive. N.
rustica has nearly 15 times the nicotine content as N. tabaccum. This may be one reason why N. rustica is
used primarily for ceremonial purposes, while N. tabaccum is the species of choice for recreational use.
WARNING: Smoking causes cancer.
A decoction of the leaves has been used as a natural herbicide for hundreds of years.
Tobacco was used by the Cherokee and Iroquois to treat insect bites.
75
Nymphaea odorata Aiton.
White Water Lily, Fragrant W. L.
Nymphaeaceae (Water Lily family)
Miami Terms: mahkohpena
Use: food, medicine
Parts Used: roots, leaves, flower buds, seeds
Botanical Description:
Aquatic plant. Leaves the familiar “lily pad,” on long stalks, round, 4-12” wide, with a single
cleft, green above, purplish red beneath. Flowers large, white and showy, 3-5” wide, with yellow stamens,
four green sepals, many petals. Blooms only in the morning, from June-Sept. The most common native
white flowered water lily. Found in ponds, shallow lakes and quiet water. Range from Minn. and
Saskatchewan east to Newfoundland, south to Fla. and west to Tex. Widely distributed in the west.
Miami Use:
The roots were collected, dried and eaten. Trowbridge notes, “[the root] is very tough and
requires considerable preparation before it is fit for use. They find it as large as a mans [sic] wrist and one
to two feet long. After taking up a considerable quantity of it, they dig a hole in the ground, upon the
bottom of which they place a layer of stones, on these a layer of wood and on top another layer of stones.
They set the wood on fire, and when it is consumed they cover the heated stones with dry moss, and then
throw into the hole the mukoapineek [N. odorata]. This is covered with grass or moss, and bark, and
having filled the hole with water, they cover it with earth. They suffer it to remain untouched for five days,
when they take out the roots and cut them into small pieces, after which they are dried upon a scaffold and
put away for use. They are preserved in this way for a year, and whenever they have use for them, they
throw a quantity into the soup kettle before the meat is thoroughly cooked.” DeGannes recorded a similar
preparation: “I have seen the women pull the roots up from the ground at the bottom of the water into
which they wade sometimes up to the waist, so that they often duck their heads under the water to pluck
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them up. There are some as big as ones leg. The savages assert that they are poisonous when raw, which I
hardly believe. The women have peculiar difficulty in cooking them. Sometimes three or four cabins
combine and dig a hole in the ground five or six feet deep and ten or twelve square. They throw a great
deal of wood into it, which they set on fire and when it is aflame they throw in a number of rocks, which
they take care to turn over with a big lever until they are all red; then they go in quest of a large quantity of
grass which they get at the bottom of the water and which they spread as well as they can over these rocks
to the thickness of about a foot, after which they throw on many buckets of water and then as fast as they
can each cabin puts its roots in its own place, covering them over with dry grass and bark and finally earth.
They leave them thus for three days. They shrink to half their former size.” The root was also used
medicinally in an unspecified manner (Dunn).
Other Use:
Collect the tubers from fall until early spring. The young, unrolled leaves and unopened flowers
are edible and may be boiled for 5-10 and served with butter. Collect the leaves in spring and the flower
buds in summer. The seeds may be fried like popcorn, or parched, and ground into flour or creamed like
corn. They are high in starch, oil, and protein. Collect the seeds in the fall.
CAUTION: Some tribes, including the Miami, considered the root to be poisonous, at least when
raw.
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Opuntia humifusa (Raf.) Raf.
Eastern Prickly Pear
Cactaceae (Cactus family)
Miami Term: ilenoonkwia
Use: food
Parts Used: fruit, pads
Botanical Description:
A clustering cactus, 1’ tall, clusters to 3’ wide. Flowers radially symmetric, with many flower
parts, yellow, 2-3” wide. Spines 1-2, or absent, with tufts of barbed glochids (bristles) at their base.
Blooms May-Aug. Fruit a large, green to purple berry, from Aug.-Oct. Stems flat, fleshy, green pads.
Found in sandy or rocky soils, in clearings. Range from s. Minn. and S. Dak. east to Quebec and Mass.,
south to Fla., west to e. Tex. Often cultivated.
Miami Use:
Thought by Dunn to be a mushroom, Gatschet identified it as the prickly pear. No use recorded
Other Use:
The fleshy pulp of the fruit is juicy, refreshing, and not as sweet as many fruits. To remove the
bristles on the skin of the fruit, wipe it with a moist cloth. It is best to remove the skin and the seeds. Save
the seeds because they can be ground into a flour or soup thickener. Collect the fruit in late summer or fall.
The tender pads are edible as well, peel them and prepare like green beans. Collect in spring or
early summer.
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Panax quinquefolius L.
American Ginseng
Araliaceae (Ginseng family)
Miami Term: piloohsa
Use: tonic, stimulant
Part Used: root
Botanical Description:
Perennial herb, 8-24” tall. Leaves 1-5, but mostly 4, whorled, palmately compound with 3-7
leaflets, each 5-12” long, leaflets stalked, toothed. Inflorescence an umbel of small, greenish-white or
greenish-yellow flowers, arising from a whorl of leaves, 1/16” wide, 5 petals. Blooms May-Aug. Fruit a
cluster of red berry-like drupes. Root large, shaped somewhat like the human form. Found in cool, moist
woods. Range from Minn. east to Quebec, south to n. Fla., west to Oklahoma. Ginseng is a
THREATENED species, due to over collection.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
Ginseng was used by many tribes, including the Cherokee, Creek, Delaware, Meskwaki, Houma,
Iroquois, Menominee, Micmac, Mohegan, Pawnee, Penobscot and Potowatomi. It was used as a general
tonic, to give energy, increase fertility and for many other uses. It was also said to act synergistically with
other medicines, enhancing their effects.
Ginseng is highly prized by herbalists – particularly in the Orient – for promoting general good
health. It is also been used as an aphrodisiac, and a heart stimulant.
79
Over collection has resulted in depleting populations severely. It is now classified as a threatened
species in throughout its range in 31 eastern states, and is included on the CITES list, which limits interstate trade.
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Phytolacca americana L.
Pokeweed
Phytolaccaceae (Pokeweed family)
Miami Term: maamilaneewiaahkwia
maamilaneewia (fruit)
Use: paint, food, medicine
Parts Used: fruits, shoots, leaves, root
Botanical Description:
Perennial, to 10’ tall. Stems reddish purple. Leaves alternate, 5-12” long, elliptical. Plants
dioecious (with separate male and female plants), or flowers perfect, in a pendulous raceme, individual
flowers ¼” wide, 5 white petal-like sepals. Blooms June-Oct. Fruit a cluster of dark purple berries, ¼”
wide. Found in open woods, damp thickets, clearings and roadsides. Range from Minn. east through s.
Ontario to New Brunswick, south to Fla., west to Tex. Also found west of the Rockies.
Miami Use:
Dunn gives conflicting reports of the Miami use of pokeweed. In one account he says that the
young shoots were used with other greens, but in another says they were not eaten. The berries were used
as a paint. The berries were also used as a medicine. Soaked in whiskey, they were used to treat
rheumatism. The pulverized boiled root was used as a poultice (Dunn).
Other Use:
While it is questionable whether the Miami ate pokeweed, other tribes did, including the
Cherokee, Iroquois, Malecite and Mohegan. The young shoots (up to 6”, or the leafy tips) are edible if they
are collected before the pink color appears on the stem. Boil them for 20-30 minutes in at least two
changes of water until tender. Boil peeled stalks for 15 minutes. One recipe: peel stalks and cut them
lengthwise. Dip in egg, roll in cornmeal and fry like fish. Collect young shoots in spring. To store until
81
winter, boil for 10 minutes, drain, and freeze in an airtight container. CAUTION: Berries, roots and purple
shoots are poisonous. Berries will stain clothing.
The juice from the berries is used as a red dye, and has been used to color canned fruit and cheap
wine. It is also mixed with sugar and sour grapes to make a beverage. CAUTION: There is some debate
regarding whether the berries are toxic. The best advice is to avoid consuming them.
Pokeweed was widely used by Native Americans to treat rheumatism and swollen joints. The
Cherokee used an infusion of the berries, or berry wine to treat rhematism. Roots were also used. The
Delaware (Okl.) used a strong infusion of the root as an herbal steam to treat rheumatism. The
Rappahannock used a fermented infusion of the leaves to treat rheumatism.One recipie to treat rheumatism
was toasted and crushed pokeweed roots, along with sarsaparilla and mountain grape bark used externally.
A poultice of the root was used by the Iroquois to treat sprains, bruises and swollen joints. The plant has
other medicinal uses as well. The leaves were used to treat acne. A compound infusion of the plant was
used to combat poison ivy rash. To remove warts, apply a poultice of the root until it bleeds.
Dried berries were also used to make necklaces.
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Planera aquatica J. F. Gmel.*
Water Elm
Ulmaceae (Elm family)
Miami Term: apahkoohkwaniši siipiomeekwi
Use*: canoes, tables, boxes
Parts Used: wood, bark
Botanical Description:
Medium sized tree, 30-40’ tall, 1’ in diameter. Bark light brown or gray, scaly, inner layers redbrown. Flowers appearing with the leaves in the spring. Leaves alternate, ovate with unequal, rounded
base, with blunt, glandular teeth, 2-3” long. Fruit elliptical, drupe-like, warty, dry and indehiscent, 3/8”
long, from April-May. Found in wet soil along riverbanks and swamps, especially in areas commonly
flooded. Range from s. Mo. east through Ill. and w. Ky., south to Fla. and west to Texas. Uncommon.
Miami Use*:
Dunn noted, “for canoes used hickory (pig nut best) or water elm – cut down tree and peeled off
with flat stick – bark loose in spring when beginning to leaf out – other times had to pound it to loosen –
this kind also used for tables for drying corn, berries, fruits, etc. Laid on poles placed in forked sticks.
Also used for sugar troughs – bend ends up and fasten them. When through would soak them and
straighten them out and lay them up like shingles when dry to use next year. Would serve for several years.
Also made boxes of it.”
Other Use:
None recorded.
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84
Platanus occidentalis L.
Sycamore, Buttonwood, Button-ball Tree
Platanaceae (Sycamore family)
Miami Term: kaakihšaahkatwi
Use: canoes, drinking source
Parts Used: wood, sap
Botanical Description:
Large tree, 50-100’ tall, 3-8’ (14’) in diameter. Bark brown, which flakes off in large pieces to
reveal white to yellowish underbark. Leaves alternate, nearly hairless, 3-5 lobes, wavy edge, with large
teeth, 4-10” long. Leaf stalks and bud scars surrounding buds. Twigs greenish, slender, and often zigzagged. Buds with a single scale, end bud false. Many bundle scars. Plants monoecieous, with male and
female flowers on the same plant. Flowers small, in globose heads, April-June. Fruits small, long haired
and packed tightly into a ball hanging from a long stalk, ¾“ – 1½” in diameter. They are easily torn apart
to reveal a small, woody core. Fruits in Oct., and last through the winter. Found in wet soils along streams,
floodplains, near lakes and swamps, often dominant in mixed forest. From e. Neb. east to s. Maine, south
to nw. Fla., west to central Tex. Closely resembles the London Planetree (P. x acerifolia, a hybrid between
the Sycamore and the Oriental Planetree, Platanus orientalis) which usually has 2 or more fruit clusters per
stalk, and have more yellowish underbark.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
Trunks used by some Native Americans to make dugouts. One canoe was 65’ long and weighed
9000 pounds. The tree may be tapped like the Sugar Maple (A. saccharum), and although the sap yields a
relatively poor syrup, it provides an excellent drinking source in areas with contaminated water.
85
86
Podophyllum peltatum L.
Mayapple, “Mandrake”
Berberidaceae (Barberry family)
Miami Terms: kahkiteemišaahkwi
kahkiteemiši (alt. form)
kahkiteemini (fruit)
Use: food, medicine, insecticide
Parts Used: fruit, root, whole plant
Botanical Description:
A colony forming biennial, with a single leaf during the first year, and two leaves and a single
flower arising from the leaf axil the second year, 12-18” tall. Flowers with 6 or 9 white petals, yellow
stamens, nodding, 1-2” wide, from March-June. Leaves large, deeply cleft, to 12” wide. Fruit egg-shaped,
2-3 inches long, initially green, turning lemon-yellow when ripe in late summer. Found in rich woods and
openings. Range from Minn. east to w. Quebec and Nova Scotia, south to Fla., west to Tex.
Miami Use:
According to Dunn, the Miami don’t eat may-apples.
Other Use:
Although the Miami may not have eaten mayapples, the fruit was eaten by the Cherokee,
Chippewa, Iroquois, Menominee and Meskwaki. Enjoy, but be careful - the roots, leaves, seeds, and unripe
green fruit are POISONOUS and strongly cathartic. They should not be eaten. However, the lemoncolored ripe fruit is edible, though somewhat of a laxative. The pulp (not the seeds) may be eaten raw,
cooked, dried, or made into a preserve (add pectin). The juice is good added to lemonade. Eat in
moderation to avoid gastric upset. Collect the fruit as the plant is dying, in late summer, Aug.-early Sept.
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Mayapple was widely used for medicinal purposes. The roots were used by several tribes as a laxative and
purgative. They were also used as a cathartic. Powdered root was used on ulcers and sores.
The “root ooze” was used by the Cherokee to soak corn seeds before planting, to discourage bugs
and birds from eating them. The Iroquois mixed a decoction of the plant and used it when sprouting corn
as well. They called it “corn medicine.” The Menominee used a decoction of the whole plant on potato
plants to kill potato bugs. The root joints are considered especially poisonous.
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Populus deltoides Marsh.
Eastern Cottonwood
Salicaceae (Willow family)
Miami Term: waapaahkoonseentia*
Use: ceremonial
Part Used: unknown
Botanical Description:
Large tree, often with stout forks, 40-100’ tall, 3-4’ or larger in diameter. Young bark is smooth
and yellow-green, older bark is rough, furrowed and light gray. Twigs yellowish, with sticky buds. Leaves
are triangular, with curved, coarse teeth, 2-8” long and 3-5” wide, turning yellow in fall. Leafstalks long
and flattened, with 2-5 glands at the base. Fruit light brown, in a catkin to 8” long of elliptical capsules,
containing 3-18 cottony seeds, ½” long, mature in spring. Found along streams and wet soils of valleys,
often in pure stands or with willows. Pioneer plant on sandbanks and open floodplains. Range from s.
Alberta east through the n. U.S., s. Quebec. and New Hampshire, south to nw. Fla., west to w. Texas.
This is the only of the four species of native poplars with flattened leafstalks with glands. A
subspecies called Plains Cottonwood (var. occidentalis Rydb.) is found in the western area of the range and
has more coarsely toothed leaves which are often wider than long, and slightly smaller than Eastern
Cottonwood.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
The Delaware (Okl.) and the Montana Indians added this plant to the killikinnick.
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Populus tremuloides Michx.
Quaking Aspen
Salicaceae (Willow family)
Miami Term: siipiomeekwa*
Use: ceremonial, medicine
Part Used: bark
Botanical Description:
Medium sized tree, 20-70’ tall, 1-2’ wide, narrow form. Bark whitish, smooth and thin, gets
thicker, darker and furrowed with age. Twigs shiny-brown without hairs. Leaves nearly rounded, with a
short point at the tip, finely toothed, leafstalks flattened, 2-6” long, turning golden-yellow in the fall.
Leaves tremble in the breeze. Fruit catkins (4”) of conical green capsules (¼”), splitting into two parts to
release many tiny, cottony seeds, mature in late spring. In the West, reproduction is mostly asexual via root
sprouts. Found in moist woods and streambanks, often in burned or clearcut areas, especially on sandy or
gravelly slopes. Range is widely distributed across northern North America, from Alaska east to
Newfoundland, south to Virginia, in the Rocky Mountains south to Mexico and New Mexico.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
This plant was added to the killikinnick by the Montana Indians, and was smoked ceremonially by
the Hopi.
A poultice of bark was applied to cuts and wounds by the Chippewa, Ojibwa, and Sikani.
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Portulaca oleracea L.
Common Purslane
Portulacaceae (Purslane family)
Miami Term: koohkooša awiilawi
Use: food
Parts Used: above ground parts
Botanical Description:
Creeping herb, branches to 1’ long. Stems smooth, thick, fleshy, and reddish. Leaves succulent,
mostly alternate, sometimes opposite, flat and ovate, ½-1½” long. Flowers solitary or in small round
clusters, usually 5 petals, 2 sepals, ¼” wide. Blooms May-Nov, only on sunny mornings. Fruit a small
capsule, containing small black seeds. Introduced from Europe, probably originally from s. Asia, this plant
is widely cultivated and has escaped to waste areas, commonly found in cracks of sidewalks and in gardens.
Range is most of North America, except in the arctic.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
Purslane was eaten by many tribes, including the Apache, Chiricahua, Mescalaro, Hopi, Iroquois,
Isleta, Western Keres, Laguna, Luiseño, Navajo, Gila River Pima, and the Tewa. It is a highly nutritious
wild edible. Purslane contains lots of iron, as well as vitamins A and C, calcium and phosphorous. The
fleshy stems and leaves are good in salads or boiled for 10 minutes. Good to thicken soups and stews. The
stems may also be pickled. Collect in the summer, from June-Sept., and dry for winter storage. The seeds
can be ground into a flour. To harvest the seeds, dry the plants for a few weeks, then pound them and sift.
Collect seeds in late summer. If starting plants from seed, the seeds require light to germinate.
91
92
Prunus americana Marsh.
American Plum
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Miami Terms: atehseemišaahkwa
ateehseemina (fruit)
Use: food, medicine, brooms
Parts Used: fruit, root bark, branches
Botanical Description:
A thicket forming shrub, or a short, stocky tree, to 30’ tall, 1’ in diameter. Bark shaggy to scaly
and dark brown. Twigs light brown, hairless, sometimes thorny. Flowers white, 1” wide, with 5 petals, in
stalked clusters of 2-5. Blooms in early spring, before leaves appear, from April-June. Leaves alternate,
elliptical, pointed, coarsely and often doubly toothed, veins slightly sunken from above, slightly hairy
beneath, 2½-4” long, 1½” wide, leafstalk not glandular. Fruit a plum, less than 1” in diameter, thick red
skin, pulp somewhat sour with a large stone, mature in summer, Aug.-Oct. Found in moist soils of thickets,
prairies, pastures, and woodlands on valley and upland slopes. Range from Montana and se. Saskatchewan
east to N.H., south to Fla, and west to Okla.
Miami Use:
Plums were eaten by the Miamis.
Other Use:
Many tribes ate the fruit of the American Plum, including the Apache, Cherokee, Cheyenne,
Chippewa, Crow, Dakota, Iroquois, Isleta, Kiowa, Lakota, Meskwaki, Ojibwa, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, and
Winnebago. The fruit is good fresh, dried, or used in jellies and jams (requires pectin). There are several
hundred recorded varieties for this species, some of which are cultivated for their sweet fruit. Collect in the
midsummer and fall, particularly in August.
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Several tribes valued the fruits for their astringent properties, using them to treat cuts, wounds,
sores and mouth cankers. The bark and root bark was boiled, and applied as a decoction or poultice to
abrasions. The Omaha timed the planting of corn, beans, and squash based on the blooming of the wild
plum. The twigs are quite flexible, and when tied together make nice brooms. This plant is often grown
for erosion control, and spreads by root sprouts.
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Prunus serotina Ehrh.
Black Cherry
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Miami Terms: katoohwakimišaahkwi
katoohwakimini (fruit)
Use: food, medicine
Parts Used: fruit, bark
Botanical Description:
Small or large tree, 60-80’ tall, 2-3’ wide. Bark aromatic, old bark dark, scaly and fissured, young
bark and inner bark red-brown. Leaves elliptical, narrow, blunt-toothed, 2-6” long, midrib with white to
brown hairs, 15 or more pairs of side veins. 1-2 dark red glands at leaf base, turning yellow or red in fall.
Flowers with 5 white petals. Blooms from May-June. Fruits 3/8” in diameter, dark red or blackish, with an
elliptical stone, from June-Oct. Flowers and fruits in clusters, 4-6” long, spur branches absent. Found in
woods and thickets, now along roads and in waste areas, does not like either very wet or very dry soils.
Range from N. Dak., east to Newfoundland, south to Fla., west to Tex., local in Ariz. and Mexico.
Miami Use:
The Miami ate the fruit.
Other Use:
Black Cherry was eaten by several tribes, including the Cherokee, Chippewa, Iroquois, Mahuna,
Menominee, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi. There are other, more shrubby species of wild cherries, but this is
the only tree in our area. Some species and varieties are sweeter than others. The fruit may be eaten fresh,
or made into jellies and jams, which requires pectin. Collect in late summer or early fall, particularly from
August to September. The fruit from trees in full sun taste best. WARNING: Wilted leaves and fruit pits
contain cyanide and should not be eaten.
95
This plant was widely used medicinally among Native Americans. A compound decoction or
infusion of the bark was used to treat colds or coughs by the Cherokee, Iroquois, Mahuna, Micmac,
Mohegan, Narrangansett, Ojibwa, Penobscot, Rappahannock and Shinnecock. If the decoction got stale,
the Rappahannock considered it POISIONOUS. The Delaware used the fruit for the same purpose.
96
Quercus alba L.
White Oak
Fagaceae (Oak family)
Miami Terms: waawaapinkwaahkatwi
Use: food
Part Used: acorn
Botanical Description:
A large tree, 60-100’ tall, 2-4’ in diameter. Bark whitish, shallowly furrowed or scaly with loose
plates. Twigs hairless. Leaves elliptical, pubescent when young, hairless when mature, with 5-9 even
lobes, somewhat whitened beneath, without bristled tips, 2-9” long, 2-4” wide, turning red or brown in the
fall. Fruit an acorn, 3/8-1¼”, with a bowl shaped cup, pubescent within, covering less than 1/3 of acorn
with warty, finely hairy scales, mature in first year. Found in moist but well drained uplands and lowlands,
many times in pure stands. Range from Minn. east through s. Ontario to Maine, south to n. Fla., west to e.
Tex.
Similar to Q. lyrata (Overcup Oak) and Q. macrocarpa (Bur Oak), but these two species are
usually more deeply lobed.
Miami Use:
No recorded use.
Other Use:
White Oak was eaten by the Iroquois, Menominee, Meskwaki, and Ojibwa. The Ojibwa soaked
the acorns in lye to remove the tannins, which cause them to be quite bitter. To make the lye, they simply
soaked wood ash (often Basswood) in water. There are other trees in the white oak group, but only a few
of them have acorns that are sweet enough to be eaten straight off the tree. Most are quite bitter. Since
tannins are water soluble, boiling will remove an acorn’s bitterness. One method of preparing acorns is to
97
boil the kernels in water using several changes of water, until the water no longer turns brown. Roast for 1
hour at 350˚, and eat as nuts or make into candy. To make a flour, dry and crush the kernels, boil in a
porous bag or container to remove tannins, redry, and grind into a meal-like flour. They are excellent in
muffins and bread. High in protein and fat. Collect in early fall.
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Quercus macrocarpa Michx.
Bur Oak, Mossycup O.
Fagaceae (Oak family)
Miami Terms: mihšiinkweemiši
mihšiinkweemina (fruit)
Use: food
Part Used: acorn
Botanical Description:
A tall tree, 50-80’ tall, 2-4’ in diameter. Bark gray, scaly, with shallow grooves. End buds blunt
and hairy. Twigs hairless or hairy, sometimes with corky wings. Leaves broadest in middle, lower half
deeply lobed, upper half shallowly lobed, end rounded, tips not bristled, 4-10” long, 2-5” wide, turning
yellow or brown in the fall. Acorn surrounded by a deep cup, with “mossy” fringe of scales, largest of all
native oaks, 1-2”, mature in one year. Found in dry uplands on limestone and gravel ridges, also in sandy
plains and loamy slopes and floodplains. A pioneer plant, often in nearly pure stands. Range from se.
Saskatchewan east to s. New Brunswick, south to Tenn., west to se. Tex. Local in Lou. and Georgia.
Miami Use:
They would gather the acorns, soak them in lye, then shell, boil and eat them (Dunn).
Other Use:
Bur Oak was eaten by several tribes, including the Cheyenne, Chippewa, Dakota, Lakota, Ojibwa,
Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca and the Winnebago. The acorns were often soaked with basswood ashes to remove
the tannins, which cause them to be quite bitter. Bur Oak is in the White Oak group which contains other
species, but only a few of them have acorns that are sweet enough to be eaten straight off the tree. Most are
quite bitter. Since tannins are water soluble, boiling removes an acorn’s bitterness. One method of
preparing acorns is to boil the kernels in water using several changes of water, until the water no longer
99
turns brown. Roast for 1 hour at 350˚, and eat as nuts or make into candy. To make a flour, dry and crush
the kernels, boil in a porous bag or container to remove tannins, redry, and grind into a meal-like flour.
They are excellent in muffins and bread. High in protein and fat. Collect in early fall.
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Quercus rubra L.
Northern Red Oak
Fagaceae (Oak family)
Miami Term: maamhkatiaahkatwi
Use: food, medicine
Part Used: acorn, inner bark, root bark
Botanical Description:
A large tree, 60-90’ tall, 1-4” in diameter. Bark dark, rough, ridged, often laced with shiny strips;
inner bark reddish. End buds hairless, not angled. Twigs hairless. Leaves somewhat lobed, into 7-11
wavy lobes, usually glossy above, somewhat hairy beneath, especially along midvein, bristled tips, 4-9”
long, 3-6” wide, turning brown or dark red in fall. Fruit an acorn, with cup flat and saucerlike, enclosing
acorn less than 1/3, mature after two years, 3/8-1 1/8” long. Found in woods, often in pure stands, in moist
loamy, sandy, rocky, and clay soils. Range from Minn. east to s. Quebec and Nova Scotia, south to
Georgia, west to se. Okla.
Miami Use:
No recorded use.
Other Use:
Red Oak was eaten by several tribes, including the Dakota, Iroquois, Menominee, Meskwaki and
Ojibwa. This is a Red Oak, and is quite bitter. To remove the acorns’ bitterness, they were often soaked
with Basswood ashes. Since the bitterness comes from tannins, which are water soluble, boiling will
remove an acorn’s bitterness. One method of preparing acorns is to boil the kernels in water using several
changes of water, until the water no longer turns brown. Roast for 1 hour at 350˚, and eat as nuts or make
into candy. To make a flour, dry and crush the kernels, boil in a porous bag or container to remove tannins,
101
redry, and grind into a meal-like flour. They are excellent in muffins and bread. High in protein and fat.
Collect in early fall.
The Ojibwa used a compound decoction of the inner bark of Q. rubra to treat blood, heart, and
lung problems. An infusion of the root bark was used to treat gonorrhea.
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Rhus copallina L.
Winged Sumac, Dwarf S., Shining S.
Anacardiaceae (Cashew family)
Miami Term: ciiciinkweemiši
Use: drink
Part Used: fruit
Botanical Description:
Shrub or small tree, to 4-10’ tall, 1-3” in diameter, larger in the south. Bark light brown to gray.
Twigs brown, with fine hairs, raised dots and watery sap. Leaves 6-14” long, with a winged central axis,
pinnately compound into 7-23 leaflets, each 1-3” long, lance shaped, smooth margin, shiny dark green
above when mature, fine hairs beneath, turning dark red in fall. Flowers small, with 5 green-white petals,
in clusters to 3” wide with hairy branches, usually separate male and female plants. Blooms July-Sept..
Fruit dark red, one seeded, over 1/8” in diameter, covered with sticky hairs, in drooping clusters, Aug.-Oct.,
and remaining attached until spring. Found in uplands and valleys, clearings, forest edges, grasslands,
roadsides and waste areas. Range from cent. Wisc., east to s. Ont. and sw. Maine, south to Fla., and west to
cent. Tex.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
The sumac fruit can be used to make a lemonade-like beverage. Collect the ripe berries in late
summer. Gently bruise them and soak in cold water for 10-15 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth,
sweeten to taste, and chill. Also good for mouth sores.
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Rhus glabra L.
Smooth Sumac, Common S.
Anacardiaceae (Cashew family)
Miami Terms: mahkomiši
mahkomini (fruit)
Use: drink, food, dye, medicine, ceremonial
Parts Used: berries, shoots, roots, leaves
Botanical Description:
Colonial shrub or small tree, 4-20’ tall, 4’ in diameter. Bark brown. Twigs gray, hairless, with
white milky sap and without obvious dots. Leaves alternate, to 1’ long, pinnately (or bipinnately)
compound into 11-31 leaflets, each 2-4” long, lance-shaped, toothed, hairless, dark green above, whitish
beneath, turning red in fall. Flowers small and whitish, 5 petals, in erect clusters to 8” long with hairless
branches, usually separate male and female plants. Blooms from May-July. Fruits dark red, one seeded,
over 1/8” in diameter, covered with short sticky haris, in erect clusters, from June-Oct., persisting through
winter. Found particularly in sandy soils of uplands, clearings, grasslands, edges of forests, roadsides and
waste places. Range from e. Saskatchewan east to Maine, south to nw. Fla., west to cent Tex., also in the
west and northwest. Native to all 48 contiguous states.
Miami Use:
No uses recorded, but Dunn noted that smooth sumac was called m’kumizhi because the bear,
m’kwa, shows a preference for its berries in winter.
Other Use:
The sumac fruit can be used to make a lemonade-like beverage. Collect the ripe berries in late
summer. Gently bruise them and soak in cold water for 10-15 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth,
sweeten to taste, and chill. The young shoots may be peeled and eaten raw. The roots are prepared
104
similarly.
The twigs can be used as a chew stick for sore mouths and teeth. Chew on the tip to make a
brush for the teeth and gums. Sumac has antibiotic properties, and helps prevent tooth decay.
The root bark yields a dye, and the leaves were used to tan leather.
The leaves, usually the young red leaves, were dried and smoked ceremonially by some tribes,
including the Comanche, Creek, Dakota, Omaha, Pawnee, Tewa and Winnebago.
Propagate by seeds or root cuttings.
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Ribes americanum Mill.
American Black Currant, Eastern Black C.
Grossulariaceae (Gooseberry family)
Miami Terms: eehsipanimini
Use: food
Part Used: fruit
Botanical Description:
Shrub to 5’ tall. Twigs with ridges from leaf scars, mostly hairless, thornless. Flowers yellow or
white, with 5 petals in drooping clusters. Blooms April-June. Leaves opposite, with 3-5 maple-like lobes,
double toothed, somewhat hairy beneath and gland-dotted, ½-4” long. Fruits small, black and smooth,
from June-Sept. Upper and lower sides of leaves, twigs, buds, ovaries and fruits with bright yellow resin
dots, visible with a hand lens. Found in floodplains and open woods. Range from Alberta east to New
Brunswick, south to W.V. and west to Neb. and New Mex.
Currants are distinguished from Gooseberries in that the former are usually thornless and their
fruit separate easily from the stalk and have smooth skin.
Miami Use:
Gatschet noted that raccoon grapes, or currants, were relished by raccoons, but not eaten by
people.
Other Use:
American Black Currant was eaten by several tribes, including the Chippewa, Iroquois, Lakota,
Meskwaki, Montana Indian and Ojibwa. There are several species of gooseberries and currants in our area,
all of which are edible, but some require sugar to make them less tart. Gooseberries usually have bristles
on the berries, which are softened by boiling. Other than that, use them like other berries. They contain
lots of pectin. Collect in midsummer.
106
107
Ribes cynosbati L.
Pasture Gooseberry, Dogberry
Grossularicaeae (Gooseberry family)
Miami Term: kaayomišaahkwi
Use: food
Part Used: fruit
Botanical Description:
Thorny shrub, to 5’ tall. Bark papery, often shredding. Leaves alternate, maple-like, with 3-5
lobes, ½-4” long, toothed, usually with soft hairs and without glands. Typically with 1-3 thorns at base of
leafstalk, ¼-3/8” long, sometimes lacking. Flowers in drooping clusters, greenish. Blooms May-June.
Berries reddish-purple, covered in spines, from July-Sept. Found in open woods. Range from Manitoba
east to New Brunswick, south to sw. Ala., west to e. Okla.
Gooseberries are distinguished from currants in that they have 1-3 thorns at the base of the
leafstalk, and the fruits are firmly attached to the stalks and covered in bristles.
Miami Use:
No recorded use.
Other Use:
Pasture Gooseberry was eaten by tribes such as the Quebec Algonquin, Cherokee, Chippewa,
Menominee, Meskwaki, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi. There are several species of gooseberries and currants
in our area, all of which are edible, but some require sugar to make them less tart. Gooseberries usually
have bristles on the berries, which are softened by boiling. Other than that, use them like other berries.
They contain lots of pectin.
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Robinia pseudo-acacia L.
Black Locust, Yellow L.
Fabaceae (Legume family)
Miami Term: unknown
Use: bows
Part Used: wood
Botanical Description:
Medium sized tree, 40-80’ tall, 1-2’ wide. Bark light gray and deeply ridged. Twigs with stout
paired spines at nodes, ¼-½” long. Leaves pinnately compound, 6-12” long, with 7-19 leaflets, each 1-1
¾” long and ½-¾” wide, toothless, with bristled tips, blue-green above, pale beneath. Flowers ¾” long,
white, pea-shaped, in drooping clusters 4-8” long. Blooms in late spring. Fruit an oblong, flat pod, 2-4”
long, with 3-14 brown seeds, mature in fall and remaining attached through winter. Found in moist or dry,
rocky or sandy soils in open areas and woods. Native range from s. Missouri east through s. Ohio and cent.
Pa., south to Ala., and west to e. Okla., now widely naturalized in the northeast, California, and southern
Canada.
Miami Use:
Used Black Locust, Red Cedar, and Mulberry to make the shorter, war bows (Dunn).
Other Use:
None recorded.
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Rubus allegheniensis Porter
Common Blackberry
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Miami Term: makiinkweemina
Use: food, drink
Parts Used: berries, shoots, leaves
Botanical Description:
Upright or arching shrub, to 10’. Stems angular, with prickles. Leaves fan-compound, with 3-7,
usually 4 or 5, leaflets, wooly or velvety beneath, entire leaf 3-8”. Flowers white, 5 petals, blooming from
May-July. Fruit black and compound, receptacle detaching with the fruit, from July-Sept. Found in sunny
thickets. Range from Minn. east to Nova Scotia, south along mountains to N. C. and Tenn.
Blackberries are a complex category of the Rubus genus, with over 120 species
Miami Use:
Blackberries were eaten.
Other Use:
The Common Blackberry was eaten by tribes such as the Cherokee, Chippewa, Menominee,
Meskwaki, Ojibwa and Potawatomi. The ripe berries are collected in summer, and may be eaten straight
off the plant, made into jelly or a cold drink, or dried. To dry, put a single layer of berries in the oven for
10 minutes at 150˚. Then place on screens in the sun for 3-10 days. Bring inside at night, or if it looks like
rain. Reconstitute the berries by soaking in water overnight.
The dried leaves may be made into a tea. The tender young shoots may be gathered in spring,
peeled and eaten raw.
There are many horticultural varieties available. Propagate by root cuttings, transplanting suckers,
or by cuttings at the tip of a cane or node.
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111
Rubus flagellaris Willd.
Northern Dewberry
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Miami Term: meenkaalakiinkweemina
Use: food, drink
Parts Used: berries, shoots, leaves
Botanical Description:
Trailing shrub, to 1’ tall, canes to 15’ long, often rooting at tips. Stems thorny. Leaves alternate,
sharp-toothed, 3-7”, fan-compound with 3-5 leaflets. Flowers white. Blooms from May-June. Fruits
black, from June-Aug. Found in thickets, prairies, roadsides, rocky open woods and on ledges and cliffs.
Range from Minn. east through s. Ontario to Maine, south to Ga. and Ark.
Dewberries are unique in the Rubus genus in that the stems are round or angular, are not whitepowdered, are trailing, and the leafstalk bases are not winged. There are two groups of dewberries, the
prickly dewberries and the bristly dewberries, with about 70 total species.
Miami Use:
The Miami ate Dewberries.
Other Use:
The ripe berries are collected in summer, and may be eaten straight off the plant, made into jelly or
a cold drink, or dried. To dry, put a single layer of berries in the oven for 10 minutes at 150˚. Then place
on screens in the sun for 3-10 days. Bring inside at night, or if it looks like rain. Reconstitute the berries
by soaking in water overnight. The dried leaves may be made into a tea. The tender young shoots may be
gathered in spring, peeled and eaten raw.
There are many horticultural varieties available. Propagate by root cuttings, transplanting suckers,
or by cuttings at the tip of a cane or node.
112
113
Rubus occidentalis L.
Black Raspberry
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Miami Term: neepaleereemina
Use: food, drink
Part Used: berries
Botanical Description:
Arching shrub, to 6’ tall, canes to 12’ long, sometimes rooting at tips. Stems round, with strongly
hooked prickles, strongly whitened, especially on the first year’s growth (primocane). Leaves fancompound, 2-8” long, usually with 3 leaflets on floricane, and 5 leaflets on the primocane, whitened
beneath. White flowers in dense clusters of 3-7, with 5 petals. Blooms April-July. Fruits black and
compound separating from a persistent receptacle, from June-Aug. Found in thickets. Range from Minn.
east to Quebec and south to Ga. and Ark.
Miami Use:
The Miami ate raspberries.
Other Use:
The ripe berries are collected in summer, and may be eaten straight off the plant, made into jelly or
a cold drink, or dried. To dry, put a single layer of berries in the oven for 10 minutes at 150˚. Then place
on screens in the sun for 3-10 days. Bring inside at night, or if it looks like rain. Reconstitute the berries
by soaking in water overnight.
There are many horticultural varieties available. Propagate by root cuttings, transplanting suckers,
or by cuttings at the tip of a cane or node.
114
115
Rudbeckia hirta L.*
Blackeyed Susan
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Miami Terms: meehkateewi ciipihki
Use: ceremonial
Part Used: root
Botanical Description:
Biennial or short-lived perennial, with a large, daisy-like flower, 1-5’ tall. Leaves alternate, lanceshaped to ovate, rough and hairy, 2-7” long, lower leaves with winged stalks. Flowers clustered in a head
2-3” wide, 10-20 yellow outer rays, inner disc chocolate-brown. Bloms June-Oct. Found in dry fields,
prairies, roadsides and open woods. Range throughout North America, except in Nev., Ariz., and in the far
north.
Miami Use:
Dunn thought the root of R. hirta was used as a charm or amulet. *However, he also notes that he
has not actually seen the plant, and his source told him “the Whites call it Bachelor’s Button, because a
button grows on the top, which is in the midst of a brown flower. The stalks are from two to three feet
tall.” The common name Bachelor’s Button refers to an unrelated member of the Aster family, Centaurea
cyanus, which is a European species.
Other Use:
This plant is usually avoided by browsing livestock, and can be toxic if eaten.
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Salix babylonica L.
Weeping Willow
Salicaceae (Willow family)
Miami Term: niipiaahkatwi
Use: none
Part Used: none
Botanical Description:
Medium sized tree, 30-40’ tall, 2’ or more in diameter. Bark rough, gray, and deeply grooved.
Branches drooping. Leaves narrow, lance shaped, finely toothed, dark above and whitish beneath, 2½-5”
long and less than ½” wide. Flowers in catkins to 1”, in early spring. Fruit a cluster of light brown
capsules, each 1/16” long, mature in late spring or early summer. Widely used in landscaping, particularly
around water. Native to China, now widely cultivated in the east and west, escaped locally from Missouri
east to s. Quebec, south to Ga.
Miami Use:
No recorded use.
Other Use:
None recorded.
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Sambucus canadensis L.
Common Elderberry
Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle family)
Miami Terms: wiikooloomphsa* (EM)
kikalosa* (WM)
Use: food, drink, medicine
Parts Used: berries
Botanical Description:
There are two native species in our area, the Common Elderberry (S. canadensis L.), and the Red
Elderberry (S. racemosa L.). S. canadensis is a shrub, 3-13’ tall. Bark brownish. Twigs stiff, with white
pith. Buds small, green or brown, leaf scars connected. Leaves opposite, large, compound, with 5-11
leaflets, usually 4-11”. Leaflets elliptical, coarse-toothed. Flowers small and white, in a flat to convex
inflorescence. Blooms June-July. Fruits small, juicy, purple-black, sometimes bright red, yellow, green or
orange, from Aug.-Oct. Found in damp to wet rich soil, in woods and along roadsides. Range from
Manitoba and S. Dak. east to Nova Scotia and Quebec, south to Ga. and west to Tex. and Mexico.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
Common Elderberry was eaten by the Cherokee, Chippewa, Dakota, Iroquois, Meskwaki, Omaha,
Pawnee, Ponca and Seminole. The berries are often unpleasant smelling and tasting, but if prepared
correctly, are quite good, and high in vitamin C. Also contains vitamin A, calcium, iron, and potassium.
Collect the berries in late summer or fall. Drying the berries removes the rank odor and taste. Remove
stalks, and lay on a screen in the sun. Boil dried berries to reconstitute them. The inflorescences may be
dipped in batter and then fried in oil. Dip the flowers in hot water to make a tea. Collect flowers in
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summer. CAUTION: The vegetative parts of both Elderberry species are POISIONOUS. All parts of the
plant have been reported to contain hydrocyanic acid, and cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Only the
flowers and fruit are edible.
Elderberries make good juice and wine. The juice is good when mixed with the tart juice of plants
like sour apples, crabapples and half-ripe or wild grapes. To get juice from Elderberries, add one cup water
for every quart of berries. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, mash, and simmer for 10 more minutes. Strain with
cheesecloth. Use a similar procedure to make other juices.
To make wine, pour a gallon of boiling water over 1 pound of elderberries, and ½ pound of
chopped raisins. Stir well, cover, and let sit for two weeks. Strain and discard the waste. Add 3 whole
cloves, and bring liquid to a boil. Pour over 3 pounds of sugar. Stir. When liquid has cooled to lukewarm,
add ½ ounce of brewer’s yeast, cover and let sit for 3 days. Strain and put in bottles, and lightly cork.
After 2-3 weeks, add a little sugar to each bottle and recork. Careful, the corks may pop out. The wine is
ready in 6 months, but improves with age.
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Sambucus racemosa L.
Red Elderberry
Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle family)
Miami Terms: wiikooloomphsa* (EM)
kikalosa* (WM)
Use: food, drink
Part Used: berries
Botanical Description:
There are two native species in our area, the Common Elderberry (S. canadensis L.), and the Red
Elderberry (S. racemosa L.). S. racemosa resembles S. canadensis, but has brown pith, only 5-7 leaflets,
and the flower and fruit inflorescence is cone-shaped, blooming from April-July, fruits bright red,
sometimes white or yellow, from June-Sept. More of a woodland species than S. Canadensis. Range from
British Colombia to Newfoundland, south to Pa. and west to Ill., in the mountains to N. C.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
The berries were eaten by the White Mountain Apache, Bella Coola, Gosiute, Hesquiat, Kitasoo,
Kwakiutl, Makah, Nitinant, Ojibwa, Okanagon, Quileute and Thompson. The berries are good dried, or
make good juice or wine. See Common Elderberry, S. canadensis.
120
Sanguinaria canadensis L.
Bloodroot
Papaveraceae (Poppy family)
Miami Term: oonsaalemooni
Use: paint, dye, insect repellant, medicine
Parts Used: root sap
Botanical Description:
Perennial herb, 6-10” tall. One basal leaf, curled, bluish green, 4-7” long, with 5-9 lobes. Solitary
white flower, orange in middle, 8-10 separate petals, 2 deciduous sepals, many stamens and a single pistil.
Blooms from March-May, flowers open in full sun and close at night. Root exudes red-orange sap when
broken. Found in rich woods and along streams. Range from Manitoba east to Newfoundland, south to
Florida and west to Tex. and Okla.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
Used by Native Americans as a ceremonial and war paint, a dye for baskets and clothing, and as
an insect repellant. Also used by many tribes for a wide variety of medicinal purposes.
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Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees.
Sassafras
Lauracee (Laurel family)
Miami Terms: mankiišaahkwi
mankiišaahkwaapowi (drink)
Use: tea, tonic, canoes, seasoning
Part Used: root, root bark, bark
Botanical Description:
A medium sized tree, 10-60’ tall, to 2’ in diameter, sometimes larger. Crushed leaves, twigs bark
and berries fragrant. Bark red-brown and furrowed. Young twigs green and branched, only one bundle
scar per leaf scar, true end buds. Leaves simple, toothless, ovate to irregularly 2 or 3-lobed (sometimes
mitten-shaped), all three types occurring on same plant, 2-9”, turning yellow, red or orange in fall. Plants
dioecious, with separate male and female plants. Flowers greenish-yellow, appearing with the leaves in the
spring. Fruit a one seeded berry, small, blue, fleshy, on a red stalk, appearing from Aug.-Oct. Found in
moist and sandy soil in old fields, clearings, and on the borders of woods. Range from Mo. and se. Iowa
east to cent. Mich. and sw. Maine, south to central Fla., west to e. Tex.
Miami Use:
They made a tea from sassafras root (Dunn).
Other Use:
Collect the roots during any time of the year, wash them, and boil until the water turns brown.
This is drunk as tea and sweetened to taste. This may also be made into a jelly. The root, root bark and
bark were commonly used among Native American tribes as a general tonic. The roots once were a major
flavoring in root beer. WARNING: Although once considered a healthful tonic, Sassafras has been linked
to cancer in laboratory test animals.
122
File’, a Creole spice, is made from dried and powdered young leaves. Add one tablespoon of file’
to a pot of soup just before serving to flavor and thicken it. Do not boil again, or the soup will become
stringy. Collect the young leaves in spring and summer.
The roots were used by several tribes for medicinal purposes. The lumber was used for buckets,
posts, small boats and dugout canoes. The oil is used to scent soap.
123
Scirpus validus Vahl.
Softstem Bulrush
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Miami Term: alaansooni
Use: mats, kindling, food
Parts Used: stems, roots, shoots
Botanical Description:
Grass-like colonial, perennial herb, rhizomatous, 3-10’ tall. Stems easily crushed between the
fingers. Inflorescence tends to be looser and more open than other species of bulrush. Found in marshes
and muddy shores of lakes and streams, widespread in temperate N. America and tropical America.
Miami Use:
Mats were woven from bulrush. Gatschet wrote, “[they make a] long mat manufactured from a
round-stem scirpus-reed growing in the Indian territory. When to be used as a bed mat, it is our size of
beds and laid on the ground.” DeGannes notes, “Every young man has a little mat made of the round reeds
I have mentioned which grow in the marshes. The women dye them black, yellow, and red and make them
three feet long and two feet wide.” Bulrush was also used as kindling. DeGannes notes, “one of them [the
hunters] went off three or four arpents into a hollow, which in the spring is nothing but a sort of marsh and
brought back a bundle of round reeds as thick as ones fingers. They drew from their quivers two bits of
wood which serve them for striking a fire [see Thuja occidentalis], and in less than half a miserere, they
had a fire. They kindled a part of their reeds, over which they put their meat which they turned from time
to time with their bows.”
Other Use:
The roots are edible, and are best in early spring or fall. The main, vertical rootstock is best, as the
horizontal roots are often tough and stringy. The young shoots may be eaten raw or cooked.
124
125
Smilacina racemosa (L.) Desf.
Wild Spikenard, False Solomon’s Seal
Liliaceae (Lily family)
Miami Term: kahkiitiaahkwi*
Use: medicine, food
Parts Used: root, shoots, leaves, berries
Botanical Description:
Perennial herb, 1-3’ tall. Stem arching and angled slightly at leaves in a zig-zag. Leaves alternate,
finely hairy beneath and along edges, parallel veins, 3-6” long. Flowers creamy-white, clustered in a
panicle at the end of the stem, individual flowers 1/8” long, panicle 1-4” long, flower parts in multiples of
3. Blooms May-July. Fruit a berry, unripe green with red spots, ripe berries juicy ruby red with 2 seeds.
Found in moist woods on slopes, and in clearings and thickets, in soil with lots of organic matter. Range
from B.C. east to Nova Scotia, south to the uplands of Tenn., Ga. and N.C., west to Ariz. and Mo.
Miami Use:
Used medicinally in an unspecified way (Dunn).
Other Use:
The young shoots are collected in early spring, and are prepared like asparagus, or thrown in a
salad. The young leaves may also be eaten in a salad. The berries are high in vitamin C and are edible,
although somewhat of a laxative when eaten in abundance. Rootstocks are edible, but must be soaked in
lye or ash overnight, and then parbroiled or boiled.
The root was used in traditional medicine to treat headaches, sore throats, back pain and kidney
problems during pregnancy. It was also used as a stimulant, and to cleanse the system. The Yana applied a
poultice of the roots to swellings and boils. A compound decoction of the roots was used for pain by the
Chippewa, Gitksan, Ojibwa and Thompson.
126
127
Symplocarpus foetidus (L.) Nutt.
Skunk Cabbage
Araceae (Arum family)
Miami Term: šikaakwainši*
Use: food, deodorant
Parts Used: shoots, roots
Botanical Description:
Perennial herb, 1-2’ tall. The flower smells fetid and skunk-like, shape typical of the Araceae,
with a shell-like spathe (hood) surrounding a knob-like, yellow to dark reddish-purple-brown spadix
(flower cluster), 3-6” long. Blooms from Feb-May. Leaves appearing after flowering, rolled into a tight
cone, unfolding to be 1-2’ long, 1’ wide, arising directly from ground. Found in open swamps, marshes,
wet woods and along streams. Range from Ontario east to Nova Scotia, south to N.C., west to Tenn., north
to Minn, and in the mountains locally to Georgia.
Miami Use:
None recorded
Other Use:
The young shoots and rootstock may be eaten. WARNING: The fresh plant material contains
calcium oxalate crystals, which cause intense burning when eaten. Boiling does not remove this property,
but thorough drying will. May be left in pits with hot coals. Collect the leaves in early spring before they
unroll. These are good reconstituted in soups and stews. Collect the rootstock from fall to early spring.
This can be ground into flour.
An infusion of powdered root was used by the Iroquois to “cure strong smell under your arm.”
128
129
Thuja occidentalis L.
Northern White Cedar
Cupressaceae (Cypress family)
Miami Term: unknown
Use: fire starter, canoes
Part Used: wood
Botanical Description:
Medium to tall evergreen tree, 40-70’ tall, 1-3’ wide. Bark light brown, shreddy and in narrow
ridges. Leaves evergreen, opposite in 4 rows, scale-like with short pointed tips, flat pair with glands.
Cones 3/8” long, elliptical, upright, with 8-10 paired cone scales. Found in swamps or on limestone soils,
often in pure stands. Range from se. Manitoba east to Nova Scotia, south to Maine, and N.Y., west to Ill.,
locally in the south in the mountains.
Miami Use:
The wood was used as a fire starter. DeGannes observed, “one of the pieces of wood which they
use to make a fire is of white cedar, which is the most combustible, a foot long more or less, according as
they choose to make it and as thick as 2 fingers. On one side, on the very edge, they make little holes, in
which they make a notch. They put this bit of wood on some rotten wood or on some grass, dry and very
fine, after taking care to crush it thoroughly in their hands. The other piece of wood is as thick as the little
finger; it is a bit of wood that has a black berry, which we call morette. When this wood is green it is very
soft and it is proportionately hard when it is dry. They shape the end to the size of the holes in the other
piece of wood, into one of which they insert it and by turning it in their hands without ceasing, they
produce a sort of powder from which shortly is converted into flame. This coming through the notch of
which I have just spoken falls on the rotten wood or dry grass, which is ignited.”
130
Other Use:
The wood splits easily and was a preferred wood for making canoes.
131
Tilia americana L.
Basswood, American Linden
Tiliaceae (Basswood family)
Miami Term: wiikapimiši
Use: cordage, tea, medicine, lye
Parts Used: inner bark, flowers, ash
Botanical Description:
There are several species of basswood, and they are difficult to separate. They are medium to
large trees, 50-100’ tall, 2-3’ in diameter. The bark is dark, with shallow grooves when old, gray and
smooth when young. Leaves alternate, heart-shaped, with an uneven base and a finely-toothed edge, 5-10”
long. Flowers ½” wide, with 5 pale yellow petals in long stalked clusters hanging from green bract.
Blooms from June-Aug. Fruit nut-like, elliptical or round, gray and hairy, indehiscent and hard. Found in
moist woods in uplands and valleys. Range is from s. Manitoba east to New Brunswick, south to Fla. west
to Texas, also in Mexico.
There are at least four varieties of this species, as well as many cultivars and non-native cultivated
species. T. americana is distinguished from the other species by having hairless flower stalks and leaves.
Miami Use:
The inner bark was used to make cordage. Dunn observed, “cordage of all kinds was obtained
from the inner bark of the linn [Linden] tree. For temporary use this needed no preparation. When boys
went hunting with men, it was their first work to get linn bark to hobble the horses, while men hunted.
When rope was wanted for permanent use, the woman boiled this bark and twisted or braided it while it
was damp . . . bark of linn tree most used for rope and hobbles.”
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Other Use:
Cordage was obtained from Basswood by many tribes, including the Tête de Boule Algonquin,
Cherokee, Chippewa, Lakota, Malecite, Menominee, Meskwaki, Ojibwa, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca and
Potawatomi. One of the primary uses of Basswood cordage among the Ojibwa was to lash together the
frames of wigwams and medicine lodges. When wet cordage was used, it dried and shrank to make a
tighter joint.
The wood was burned to make ash for lye, and used for several purposes, such as removing
bitterness from acorns.
In addition to industrial uses, the unopened leaf buds may be eaten as a snack. The dried or fresh
flowers can me made into a tea. It is said to aid digestion, and acts as a sedative. May also be turned into a
jelly. Collect flowers in early summer.
The Ojibwa had several medicinal uses for Basswood – the inner bark treated dysentery, twigs
were used for lung ailments and the leaves treated burns and scalds.
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Trifolium pratense L.
Red Clover
Fabaceae (Legume family)
Miami Term: neehsopaki eensiwatoonki
Use: food, tea, cover crop
Parts Used: seeds, leaves, flower
Botanical Description:
Perennial herb, 6-24” tall. Leaves clover-shaped, at the end of long stalks, with three oval leaflets,
½-2” long, with a light V-shaped mark in the middle. Flowers a clustered head of magenta pea-shaped
flowers, each ½” long, head 1” long, ½-2” wide. Blooms May-Sept. Found in fields, lawns, roadsides.
Introduced from Europe, now common throughout N. America, except in the arctic.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
Widely cultivated as a hay and pasture crop. With the help of symbiotic bacteria, also fixes
atmospheric nitrogen and improves soil fertility.
To make the flowerheads and leaves digestable, soak in salt water for several hours, or boil for 510 min. Dried flowers are good added to tea mixtures. They may also be ground with the seeds to make a
flour. Clovers are high in protein.
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Trifolium repens L.
White Clover
Fabaceae (Legume family)
Miami Term: neehsopaki (white clover and generic)
Use: food, tea, cover crop
Parts Used: seeds, leaves, flowers
Botanical Description:
Perennial herb, 4-10” tall, creeping. Leaves with 3 leaflets, each with a V-shaped coloration in the
middle. Flowers white or pinkish, pea-shaped, ¼-½” long, in a head ¾” wide at the end of a long stalk.
Blooms May-Oct. Found in fields, lawns and roadsides. Introduced from Europe, now common
throughout N. America, except in the arctic.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
Widely cultivated as a hay and pasture crop. With the help of symbiotic bacteria, also fixes
atmospheric nitrogen and improves soil fertility.
To make the flowerheads and leaves digestable, soak in salt water for several hours, or boil for 510 min. Dried flowers are good added to tea mixtures. They may also be ground with the seeds to make a
flour. Clovers are high in protein.
135
Typha latifolia L.
Common Cattail
Typhaceae (Cattail family)
Miami Terms: apahkwaya
Use: thatching, food, medicine
Parts Used: leaves, roots, down
Botanical Description:
Aquatic reed, 3-10’ tall. Leaves 3/8-1” wide. Flower the familiar cat-tail, lower section female,
brown, 4-6” long, ¾-1” wide, upper section male, golden yellow with pollen, absent later in the season, the
two portions are usually contiguous, rarely separated by 1/8”. Fruit less than ½”, white-hairy. Found in
clean marshes. Range is throughout the northeast. This is the common inland species.
Miami Use:
Cattails were used to make mats for thatching buildings. Marquette writes: “As bark for making
Cabins is scarce in this country, they use Rushes; these serve them for making walls and roofs, but do not
afford them much protection against the winds, and still less against the rains when they fall abundantly.
The advantage of cabins of this kind is that they make packages of them and easily transport them wherever
they wish, while they are hunting.” DeGannes notes, “some days after this [the buffalo hunt, beginning of
June] the women who remain go off in canoes, of which they have as many as three in each cabin, to cut
reeds with which they cover their cabins. These are a kind that grow in their marshes. They procure
bundles of them, which, after removing a skin that encloses several blades conjointly, they dry in the sun
and tie together with twine which they make of white wood, with ten or twelve bands at intervals of about
six inches. They make these up to ten fathoms in length. They call them apacoya, a word which serves not
merely to designate these, but which is a generic term for all sorts of coverings. They use the same term for
bark boards, and two of these apacoyas, one on top of the other, protect one from the rain as well as the best
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blanket. These are cabins which they use in autumn and winter; even if they leave their canoes, the women
carry these on their backs.”
Other Use:
Cattail was widely used among Native Americans. At least 42 tribes used the plant industrially,
and at least 30 have been documented to eat it. The young spring stalks (up to 3’) may be prepared like
asparagus. The young shoots may be pulled from their root, and peeled to reveal the tender white core
which is eaten raw or prepared similarly. Collect the young flower heads while they are still green, before
they rise from the leaves in late spring. Boil for a few minutes, serve with butter, and eat like corn on the
cob. Collect pollen in early summer, sift through a strainer, and mix 1:1 with wheat flour to enrich protein
content. In late summer, collect the next year’s shoots from the rootstock. Eat them raw or boil for 10
minutes. As these shoots emerge in the spring, collect before they break the surface and eat the starchy
base like a potato. When collected in late fall, winter and early spring, the rootstocks yield a nutritious
flour. Crush them in cold water, remove the fibers, and allow the crushed root to settle. Pour out water,
and use immediately or dry.
The down from the flowers was used to treat burns or sores by the Dakota, Meskwaki, Montana
Indians, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, Sioux and Winnebago. Also used as a talcum powder or as stuffing for
pillows and pads.
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Ulmus rubra Muhl.
Slippery Elm, Red E., Soft E.
Ulmaceae (Elm family)
Miami Term: ašaahšikopa
Use: cordage, tea, food, medicine
Parts Used: bark, inner bark
Botanical Description:
Small to medium sized tree, 40-60’ tall, 1-3’ wide. Inner bark slimy. Young twigs rough-hairy.
Buds red and hairy, over 1/8”. Leaves alternate, 4-9” long, 2-3” wide, rough like sandpaper above, hairy
below, elliptical, rounded at base with sides very unequal, doubly toothed, many parallel side veins, thick
and turning yellow in fall. Fruit a solitary seed with a hairless, light green, circular (slightly notched at tip),
disc-like wing encircling it, 3/8-7/8” wide, pubescent over the seed, from May-June. Found in hardwood
forests with moist, rich soil, especially on lower slopes and floodplains, also in dry upland regions. Range
from N. Dak., east to s. Ontario and s. Quebec, and south through New England to nw. Fla, and west to
central Tex.
Miami Use:
Slippery Elm was used to make cordage.
Other Use:
Like the Miami, a fiber was extracted by the Dakota, Menominee, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca and
Winnebago.
The slimy inner bark may be steeped in hot water for 15 minutes to make a healthy tea. It may
also be dried, and ground into a nutritious flour. Collect in spring.
The bark was chewed to treat sore throats by several tribes, including the Chippewa, Iroquois,
Mohegan and Ojibwa. Dried and powdered inner bark may be remoistened to make a cough remedy or a
138
poultice. It was also used as flour or chewed piecemeal to ward off scurvy. The Ojibwa made a wash for
foot cuts from the roots.
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Urtica dioica L.*
Stinging Nettle
Urticaceae (Nettle family)
Miami Term: ašošaawia*
Use: cordage, food, medicine
Parts Used: stalk, leaves, root
Botanical Description:
Perennial herb, 1-4’ tall. 4-sided stem. Stem and leaves covered with many glass-like hairs which
produce a burning sensation when touched. Leaves opposite, 2-4” long, simple, coarsely toothed with
stinging hairs, ovate, with base heart shaped. Flowers small and green, clustered in leaf axils. Either
monoecious, having both male and female flowers on the same plant, with the male flowers on the upper
portion of the plant and female flowers on the lower portion, or dioecious, with separate male and female
plants. Blooms June-Sept. Found in thickets, waste places, roadsides and damp woods. Native to Europe,
now established in most of North America, except in the Artic. Similar to Laportea canadensis (Wood
Nettle), which has alternate leaves rather than opposite, and is found in moist soils and along stream banks.
Also resembles U. gracilis (Slender Nettle), which has fewer stinging hairs than either the Wood Nettle or
Stinging Nettle, and grows in damp soil and thickets. Gleason and Cronquist’s Manual treats U. dioica, U.
gracilis and U. viridis as the same species.
*U. dioica is a European species, but is widespread throughout our range.
Miami Use:
The Miami possessed a large number of belts and pipes which illustrated different historical
events. Two boxes were destroyed at the time of Harmers defeat, and much of the early Miami history and
traditions were lost. The belts were made from small bones from the legs of swans and other large birds.
They were attached with a cord made from the fibers of the wild nettle (Trowbridge).
Other Use:
140
Like the Miami, fine cordage was obtained from various species of nettle, by tribes such as the
Hesquiat, Lakota, Nitinaht, Thompson, Bella Coola, Dakota, Inuit Eskimo, Haisla and Hanaksiala,
Southern Kwakiutl, Menominee, Montana Indian, Ojibwa, Omaha, Oweekeno, Pawnee, Ponca,
Potawatomi, Ouileute, Upper Skagit, Winnebago, Cahuilla, Kawaiiru and Luiseño. To obtain the fibers,
wipe the plant with a cloth to remove any remaining needles, crumple dry stalks in hands, or gently pound
with a stone.
Latin name from uro, “I burn,” referring to the stinging properties of this plant. Although
stinging nettles should be handled with care, and often give an unpleasant surprise to unsuspecting hikers,
the tender upper leaves and young shoots (only a few inches tall) make an excellent cooked green. All
stinging nettle species in our area are edible (including L. canadensis). Simmer them in just enough water
to cover them for 10-15 minutes. Their stinging qualities disappear with boiling. Good served with butter
and lemon, or added to soups. Texture resembles that of spinach. Save the water, or dry the fresh leaves
(dried leaves do not sting) to make a healthful tea. Leaves contain vitamins A and C, iron and protein.
Collect in spring and summer.
Stinging Nettle is also used to counteract pain by striking the affected area with branches. This is
especially effective against rheumatism and stiff joints. The Chehalis and Quileute used the whole plant as
a whip to treat arthritis. Relief of pain will follow a few minutes of stinging. Use crushed Aloe (Aloe vera)
or Jewelweed (Impatiens spp.) to sooth the irritation. A less “striking” way to treat joint pain is to apply a
hot poultice of pounded and bruised leaves or roots. The roots and stems were used to treat rheumatism,
soreness and stiffness by several tribes, including the Klallam (poultice), Quileute (infusion taken
internally), and the Shuswap (bath). Other species were used in similar ways by other tribes. CAUTION:
If a poultice is left on too long, it may cause blistering. Studies show that Nettles’ action involves the
action of white blood cells, improving coagulation, as well as the formation of hemoglobin. Also may act
as a CNS-depressant, and block the effects of adrenaline. Has antibacterial activity. May be effective in
treating kidney and urinary ailments, prostate cancer, inflammation of the gall bladder and hepatitis.
Clearly this is one of the more powerful plants.
141
142
Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.
Large Cranberry
Ericaceae (Heath family)
Miami Term: neehpikicia
Use: food
Part Used: berries
Botanical Descriptions:
Creeping shrub. Leaves evergreen, small, blunt tipped, white or pale beneath, round or wedgeshaped, ¼-5/8” long. Flowers bell-shaped and pink, 2-6 in a cluster, or solitary in leaf axils. Blooms JuneAug. Fruit red, globular and many seeded, 7/16-13/16” across, from Sept.-Nov. Found in bogs. Range
from Manitoba and Minn. east to Newfoundland, south to Long Island and along the mountains to N.
Carolina and Tenn., west to Ark. and n. Ill.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
Use like commercial cranberries. They contain their own pectin. Collect the berries just before or
just after the first frost.
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Vaccinium oxycoccos L.
Small Cranberry
Ericaceae (Heath family)
Miami Term: neehpikicia
Use: food
Part Used: berries
Botanical Description:
Similar to V. macrocarpon, but with leaves pointed, small, egg-shaped to triangular, 3/16-5/8”
long. Flowers in clusters of 1-4. Blooms May-July. Fruits red or rarely white, usually less than 3/8”, from
Aug.-Oct. Range from Alaska to Greenland, south to Newfoundland and Long Island, in the mountains to
N. Carolina, west to Arkansas and Minn.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
Use like commercial cranberries. They contain their own pectin. Collect the berries just before or
just after the first frost.
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Viburnum prunifolium L.
Smooth Blackhaw
Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle family)
Miami Terms: papaakimišaahkwi
papakimini (fruit)
Use: food
Part Used: berries
Botanical Description:
Shrub or small tree, 6-15’ tall, 2-6” in diameter. Bark dark and divided into small squares.
Leaves elliptic or egg shaped, fine toothed, somewhat leathery, hairless or slightly scaly beneath, 1-3” long.
Leafstalk not winged. Flowers small and in stalkless clusters. Blooms April-May. Fruits almost black,
from Sept.-Oct. Found in woods and along hedgerows. Range from e. Kans. east to Conn., south to n. Fla.
and west to Tex.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
The berries were eaten raw by the Meskwaki.
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Vitis aestivalis Michx.
Summer Grape, Pigeon G.
Vitaceae (Grape family)
Miami Term: kiišiipitoonisinki
Use: food, drink
Parts Used: fruit, leaves
Botanical Description:
There are several species of wild grapes in our area, and the species can be difficult to identify.
All are thornless, climbing vines with forked tendrils. Stems woody, often with shreddy bark and brown
pith which is interrupted by diaphragms at the nodes. Leaves large, heart shaped, coarsely toothed, often
lobed. Flowers greenish. Fleshy fruit, containing 1-4 pear-shaped seeds. Fruiting from Aug. to Oct.
V. aestivalis is distinguished by having a long inflorescence, 2-6”, and dark purple to black fruit,
less than ½“ wide. Found in moist or dry soil in open forests, thickets and roadsides. Range from s. Minn.
east to Ont. and Mass., south to Ala.
Miami Use:
Dunn noted that Summer Grapes are recognized as the first to ripen, and they tickle the mouth
when eaten.
Other Use:
All wild grapes are edible, and may be used as a substitute for cultivated grapes, but may require
more sweetening. To make juice, put stemmed grapes in a pot and cover with enough water to avoid
scorching them. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Collect in mid to late summer. Young, unripe fruit are an
excellent source of pectin. The young leaves may be boiled for 10-15 minutes and served with butter, or
lightly boiled and wrapped around meat before baking. Collect leaves in early summer, when they are first
fully unrolled.
146
147
Vitis labrusca L.
Fox Grape
Vitaceae (Grape family)
Miami Term: waawipinkwaki ahsantepakwa*
Use: food
Parts Used: fruit, leaves
Botanical Description:
There are several species of wild grapes in our area, and the species can be difficult to identify.
All are thornless, climbing vines with forked tendrils. Stems woody, often with shreddy bark and brown
pith which is interrupted by diaphragms at the nodes. Leaves large, heart shaped, coarsely toothed, often
lobed. Flowers greenish. Fleshy fruit, containing 1-4 pear-shaped seeds. Fruiting from Aug. to Oct.
V. labrusca is distinguished by having an ovoid inflorescence, 1½-3” long, and dark red to black
fruit, ½-¾” wide. Found in woods and thickets, and along roadsides. Range from s. Mich east to Maine,
south to S.C. and Tenn. Ancestor of Concord grapes, and numerous other cultivated varieties.
Miami Use:
Waawipinkwaki noted to be as dark as Concord grapes, sweet, and growing east and west of
Spring River, in Indian Territory (Dunn). Gatschet recognized the Fox Grape a wine grape.
Other Use:
All wild grapes are edible, and may be used as a substitute for cultivated grapes, but may require
more sweetening. To make juice, put stemmed grapes in a pot and cover with enough water to avoid
scorching them. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Collect in mid to late summer. V. labrusca is a native North
American grape that is used to make wine. Young, unripe fruit are an excellent source of pectin. The
young leaves may be boiled for 10-15 minutes and served with butter, or lightly boiled and wrapped around
meat before baking. Collect leaves in early summer, when they are first fully unrolled.
148
149
Xanthium strumarium L.
Common Cocklebur
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Miami Term: sakinteepwa
Use: none
Parts Used: none
Botanical Description:
Annual herb, 1-6’ tall. Rough stemmed. Leaves maple-like and coarsely toothed, 2-6” long.
Flowers greenish and clustered in heads, separate male and female plants. Female heads ½-1½” long,
forming ovoid burs, with hooked prickles. Male heads in short spikes. Blooms Aug.-Oct. Found on low
ground, in fields, waste areas and along roadsides. Range throughout N. America.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
None recorded.
150
Zanthoxylum americanum Mill.
Northern Prickly Ash, Common Prickly A.
Rutaceae (Rue family)
Miami Term: seenankašia*
Use: medicine
Parts Used: leaves, fruit, bark
Botanical Description:
Thicket forming shrub, 4-10’ tall. Twigs with paired prickles next to the leaf scars and buds.
Leaves alternate, compound, hairy when young, lemon-like smell when crushed, 3-10” long, with 5-11
toothed and egg-shaped leaflets, leafstalk prickly. Plants dioecious, with separate male and female plants.
Flowers small and greenish, in clusters. Blooms April-May. Fruit a small dry pod, with 1-2 seeds, from
Aug.-Oct. Found in moist fertile soils of woods, old fields and stream banks. Range from s. N. Dak. east
through Ontario to Quebec, south to Ga., Ala., west to ne. Okla., found irregularly in the northeast.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
Leaves, fruit and/or bark were chewed to relieve toothache, hence another common name for this
plant – Toothache-tree. The inner bark was used to treat toothache by the Alabama, Comanche, Meskwaki
and Iroquois. It was also used to treat coughs and sore throats.
151
152
Zizania aquatica L.
Wild rice
Poaceae (Grass family)
Miami Terms: naloomini
Use: food
Part Used: grain
Botanical Description:
A robust annual aquatic grass, to 10’ tall. Leaves lance-shaped, 1-3’ long, 1-2” wide. Flowers in
long clusters, to 2’ long, upper inflorescences pistillate (female) and erect, lower inflorescences staminate
(male) and spreading. Seeds cylindrical, in bristle-tipped papery husks. Found in shallow water. From
Minn. east to New Brunswick, in the south mostly along the coast to Fla. and La., irregularly inland.
Miami Use:
None recorded.
Other Use:
Harvest the rice before it falls in late summer. Beat the stem with a stick over a sheet to collect the
rice. Dry thoroughly. Rub gently to remove husks. To remove smoky taste, wash with cold water. Parch
gently at 450˚ for 1 hour, stirring to ensure even parching. Wild rice is nutritious, and high in calories and
protein. The Dakota called the moon of September “psin-hna-ketu-wi” which means “the moon to lay rice
up to dry.” CAUTION: Although rare, the highly dangerous fungi Claviceps spp., or Ergot, occasionally
grows on this plant. It infects the plant by replacing some of the seeds. They are pink or purple, and either
the same size of the seed, or 3-4 times larger. If present, collect somewhere else. If eaten it causes a
condition known as ergotism or St. Anthony’s Fire, characterized by constriction of the blood vessels
leading to a burning sensation in the extremities, gangrene, loss of limbs or death. Also accompanied by
153
maddening hallucinations. When infected grain was turned into bread, entire towns were affected. Ergot is
less of a concern in today’s commercial grain due to careful testing procedures.
154
General Miami Plant Terms
acorn cap – aalakaya
bark – alakiihkwi
bud - weesintepeehkwa
grass (green) – ihkipakaahkatwi
grass (dry, hay) – mihtahkatwi
leaf – kaakipakwa (P), mihšipakwa (M)
moss – anseensi
nut –pakaani
pith – weemhši
thorn – kaawia
155
Glossary of Botanical Terms
achene – a dry, indehiscent fruit (e.g. sunflower)
annual – a plant that germinates, flowers, sets seed, and dies in one growing season
berry – a fleshy fruit from a single pistil, usually with more than one seed
bract – a modified leaf, arising in the axil beneath, or subtending, the flower or inflorescence stalk
calyx – the whorl of sepals of a flower
capsule – a dry dehiscent fruit, with more than two chambers
catkin – a dense, spike-like inflorescence, with many unisexual flowers, lacking petals
complete – a flower with all four whorls of parts (sepals, petals, pistils, stamens)
compound – a leaf with two or more leaflets
corolla – the whorl of petals of a flower
decussate – leaves opposite, with each pair at ninety degrees to those above and below (e.g. most mints)
dehiscent – a fruit that splits open at maturity to release the seeds
dioecious – plants unisexual, with separate male and female individuals
disk – in Asters, the central part of the head, with tubular flowers
drupe – a fleshy, indehiscent fruit with a stony pit (e.g. peach, plum)
floricane – the shoots of the genus Rubus which bears flowers and fruits
glochid – hair with recurved barbs at the tips (e.g. at the base of some cactus spines)
head – an indeterminate inflorescence with a dense cluster of sessile flowers
indehiscent – a fruit that does not open at maturity
keel – the two, lower petals of many Legumes
locule – the space or chamber within the ovary
loculicidal – a capsule that splits along the locule wall, not along the septae (e.g.. Iris)
monoecious – bisexual plants with male and female flowers on the same individual
node – the place on a stem where leaves and other structures (flowers, fruit, tendrils) are attached
nut – a dry, indehiscent fruit with a hard wall, usually with one seed (e.g. walnut, pecan)
156
palmate – a leaf type with three or more lobes, nerves, or leaflets arising from a single point (e.g. buckeye)
panicle – a branching indeterminate inflorescence, usually broadest near the base
perennial – a plant which survives more than two growing seasons
perfect – a flower with both male and female reproductive parts, but not necessarily petals and sepals
petals – the second whorl of floral parts, usually white or colored to attract pollinators
pinnae – the first primary division of a compound leaf
pinnate – a leaf type where veins or leaflets arise from a central axis
pistil – the female reproductive structure of a flower; made of stigma, style, and ovary; usually in the center
pith – large celled tissue found in the center of a stem or root
plumose – feathery, or with long fuzzy hairs
pod – any dry fruit that splits apart when mature
primocane – name of first year shoots of the genus Rubus
pubescent – with any kind of hairs
raceme – an elongate inflorescence arising from an unbranched central axis
receptacle – the base of a flower, where all the parts are attached
reflexed – sharply bent backward
rhizome – a creeping underground stem
rosette – when leaves or other organs are arranged in a circle or disk around the stem, often at the base
samara – a winged fruit, that does not split at maturity
sepal – composes the outer whorl of floral parts (calyx), often green and leafy underneath the petals
spadix – a spike inflorescence with dense small flowers on a fleshy axis
spathe – a solitary bract subtending and enclosing an inflorescence in the monocots
spike – an elongate, indeterminate inflorescence
stamen – the male flower organ, usually consisting of an anther and filament
stolon – a creeping, rhizomatus stem on or near the surface of the soil
tuber – a thickened end of a rhizome, functions in food storage and reproduction
umbel – a racemose inflorescence with a short axis and long pedicles
157
Harvesting Calander
This is intended to give approximate dates of when some wild foods are ready to be collected.
This calander is not precise, and the harvesting times will vary from location to location and season to
season. For greatest success, keep an eye on any plants you are interested in collecting throughout the
season so you will know when is the right time to collect.
158
January
February
Acer negundo (sap)
Acer saccharum (sap)
Acer saccharum (sap)
Apios americana (tubers)
Arisawma triphyllum (tubers)
Carya illinoinensis (sap)
Helianthus tuberosus (roots)
Juglans cinerea (sap)
Juglans nigra (sap)
Nelumbo lutea (roots)
Nymphaea odorata (roots)
Platanus occidentalis (sap)
Symplocarpus foetidus (roots)
Typha latifolia (roots)
Acer negundo (sap)
Acer saccharum (sap)
Acer saccharum (sap)
Apios americana (tubers)
Arisawma triphyllum (tubers)
Carya illinoinensis (sap)
Helianthus tuberosus (roots)
Juglans cinerea (sap)
Juglans nigra (sap)
Nelumbo lutea (roots)
Nymphaea odorata (roots)
Platanus occidentalis (sap)
Symplocarpus foetidus (roots)
Typha latifolia (roots)
March
April
Acer negundo (sap)
Acer saccharum (sap)
Acer saccharum (sap)
Allium spp. (leaves)
Apios americana (tubers)
Arisawma triphyllum (tubers)
Asclepias syriaca (shoots)
Carya illinoinensis (sap)
Helianthus tuberosus (roots)
Juglans cinerea (sap)
Juglans nigra (sap)
Morchella spp. (fruiting body)
Nelumbo lutea (roots)
Nymphaea odorata (roots)
Platanus occidentalis (sap)
Scirpus validus (roots and shoots)
Smilacina racemosa (shoots and leaves)
Symplocarpus foetidus (leaves)
Typha latifolia (shoots)
Ulmus rubra (bark)
Allium spp. (leaves)
Asclepias syriaca (shoots)
Cercis canadensis (flowers, young fruits)
Lindera benzoin (leaves, twigs)
Morchella spp. (fruiting body)
Nelumbo lutea (leaves)
Nymphaea odorata (leaves)
Opuntia humifusa (pads)
Phytolacca americana (shoots)
Scirpus validus (roots and shoots)
Smilacina racemosa (shoots and leaves)
Symplocarpus foetidus (leaves)
Typha latifolia (shoots)
Ulmus rubra (bark)
Urtica spp. (leaves)
159
May
June
Allium spp. (bulbs)
Asclepias syriaca (flowers, flower buds)
Cercis canadensis (young fruits)
Fragaria spp. (fruit)
Lindera benzoin (leaves, twigs)
Morchella spp. (fruiting body)
Morus rubra (fruit)
Nelumbo lutea (leaves)
Nymphaea odorata (leaves, buds)
Opuntia humifusa (pads)
Phytolacca americana (shoots)
Scirpus validus (roots and shoots)
Smilacina racemosa (leaves)
Trifolium spp. (flowers)
Typha latifolia (shoots and immature flowers)
Ulmus rubra (bark)
Urtica spp. (leaves)
Vitis spp. (leaves)
Allium spp. (bulbs)
Asclepias syriaca (flowers, flower buds)
Cercis canadensis (pods)
Fragaria spp. (fruit)
Lindera benzoin (leaves, twigs)
Morus rubra (fruit)
Nymphaea odorata (flower buds)
Opuntia humifusa (pads)
Portulaca oleracea (aboveground parts)
Ribes spp. (fruit)
Rubus spp. (fruit)
Sambucus spp. (flowers)
Tilia americana (flowers)
Trifolium spp. (flowers)
Typha latifolia (pollen)
Urtica spp. (leaves)
Vitis spp. (leaves)
July
August
Allium spp. (bulbs)
Apios americana (seeds)
Asclepias syriaca (flowers)
Fragaria spp. (fruit)
Lindera benzoin (leaves, twigs, fruit)
Morus rubra (fruit)
Nymphaea odorata (seeds)
Portulaca oleracea (aboveground parts)
Ribes spp. (fruit)
Rubus spp. (fruit)
Sambucus spp. (flowers)
Tilia americana (flowers)
Trifolium spp. (flowers)
Typha latifolia (pollen, new shoots)
Urtica spp. (leaves)
Acer saccharum (fruit)
Allium spp. (bulbs)
Apios americana (seeds)
Asclepias syriaca (flowers, pods)
Asimina triloba (fruit)
Corylus americana (nut)
Lindera benzoin (leaves, twigs, fruit)
Nelumbo lutea (seeds)
Nymphaea odorata (seeds)
Opuntia humifusa (fruit, seeds)
Podophyllum peltatum (fruit)
Portulaca oleracea (aboveground parts)
Prunus americana (fruit)
Prunus serotina (fruit)
Rhus spp. (fruit)
Ribes spp. (fruit)
Rubus spp. (fruit)
Sambucus spp. (flowers)
Tilia americana (flowers)
Trifolium spp. (flowers)
Typha latifolia (new shoots)
Urtica spp. (leaves)
Vitis spp. (fruit)
160
September
October
Acer saccharum (seeds)
Apios americana (seeds)
Asimina triloba (fruit)
Carya illinoinensis(fruit)
Corylus americana (fruit)
Juglans spp. (fruit)
Lindera benzoin (leaves, twigs, fruit)
Nelumbo lutea (seeds)
Nymphaea odorata (seeds)
Opuntia humifusa (fruit, seeds)
Podophyllum peltatum (fruit)
Portulaca oleracea (aboveground parts)
Prunus americana (fruit)
Prunus serotina (fruit)
Quercus spp. (fruit)
Rhus spp. (fruit)
Ribes spp. (fruit)
Rubus spp. (fruit)
Sambucus spp. (flowers)
Scirpus validus (roots)
Trifolium spp. (flowers)
Typha latifolia (new shoots)
Vitis spp. (fruit)
Zizania aquatica (seed)
Apios americana (tuber)
Arisaema triphyllum (tuber)
Asimina triloba (fruit)
Carya illinoinensis (fruit)
Diospyros virginiana (fruit)
Fagus grandifolia (fruit)
Juglans spp. (fruit)
Nelumbo lutea (roor)
Nymphaea odorata (root)
Opuntia humifusa (fruit, seeds)
Prunus americana (fruit)
Quercus spp. (fruit)
Sambucus spp. (flowers)
Scirpus validus (roots)
Symplocarpus foetidus (roots)
Trifolium spp. (flowers)
Typha latifolia (new shoots)
Vaccinium spp. (fruit)
Vitis spp. (fruit)
Zizania aquatica (seed)
November
December
Apios americana (tuber)
Arisaema triphyllum (tuber)
Carya illinoinensis (fruit)
Diospyros virginiana (fruit)
Helianthus tuberosus (root)
Juglans spp. (fruit)
Nelumbo lutea (roor)
Nymphaea odorata (root)
Scirpus validus (roots)
Symplocarpus foetidus (roots)
Typha latifolia (roots)
Vaccinium spp. (fruit)
Apios americana (tuber)
Arisaema triphyllum (tuber)
Helianthus tuberosus (root)
Nelumbo lutea (roor)
Nymphaea odorata (root)
Symplocarpus foetidus (roots)
Typha latifolia (roots)
161
Miami Language Sources
There are a number of documents written by outside observers dealing with Miami language.
These documents range in age from the late seventeenth century through the early 1960s. These documents
vary considerably in content and accuracy, but nonetheless contain a vast amount of information about
Miami language and culture. One thing that is often lost is a traditional knowledge of the use (and in some
cases even the recognition) of plants. Fortunately, several of these documents make references to plants.
As Charlotte Erichsen-Brown says in the preface to her book Medicinal and Other Uses of North American
Plants, “the knowledge hides, like some rare orchids, in unexpected and inaccessible places.” The goal of
the Myaamia Project is to make that information more accessible. These language documents served as my
principle sources for Miami plant use information, with clarification of some uses by tribal members.
The earliest records of the Miami-Illinois language were recorded by French missionaries from the
late seventeenth century through the mid-eighteenth century. Many of the early translations were
prayerbooks or religious texts. The earliest reference to plants is by Father Jacques Gravier, a missionary
among the Illinois from 1689 to 1705. An Illinois-to-French dictionary is attributed to him, and contains
about 22,000 Illinois words and phrases. Father Antoine-Robert Le Boullenger, a missionary to the Illinois
from 1719 to 1744, wrote a French-to-Illinois dictionary with thousands if Illinois words. He also wrote
several religious texts. The next reference to plants was made by William Thornton in the early 1800s.
Thomas Jefferson commissioned Thornton to make a wordlist to supplement earlier works. Charles
Trowbridge worked for the Indian department of the Great Lakes, and did extensive ethnological work
among the Menominee, Delaware, Shawnee, and Miami. He worked with the Miami during the winter of
1824-5 and compiled a set of words, sentences and paradigms. The most extensive documentation of the
Miami-Illinois language after the missionary period is the work of Albert Gatschet. He was employed by
the Bureau of American Ethnology and studied the Miami language from 1895 to 1902. He did his work
with speakers mostly in Oklahoma. Shortly after Gatschet came Jacob Dunn, who worked with the Miami
on and off from 1906 until his death in 1924. He was not a linguist but rather a lawyer and writer from
Indiana. He wanted to see the Miami language documented for posterity, and attempted to re-elicit older
162
documents from speakers. Charles Hockett conducted fieldwork with the Miami in 1938, and created a
short but high quality wordlist. The final notes on the Miami language were taken by Herbert Bussard in
the early 1960s. These make some references to plants, and contain some interesting documentation of
language obsolescence phenomena.
Below are the most important sources pertaining to the information presented in this thesis.
Dunn, Jacob P. 1919. Indiana and Indianans. Chicago: American Historical Society.
Dunn, Jacob P. n.d. Miami file card dictionary. Manuscript, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis.
Dunn, Jacob P. n.d. Various notes on Miami. Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis.
Gatschet, Albert n.d. Peoria and Miami-English Dictionary. Manuscript 2481, National Anthropological
Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington.
Gatschet, Albert n.d. Peoria and Miami-English Dictionary. Manuscript 2483, National Anthropological
Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington.
Trowbridge, Charles C. 1938. Meearmeear Traditions. Vernon Kinietz, ed. University of Michigan
Museum of Anthropology Occasional Contributions 7, Ann Arbor.
163
Other References:
The information on Miami history came mostly from Native American encyclopedias, although
this information was somewhat inaccurate. The discrepancies and mistakes were amended by the Myaamia
Project Director. Written botanical descriptions of each species were compiled from several botanical field
guides. Most plants are found in both Indiana and northeast Oklahoma, although this corner of Oklahoma
is the westernmost limit for many of the species. To supplement the information given by the Miami
language documents, I consulted a variety of sources. These included field guides to wild edible plants,
wild plant cookbooks and comparative ethnobotanical studies. The Miami share many cultural and
language traits with their neighboring tribes. They also shared knowledge of plants and plant usage. Some
uses of plants are conserved among tribes, particularly in regards to wild edible plants. Medicinal uses are
sometimes conserved, but these references should be treated with skepticism. Knowledge of plant
medicine was (and still is) highly valuable, so it is understandable how tribes would carefully guard this
information.
Bailey, C.H. and E.Z. Bailey. 1976. Hortus Third. Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, NY.
Davis, Mary B., editor. 1994. Native America in the Twentieth Century: an encyclopedia. Garland
Publishing, Inc.: New York.. 337-338.
Gleason, Henry A. and Arthur Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States
and Adjacent Canada. Second edition. New York Botanical Garden Press: Bronx, NY.
Harris, Ben Charles. 1969. Eat the Weeds. Keats Publishing, Inc.: New Canaan, CT.
Harter, Jim, editor. 1988. [Plant Kingdom Compendium] Plants: 2400 Copyright-Free Illustrations of
Flowers, Trees, Fruits and Vegetables. Dover Publications, Inc.: Mineola, New York.
Heiser, C.B. Jr. 1969. Nightshades: the Paradoxical Plants. W.H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco.
Holmgren, Noel H. et al. 1997. The Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist’s Manual:
Illustrations of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. New
York Botanical Garden Press: Bronx, NY.
Kavasch, Barrie. 1977. Native Harvests: Recipies and Botanicals of the American Indian. Vintage Books,
a division of Random House: New York.
164
Kindscher, Kelly. 1987. Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie: an ethnobotanical guide. University Press of
Kansas: Lawrence, KS.
Little, Elbert L. 1980. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region.”
Alfred A. Knopf: New York.
Malinowski, Shannon, Anna Sheets, et. al., editors. 1998. The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American
Tribes. Volume 1. Gale Research, Inc.: Detroit. 128-133.
McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. 1977. Wild Food Plants of Indiana and Adjacent States. Indiana
University Press: Bloomington, IN.
Meeker, James E., Joan E. Elias and John A, Heim. 1993. Plants Used by the Great Lakes Ojibwa. Great
Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission: Odanah, WI.
Moerman, Daniel E. 1986. Medicinal Plants of Native America. Volume 1. University of Michigan
Museum of Anthropology: Ann Arbor, MI.
Newcomb, Lawrence. 1977. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Little, Brown and Co.: Boston.
Peterson, Lee Allen. 1977. Edible Wild Plants: Of Eastern/Central North America. The Peterson Field
Guide series. Houghton Mifflin Co.: Boston.
Petrides, George A. 1972. A Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs. Second edition. The Peterson Field Guide
Series. Houghton Mifflin Co.: Boston.
Thieret, John W., William A. Niering and Nance C. Olmstead. 2001. National Audubon Society Field
Guide to North American Wildflowers: Eastern Region. Revised edition. Alfred A. Knopf: New
York.
Waldman, Carl. 1999. The Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Revised edition. Checkmark Books:
New York. 136-137.
165
Plants Used by the Miami as Food or Drink (by Scientific name)
page
Scientific name
Common name
Miami name
9
11
15
17
18
19
20
28
32
35
45
49
50
56
64
68
69
71
75
80
92
94
98
109
111
113
121
147
145
Acer sacchararinum
Acer saccharum
Allium canadense
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Allium vineale
Apios americana
Asclepias syriaca
Asimina triloba
Carya illinoinensis
Diospyros virginiana
Fragaria vesca
Fragaria virginiana
Helianthus tuberosus
Lindera benzoin
Morchella esculenta
Morus rubra
Nelumbo lutea
Nymphaea odorata
Phytolacca americana
Prunus americana
Prunus serotina
Quercus macrocarpa
Rubus allegheniensis
Rubus flagellaris
Rubus occidentalis
Sassafras albidum
Vitis labrusca
Vitis aestivalis
Soft Maple, Silver M.
Sugar Maple
Wild Garlic
Nodding Wild Onion
Wild Onion
Field Garlic
Common Groundnut
Common Milkweed, Purple M.
Pawpaw
Pecan
Common Persimmon
Wood Strawberry
Common Strawberry
Jerusalem Artichoke
Spicebush
Common Morel
Red Mulberry
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
ahsenaamiši
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
eepiikanita
leninši
mihsiimišaahkwi
kaanseenseemini (nut)
pyaakimišaahkwi
ateehimini (fruit)
ateehimini (fruit)
oonsaapeehkateeki
wiinaahkatwi
minohsakayi
mihtekwapimiši
poohkhšikwalia
mahkohpena
maamilaneewiaahkwia
ateehseemišaahkwa
katoohwakimišaahkwi
mihšiinkweemiši
makiinkweemina
meenkaalakiinkweemina
neepaleeteemina
mankiišaahkwi
waawipinkwaki ahsantepakwa*
kiišiipitoonisinki
American Lotus, Water Chinquapin, Yellow Water Lily
White Water Lily, Fragrant W. L.
Pokeweed
American Plum
Black Cherry
Bur Oak, Mossycup O.
Common Blackberry
Northern Dewberry
Black Raspberry
Sassafras
Fox Grape
Summer Grape, Pigeon G.
166
Plants Used by the Miami as Food or Drink (by Common name)
page
Common name
Scientific name
Miami name
109
94
111
19
15
147
145
145
20
56
71
9
9
11
28
28
68
69
98
98
17
18
32
35
45
92
80
113
121
64
50
49
71
75
75
71
Blackberry, Common
Cherry, Black
Dewberry, Northern
Garlic, Field
Garlic, Wild
Grape, Fox
Grape, Pigeon
Grape, Summer
Groundnut, Common
Jerusalem Artichoke
Lotus, American
Maple, Silver
Maple, Soft
Maple, Sugar
Milkweed, Common
Milkweed, Purple
Morel, Common
Mulberry, Red
Oak, Bur
Oak, Mossycup
Onion, Nodding Wild
Onion, Wild
Pawpaw
Pecan
Persimmon, Common
Plum, American
Pokeweed
Raspberry, Black
Sassafras
Spicebush
Strawberry, Common
Strawberry, Wood
Water Chinquapin
Water Lily, Fragrant
Water Lily, White
Water Lily, Yellow
Rubus allegheniensis
Prunus serotina
Rubus flagellaris
Allium vineale
Allium canadense
Vitis labrusca
Vitis aestivalis
Vitis aestivalis
Apios americana
Helianthus tuberosus
Nelumbo lutea
Acer sacchararinum
Acer sacchararinum
Acer saccharum
Asclepias syriaca
Asclepias syriaca
Morchella esculenta
Morus rubra
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus macrocarpa
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Asimina triloba
Carya illinoinensis
Diospyros virginiana
Prunus americana
Phytolacca americana
Rubus occidentalis
Sassafras albidum
Lindera benzoin
Fragaria virginiana
Fragaria vesca
Nelumbo lutea
Nymphaea odorata
Nymphaea odorata
Nelumbo lutea
makiinkweemina
katoohwakimišaahkwi
meenkaalakiinkweemina
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
waawipinkwaki ahsantepakwa*
kiišiipitoonisinki
kiišiipitoonisinki
eepiikanita
oonsaapeehkateeki
poohkhšikwalia
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
ahsenaamiši
leninši
leninši
minohsakayi
mihtekwapimiši
mihšiinkweemiši
mihšiinkweemiši
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
mihsiimišaahkwi
kaanseenseemini (nut)
pyaakimišaahkwi
ateehseemišaahkwa
maamilaneewiaahkwia
neepaleeteemina
mankiišaahkwi
wiinaahkatwi
ateehimini (fruit)
ateehimini (fruit)
poohkhšikwalia
mahkohpena
mahkohpena
poohkhšikwalia
167
Plants Used by the Miami as Food or Drink (by Miami name)
page
Miami name
Scientific name
Common name
11
49
50
92
20
35
94
145
28
80
75
109
121
111
32
98
69
68
113
56
71
45
147
9
64
15
17
18
19
ahsenaamiši
ateehimini (fruit)
ateehimini (fruit)
ateehseemišaahkwa
eepiikanita
kaanseenseemini (nut)
katoohwakimišaahkwi
kiišiipitoonisinki
leninši
maamilaneewiaahkwia
mahkohpena
makiinkweemina
mankiišaahkwi
meenkaalakiinkweemina
mihsiimišaahkwi
mihšiinkweemiši
mihtekwapimiši
minohsakayi
neepaleeteemina
oonsaapeehkateeki
poohkhšikwalia
pyaakimišaahkwi
waawipinkwaki ahsantepakwa*
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
wiinaahkatwi
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
Acer saccharum
Fragaria vesca
Fragaria virginiana
Prunus americana
Apios americana
Carya illinoinensis
Prunus serotina
Vitis aestivalis
Asclepias syriaca
Phytolacca americana
Nymphaea odorata
Rubus allegheniensis
Sassafras albidum
Rubus flagellaris
Asimina triloba
Quercus macrocarpa
Morus rubra
Morchella esculenta
Rubus occidentalis
Helianthus tuberosus
Nelumbo lutea
Diospyros virginiana
Vitis labrusca
Acer sacchararinum
Lindera benzoin
Allium canadense
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Allium vineale
Sugar Maple
Wood Strawberry
Common Strawberry
American Plum
Common Groundnut
Pecan
Black Cherry
Summer Grape, Pigeon G.
Common Milkweed, Purple M.
Pokeweed
White Water Lily, Fragrant W. L.
Common Blackberry
Sassafras
Northern Dewberry
Pawpaw
Bur Oak, Mossycup O.
Red Mulberry
Common Morel
Black Raspberry
Jerusalem Artichoke
American Lotus, Water Chinquapin, Yellow Water Lily
Common Persimmon
Fox Grape
Soft Maple, Silver M.
Spicebush
Wild Garlic
Nodding Wild Onion
Wild Onion
Field Garlic
168
Plants Used by the Miami Industrially (by Scientific name)
page
Scientific name
Common name
Miami name
9
22
37
40
52
60
62
69
80
82
108
123
129
131
135
137
139
Acer sacchararinum
Apocynum cannabinum
Celtis occidentalis
Cornus florida
Fraxinus nigra
Juglans nigra
Juniperus virginiana
Morus rubra
Phytolacca americana
Planera aquatica*
Robinia pseudo-acacia
Scirpus validus
Thuja occidentalis
Tilia americana
Typha latifolia
Ulmus rubra
Urtica dioica*
Soft Maple, Silver M.
Dogbane, Indian Hemp
Northern Hackberry
Flowering Dogwood
Black Ash, Basket A.
Black Walnut
Eastern Red Cedar
Red Mulberry
Pokeweed
Water Elm
Black Locust, Yellow L.
Softstem Bulrush
Northern White Cedar
Basswood
Common Cattail
Slippery Elm, Red E., Soft E.
Stinging nettle
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
ahsapa
pakamaakaniši
akanteemiši (M), iihkalomiši (P)
peepihkwilakiki*
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P), myaalweehki (Wea)
šiinkwaahkwa
mihtekwapimiši
maamilaneewiaahkwia
apahkoohkwaniši siipiomeekwi
unknown
alaansooni
unknown
wiikapimišii
apahkwaya
ašaahšikopa
ašošaawia*
Plants Used by the Miami Industrially (by Common name)
page
Common name
Scientific name
Miami name
52
52
131
123
135
62
129
22
40
137
137
137
82
37
22
108
108
9
9
69
139
80
60
Ash, Basket
Ash, Black
Basswood
Bulrush, Softstem
Cattail, Common
Cedar, Eastern Red
Cedar, Northern White
Dogbane
Dogwood, Flowering
Elm, Red
Elm, Slippery
Elm, Soft
Elm, Water
Hackberry, Northern
Indian Hemp
Locust, Black
Locust, Yellow
Maple, Silver
Maple, Soft
Mulberry, Red
Nettle, Stinging
Pokeweed
Walnut, Black
Fraxinus nigra
Fraxinus nigra
Tilia americana
Scirpus validus
Typha latifolia
Juniperus virginiana
Thuja occidentalis
Apocynum cannabinum
Cornus florida
Ulmus rubra
Ulmus rubra
Ulmus rubra
Planera aquatica*
Celtis occidentalis
Apocynum cannabinum
Robinia pseudo-acacia
Robinia pseudo-acacia
Acer sacchararinum
Acer sacchararinum
Morus rubra
Urtica dioica*
Phytolacca americana
Juglans nigra
peepihkwilakiki*
peepihkwilakiki*
wiikapimišii
alaansooni
apahkwaya
šiinkwaahkwa
unknown
ahsapa
akanteemiši (M), iihkalomiši (P)
ašaahšikopa
ašaahšikopa
ašaahšikopa
apahkoohkwaniši siipiomeekwi
pakamaakaniši
ahsapa
unknown
unknown
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
mihtekwapimiši
ašošaawia*
maamilaneewiaahkwia
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P), myaalweehki (Wea)
169
Plants Used by the Miami Industrially (by Miami name)
page
Miami name
Scientific name
Common name
22
40
123
82
135
137
139
60
40
80
69
60
37
52
62
108
129
9
131
ahsapa
akanteemiši (M)
alaansooni
apahkoohkwaniši siipiomeekwi
apahkwaya
ašaahšikopa
ašošaawia*
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P)
iihkalomiši (P)
maamilaneewiaahkwia
mihtekwapimiši
myaalweehki (Wea)
pakamaakaniši
peepihkwilakiki*
šiinkwaahkwa
unknown
unknown
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
wiikapimišii
Apocynum cannabinum
Cornus florida
Scirpus validus
Planera aquatica*
Typha latifolia
Ulmus rubra
Urtica dioica*
Juglans nigra
Cornus florida
Phytolacca americana
Morus rubra
Juglans nigra
Celtis occidentalis
Fraxinus nigra
Juniperus virginiana
Robinia pseudo-acacia
Thuja occidentalis
Acer sacchararinum
Tilia americana
Dogbane, Indian Hemp
Flowering Dogwood
Softstem Bulrush
Water Elm
Common Cattail
Slippery Elm, Red E., Soft E.
Stinging nettle
Black Walnut
Dogwood
Pokeweed
Red Mulberry
Black Walnut
Northern Hackberry
Black Ash, Basket A.
Eastern Red Cedar
Black Locust, Yellow L.
Northern White Cedar
Soft Maple, Silver M.
Basswood
170
Plants Used by the Miami Medicinally or Ceremonially (by Scientific name)
page
Scientific name
Common name
Miami name
14
42
62
73
80
82
115
125
Aesculus glabra
Cornus sericea
Juniperus virginiana
Nicotiana rustica
Phytolacca americana
Planera aquatica*
Rudbeckia hirta*
Smilacina racemosa
Ohio Buckeye
Red Osier Dogwood
Eastern Red Cedar
Wild Tobacco
Pokeweed
Water Elm
Blackeyed Susan
False Solomon’s Seal, Wild Spikenard
mihsihkiišikomiši
neehpikaahkwi
šiinkwaahkwa
ahseema
maamilaneewiaahkwia
apahkoohkwaniši siipiomeekwi
meehkateewi ciipihki
kahkiitiaahkwi*
Plants Used by the Miami Medicinally or Ceremonially (by Common name)
page
Common name
Scientific name
Miami name
115
14
62
42
82
125
80
73
125
Blackeyed Susan
Buckeye, Ohio
Cedar, Eastern Red
Dogwood, Red Osier
Elm, Water
False Solomon’s Seal
Pokeweed
Tobacco, Wild
Wild Spikenard
Rudbeckia hirta*
Aesculus glabra
Juniperus virginiana
Cornus sericea
Planera aquatica*
Smilacina racemosa
Phytolacca americana
Nicotiana rustica
Smilacina racemosa
meehkateewi ciipihki
mihsihkiišikomiši
šiinkwaahkwa
neehpikaahkwi
apahkoohkwaniši siipiomeekwi
kahkiitiaahkwi*
maamilaneewiaahkwia
ahseema
kahkiitiaahkwi*
Plants Used by the Miami Medicinally or Ceremonially (by Miami name)
page
Miami name
Scientific name
Common name
73
82
125
80
115
14
42
62
ahseema
apahkoohkwaniši siipiomeekwi
kahkiitiaahkwi*
maamilaneewiaahkwia
meehkateewi ciipihki
mihsihkiišikomiši
neehpikaahkwi
šiinkwaahkwa
Nicotiana rustica
Planera aquatica*
Smilacina racemosa
Phytolacca americana
Rudbeckia hirta*
Aesculus glabra
Cornus sericea
Juniperus virginiana
Wild Tobacco
Water Elm
False Solomon’s Seal, Wild Spikenard
Pokeweed
Blackeyed Susan
Ohio Buckeye
Red Osier Dogwood
Eastern Red Cedar
171
Plants Used by Other Groups as Food or Drink (by Scientific name)
page
Scientific name
Common name
Miami name
8
9
11
15
17
18
19
20
24
26
28
32
35
37
38
43
45
47
49
50
54
56
58
60
64
68
69
71
75
77
80
84
86
90
92
94
96
98
100
102
103
105
107
109
111
113
117
119
121
123
125
127
Acer negundo
Acer sacchararinum
Acer saccharum
Allium canadense
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Allium vineale
Apios americana
Aralia nudicaulis
Arisaema triphyllum
Asclepias syriaca
Asimina triloba
Carya illinoinensis
Celtis occidentalis
Cercis canadensis
Corylus americana
Diospyros virginiana
Fagus grandifolia
Fragaria vesca
Fragaria virginiana
Gleditsia triacanthos
Helianthus tuberosus
Juglans cinerea
Juglans nigra
Lindera benzoin
Morchella esculenta
Morus rubra
Nelumbo lutea
Nymphaea odorata
Opuntia humifusa
Box-elder, Ashleaf Maple
Soft Maple, Silver M.
Sugar Maple
Wild Garlic
Nodding Wild Onion
Wild Onion
Field Garlic
Common Groundnut
Wild Sarsaparilla
Jack-in-the-pulpit, Indian Turnip
Common Milkweed, Purple M.
Pawpaw
Pecan
Northern Hackberry
Redbud
American Hazelnut
Common Persimmon
Beech
Wood Strawberry
Common Strawberry
Honey Locust
Jerusalem Artichoke
Butternut
Black Walnut
Spicebush
Common Morel
Red Mulberry
šiišiikweehkihsi
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
ahsenaamiši
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
eepiikanita
maahkwana*
wiikopayiisia*
leninši
mihsiimišaahkwi
kaanseenseemini (nut)
pakamaakaniši
eeyoonsaaweekiša
paahkiteensaahkwi
pyaakimišaahkwi
sansakamiši*
ateehimini (fruit)
ateehimini (fruit)
akaawinšaahkwa
oonsaapeehkateeki
kiinošiši
Phytolacca americana
Platanus occidentalis
Podophyllum peltatum
Portulaca oleracea
Prunus americana
Prunus serotina
Quercus alba
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus rubra
Rhus copallina
Rhus glabra
Ribes americanum
Ribes cynosbati
Rubus allegheniensis
Rubus flagellaris
Rubus occidentalis
Sambucus canadensis
Sambucus racemosa
Sassafras albidum
Scirpus validus
Smilacina racemosa
Symolocarpus foetidus
American Lotus, Water Chinquapin, Yellow Water Lily
White Water Lily, Fragrant W. L.
Eastern Prickly Pear
Pokeweed
Sycamore, Buttonwood, Button-ball Tree
Mayapple, “Mandrake”
Common Purslane
American Plum
Black Cherry
White Oak
Bur Oak, Mossycup O.
Northern Red Oak
Winged Sumac, Shining S., Dwarf S.
Smooth Sumac, Common S.
American Black Currant, Eastern B. C.
Pasture Gooseberry, Dogberry
Common Blackberry
Northern Dewberry
Black Raspberry
Common Elderberry
Red Elderberry
Sassafras
Softstem Bulrush
False Solomon’s Seal, Wild Spikenard
Skunk Cabbage
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P), myaalweehki (Wea)
wiinaahkatwi
minohsakayi
mihtekwapimiši
poohkhšikwalia
mahkohpena
ilenoonkwia
maamilaneewiaahkwia
kaakihšaahkatwi
kahkiteemišaahkwi
koohkooša awiilawi
ateehseemišaahkwa
katoohwakimišaahkwi
waawaapinkwaahkatwi
mihšiinkweemiši
maamhkatiaahkatwi
ciiciinkweemiši
mahkomiši
eehsipanimini
kaayomišaahkwi
makiinkweemina
meenkaalakiinkweemina
neepaleeteemina
wiikooloomphsa*, kikalosa*
wiikooloomphsa*, kikalosa*
mankiišaahkwi
alaansooni
kahkiitiaahkwi*
šikaakwainši
172
131
133
134
135
137
139
142
143
144
145
147
152
Tilia americana
Trifolium pratense
Trifolium repens
Typha latifolia
Ulmus rubra
Urtica dioica*
Vaccinium macrocarpon
Vaccinium oxycoccos
Viburnum prunifolium
Vitis aestivalis
Vitis labrusca
Zizania aquatica
Basswood
Red Clover
White Clover
Common Cattail
Slippery Elm, Red E., Soft E.
Stinging nettle
Large Cranberry
Small Cranberry
Smooth Black-haw
Summer Grape, Pigeon G.
Fox Grape
Wild rice
wiikapimišii
neehsopaki eensiwatoonki
neehsopaki
apahkwaya
ašaahšikopa
ašošaawia*
neehpikicia
neehpikicia
papaakimišaahkwi
kiišiipitoonisinki
waawipinkwaki ahsantepakwa*
naloomini
173
Plants Used by Other Groups as Food or Drink (by Common name)
page
Common name
Scientific name
Miami name
131
47
109
144
8
123
58
84
84
135
94
133
134
142
143
105
105
111
107
117
119
137
137
137
125
19
15
107
147
145
145
20
37
43
26
26
56
54
71
86
8
9
9
11
86
28
28
68
69
139
98
98
Basswood
Beech
Blackberry, Common
Black-haw, Smooth
Box-elder
Bulrush, Softstem
Butternut
Button-ball Tree
Buttonwood
Cattail, Common
Cherry, Black
Clover, Red
Clover, White
Cranberry, Large
Cranberry, Small
Currant, American Black
Currant, Eastern Black
Dewberry, Northern
Dogberry
Elderberry, Common
Elderberry, Red
Elm, Red
Elm, Slippery
Elm, Soft
False Solomon’s Seal
Garlic, Field
Garlic, Wild
Gooseberry, Pasture
Grape, Fox
Grape, Pigeon
Grape, Summer
Groundnut, Common
Hackberry, Northern
Hazelnut, American
Indian Turnip
Jack-in-the-pulpit
Jerusalem Artichoke
Locust, Honey
Lotus, American
Mandrake
Maple, Ashleaf
Maple, Silver
Maple, Soft
Maple, Sugar
Mayapple
Milkweed, Common
Milkweed, Purple
Morel, Common
Mulberry, Red
Nettle, Stinging
Oak, Bur
Oak, Mossycup
Tilia americana
Fagus grandifolia
Rubus allegheniensis
Viburnum prunifolium
Acer negundo
Scirpus validus
Juglans cinerea
Platanus occidentalis
Platanus occidentalis
Typha latifolia
Prunus serotina
Trifolium pratense
Trifolium repens
Vaccinium macrocarpon
Vaccinium oxycoccos
Ribes americanum
Ribes americanum
Rubus flagellaris
Ribes cynosbati
Sambucus canadensis
Sambucus racemosa
Ulmus rubra
Ulmus rubra
Ulmus rubra
Smilacina racemosa
Allium vineale
Allium canadense
Ribes cynosbati
Vitis labrusca
Vitis aestivalis
Vitis aestivalis
Apios americana
Celtis occidentalis
Corylus americana
Arisaema triphyllum
Arisaema triphyllum
Helianthus tuberosus
Gleditsia triacanthos
Nelumbo lutea
Podophyllum peltatum
Acer negundo
Acer sacchararinum
Acer sacchararinum
Acer saccharum
Podophyllum peltatum
Asclepias syriaca
Asclepias syriaca
Morchella esculenta
Morus rubra
Urtica dioica*
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus macrocarpa
wiikapimišii
sansakamiši*
makiinkweemina
papaakimišaahkwi
šiišiikweehkihsi
alaansooni
kiinošiši
kaakihšaahkatwi
kaakihšaahkatwi
apahkwaya
katoohwakimišaahkwi
neehsopaki eensiwatoonki
neehsopaki
neehpikicia
neehpikicia
eehsipanimini
eehsipanimini
meenkaalakiinkweemina
kaayomišaahkwi
wiikooloomphsa*, kikalosa*
wiikooloomphsa*, kikalosa*
ašaahšikopa
ašaahšikopa
ašaahšikopa
kahkiitiaahkwi*
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
kaayomišaahkwi
waawipinkwaki ahsantepakwa*
kiišiipitoonisinki
kiišiipitoonisinki
eepiikanita
pakamaakaniši
paahkiteensaahkwi
wiikopayiisia*
wiikopayiisia*
oonsaapeehkateeki
akaawinšaahkwa
poohkhšikwalia
kahkiteemišaahkwi
šiišiikweehkihsi
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
ahsenaamiši
kahkiteemišaahkwi
leninši
leninši
minohsakayi
mihtekwapimiši
ašošaawia*
mihšiinkweemiši
mihšiinkweemiši
174
100
96
17
18
32
35
45
92
80
77
90
113
38
152
24
121
127
64
125
50
49
103
102
102
103
102
84
60
71
75
75
71
Oak, Northern Red
Oak, White
Onion, Nodding Wild
Onion, Wild
Pawpaw
Pecan
Persimmon, Common
Plum, American
Pokeweed
Prickly Pear, Eastern
Purslane, Common
Raspberry, Black
Redbud
Rice, Wild
Sarsaparilla, Wild
Sassafras
Skunk Cabbage
Spicebush
Spikenard, Wild
Strawberry, Common
Strawberry, Wood
Sumac, Common
Sumac, Dwarf
Sumac, Shining
Sumac, Smooth
Sumac, Winged
Sycamore
Walnut, Black
Water Chinquapin
Water Lily, Fragrant
Water Lily, White
Water Lily, Yellow
Quercus rubra
Quercus alba
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Asimina triloba
Carya illinoinensis
Diospyros virginiana
Prunus americana
Phytolacca americana
Opuntia humifusa
Portulaca oleracea
Rubus occidentalis
Cercis canadensis
Zizania aquatica
Aralia nudicaulis
Sassafras albidum
Symolocarpus foetidus
Lindera benzoin
Smilacina racemosa
Fragaria virginiana
Fragaria vesca
Rhus glabra
Rhus copallina
Rhus copallina
Rhus glabra
Rhus copallina
Platanus occidentalis
Juglans nigra
Nelumbo lutea
Nymphaea odorata
Nymphaea odorata
Nelumbo lutea
maamhkatiaahkatwi
waawaapinkwaahkatwi
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
mihsiimišaahkwi
kaanseenseemini (nut)
pyaakimišaahkwi
ateehseemišaahkwa
maamilaneewiaahkwia
ilenoonkwia
koohkooša awiilawi
neepaleeteemina
eeyoonsaaweekiša
naloomini
maahkwana*
mankiišaahkwi
šikaakwainši
wiinaahkatwi
kahkiitiaahkwi*
ateehimini (fruit)
ateehimini (fruit)
mahkomiši
ciiciinkweemiši
ciiciinkweemiši
mahkomiši
ciiciinkweemiši
kaakihšaahkatwi
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P), myaalweehki (Wea)
poohkhšikwalia
mahkohpena
mahkohpena
poohkhšikwalia
175
Plants Used by Other Groups as Food or Drink (by Miami name)
page
Miami name
Scientific name
Common name
11
54
123
135
137
139
49
50
92
60
102
105
20
38
77
84
35
107
125
86
94
58
145
113
117
90
28
24
100
80
75
103
109
121
111
32
98
69
68
60
152
142
143
134
133
113
56
43
37
144
71
45
ahsenaamiši
akaawinšaahkwa
alaansooni
apahkwaya
ašaahšikopa
ašošaawia*
ateehimini (fruit)
ateehimini (fruit)
ateehseemišaahkwa
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P)
ciiciinkweemiši
eehsipanimini
eepiikanita
eeyoonsaaweekiša
ilenoonkwia
kaakihšaahkatwi
kaanseenseemini (nut)
kaayomišaahkwi
kahkiitiaahkwi*
kahkiteemišaahkwi
katoohwakimišaahkwi
kiinošiši
kiišiipitoonisinki
kikalosa*
kikalosa*
koohkooša awiilawi
leninši
maahkwana*
maamhkatiaahkatwi
maamilaneewiaahkwia
mahkohpena
mahkomiši
makiinkweemina
mankiišaahkwi
meenkaalakiinkweemina
mihsiimišaahkwi
mihšiinkweemiši
mihtekwapimiši
minohsakayi
myaalweehki (Wea)
naloomini
neehpikicia
neehpikicia
neehsopaki
neehsopaki eensiwatoonki
neepaleeteemina
oonsaapeehkateeki
paahkiteensaahkwi
pakamaakaniši
papaakimišaahkwi
poohkhšikwalia
pyaakimišaahkwi
Acer saccharum
Gleditsia triacanthos
Scirpus validus
Typha latifolia
Ulmus rubra
Urtica dioica*
Fragaria vesca
Fragaria virginiana
Prunus americana
Juglans nigra
Rhus copallina
Ribes americanum
Apios americana
Cercis canadensis
Opuntia humifusa
Platanus occidentalis
Carya illinoinensis
Ribes cynosbati
Smilacina racemosa
Podophyllum peltatum
Prunus serotina
Juglans cinerea
Vitis aestivalis
Sambucus canadensis
Sambucus racemosa
Portulaca oleracea
Asclepias syriaca
Aralia nudicaulis
Quercus rubra
Phytolacca americana
Nymphaea odorata
Rhus glabra
Rubus allegheniensis
Sassafras albidum
Rubus flagellaris
Asimina triloba
Quercus macrocarpa
Morus rubra
Morchella esculenta
Juglans nigra
Zizania aquatica
Vaccinium macrocarpon
Vaccinium oxycoccos
Trifolium repens
Trifolium pratense
Rubus occidentalis
Helianthus tuberosus
Corylus americana
Celtis occidentalis
Viburnum prunifolium
Nelumbo lutea
Diospyros virginiana
Sugar Maple
Honey Locust
Softstem Bulrush
Common Cattail
Slippery Elm, Red E., Soft E.
Stinging nettle
Wood Strawberry
Common Strawberry
American Plum
Black Walnut
Winged Sumac, Shining S., Dwarf S.
American Black Currant, Eastern B. C.
Common Groundnut
Redbud
Eastern Prickly Pear
Sycamore, Buttonwood, Button-ball Tree
Pecan
Pasture Gooseberry, Dogberry
False Solomon’s Seal, Wild Spikenard
Mayapple, “Mandrake”
Black Cherry
Butternut
Summer Grape, Pigeon G.
Common Elderberry
Red Elderberry
Common Purslane
Common Milkweed, Purple M.
Wild Sarsaparilla
Northern Red Oak
Pokeweed
White Water Lily, Fragrant W. L.
Smooth Sumac, Common S.
Common Blackberry
Sassafras
Northern Dewberry
Pawpaw
Bur Oak, Mossycup O.
Red Mulberry
Common Morel
Black Walnut
Wild rice
Large Cranberry
Small Cranberry
White Clover
Red Clover
Black Raspberry
Jerusalem Artichoke
American Hazelnut
Northern Hackberry
Smooth Black-haw
American Lotus, Water Chinquapin, Yellow Water Lily
Common Persimmon
176
47
8
127
96
147
9
131
117
119
26
64
15
17
18
19
sansakamiši*
šiišiikweehkihsi
šikaakwainši
waawaapinkwaahkatwi
waawipinkwaki ahsantepakwa*
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
wiikapimišii
wiikooloomphsa*
wiikooloomphsa*
wiikopayiisia*
wiinaahkatwi
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
Fagus grandifolia
Acer negundo
Symolocarpus foetidus
Quercus alba
Vitis labrusca
Acer sacchararinum
Tilia americana
Sambucus canadensis
Sambucus racemosa
Arisaema triphyllum
Lindera benzoin
Allium canadense
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Allium vineale
Beech
Box-elder, Ashleaf Maple
Skunk Cabbage
White Oak
Fox Grape
Soft Maple, Silver M.
Basswood
Common Elderberry
Red Elderberry
Jack-in-the-pulpit, Indian Turnip
Spicebush
Wild Garlic
Nodding Wild Onion
Wild Onion
Field Garlic
177
Plants Used by Other Groups Industrially (by Scientific name)
page
Scientific name
Common name
Miami name
14
15
17
18
19
22
32
38
40
42
52
58
60
62
66
67
69
73
80
84
86
92
103
120
121
127
129
131
133
134
135
137
139
Aesculus glabra
Allium canadense
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Allium vineale
Apocynum cannabinum
Asimina triloba
Cercis canadensis
Cornus florida
Cornus sericea
Fraxinus nigra
Juglans cinerea
Juglans nigra
Juniperus virginiana
Liriodendron tulipifera
Maclura pomifera
Morus rubra
Nicotiana rustica
Phytolacca americana
Platanus occidentalis
Podophyllum peltatum
Prunus americana
Rhus glabra
Ohio Buckeye
Wild Garlic
Nodding Wild Onion
Wild Onion
Field Garlic
Dogbane, Indian Hemp
Pawpaw
Redbud
Flowering Dogwood
Red Osier Dogwood
Black Ash, Basket A.
Butternut
Black Walnut
Eastern Red Cedar
Tuliptree, Yellow Poplar, Tulip P.
Osage Orange, Bodark
Red Mulberry
Wild Tobacco
Pokeweed
mihsihkiišikomiši
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
ahsapa
mihsiimišaahkwi
eeyoonsaaweekiša
akanteemiši (M), iihkalomiši (P)
neehpikaahkwi
peepihkwilakiki*
kiinošiši
Sanguinaria canadensis
Sassafras albidum
Symolocarpus foetidus
Thuja occidentalis
Tilia americana
Trifolium pratense
Trifolium repens
Typha latifolia
Ulmus rubra
Urtica dioica*
Sycamore, Buttonwood, Button-ball Tree
Mayapple, “Mandrake”
American Plum
Smooth Sumac, Common S.
Bloodroot
Sassafras
Skunk Cabbage
Northern White Cedar
Basswood
Red Clover
White Clover
Common Cattail
Slippery Elm, Red E., Soft E.
Stinging nettle
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P), myaalweehki (Wea)
šiinkwaahkwa
oonseentiaahkwi
oonsaawaahkwa
mihtekwapimiši
ahseema
maamilaneewiaahkwia
kaakihšaahkatwi
kahkiteemišaahkwi
ateehseemišaahkwa
mahkomiši
oonsaalemooni
mankiišaahkwi
šikaakwainši
unknown
wiikapimišii
neehsopaki eensiwatoonki
neehsopaki
apahkwaya
ašaahšikopa
ašošaawia*
178
Plants Used by Other Groups Industrially (by Common name)
page
Common name
Scientific name
Miami name
52
52
131
120
14
58
135
62
129
133
134
22
22
40
42
137
137
137
19
15
86
86
69
139
17
18
67
67
32
92
80
38
121
127
103
103
84
84
84
73
66
66
66
60
Ash, Black
Ash, Basket
Basswood
Bloodroot
Buckeye, Ohio
Butternut
Cattail, Common
Cedar, Eastern Red
Cedar, Northern White
Clover, Red
Clover, White
Dogbane
Indian Hemp
Dogwood, Flowering
Dogwood, Red Osier
Elm, Red
Elm, Soft
Elm, Slippery
Garlic, Field
Garlic, Wild
Mayapple
Mandrake
Mulberry, Red
Nettle, Stinging
Onion, Nodding Wild
Onion, Wild
Osage Orange
Bodark
Pawpaw
Plum, American
Pokeweed
Redbud
Sassafras
Skunk Cabbage
Sumac, Smooth
Sumac, Common
Sycamore
Buttonwood
Button-ball Tree
Tobacco, Wild
Tuliptree
Poplar, Yellow
Poplar, Tulip
Walnut, Black
Fraxinus nigra
Fraxinus nigra
Tilia americana
Sanguinaria canadensis
Aesculus glabra
Juglans cinerea
Typha latifolia
Juniperus virginiana
Thuja occidentalis
Trifolium pratense
Trifolium repens
Apocynum cannabinum
Apocynum cannabinum
Cornus florida
Cornus sericea
Ulmus rubra
Ulmus rubra
Ulmus rubra
Allium vineale
Allium canadense
Podophyllum peltatum
Podophyllum peltatum
Morus rubra
Urtica dioica*
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Maclura pomifera
Maclura pomifera
Asimina triloba
Prunus americana
Phytolacca americana
Cercis canadensis
Sassafras albidum
Symolocarpus foetidus
Rhus glabra
Rhus glabra
Platanus occidentalis
Platanus occidentalis
Platanus occidentali
Nicotiana rustica
Liriodendron tulipifera
Liriodendron tulipifera
Liriodendron tulipifera
Juglans nigra
peepihkwilakiki*
peepihkwilakiki*
wiikapimišii
oonsaalemooni
mihsihkiišikomiši
kiinošiši
apahkwaya
šiinkwaahkwa
unknown
neehsopaki eensiwatoonki
neehsopaki
ahsapa
ahsapa
akanteemiši (M), iihkalomiši (P)
neehpikaahkwi
ašaahšikopa
ašaahšikopa
ašaahšikopa
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
kahkiteemišaahkwi
kahkiteemišaahkwi
mihtekwapimiši
ašošaawia*
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
oonsaawaahkwa
oonsaawaahkwa
mihsiimišaahkwi
ateehseemišaahkwa
maamilaneewiaahkwia
eeyoonsaaweekiša
mankiišaahkwi
šikaakwainši
mahkomiši
mahkomiši
kaakihšaahkatwi
kaakihšaahkatwi
kaakihšaahkatwi
ahseema
oonseentiaahkwi
oonseentiaahkwi
oonseentiaahkwi
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P), myaalweehki (Wea)
179
Plants Used by Other Groups Industrially (by Miami name)
page
Miami name
Scientific name
Common name
22
73
40
135
137
139
92
60
38
40
84
86
58
80
103
121
14
32
69
60
42
134
133
120
67
66
52
62
127
129
131
15
17
18
19
ahsapa
ahseema
akanteemiši (M)
apahkwaya
ašaahšikopa
ašošaawia*
ateehseemišaahkwa
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P)
eeyoonsaaweekiša
iihkalomiši (P)
kaakihšaahkatwi
kahkiteemišaahkwi
kiinošiši
maamilaneewiaahkwia
mahkomiši
mankiišaahkwi
mihsihkiišikomiši
mihsiimišaahkwi
mihtekwapimiši
myaalweehki (Wea)
neehpikaahkwi
neehsopaki
neehsopaki eensiwatoonki
oonsaalemooni
oonsaawaahkwa
oonseentiaahkwi
peepihkwilakiki*
šiinkwaahkwa
šikaakwainši
unknown
wiikapimišii
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
Apocynum cannabinum
Nicotiana rustica
Cornus florida
Typha latifolia
Ulmus rubra
Urtica dioica*
Prunus americana
Juglans nigra
Cercis canadensis
Cornus florida
Platanus occidentalis
Podophyllum peltatum
Juglans cinerea
Phytolacca americana
Rhus glabra
Sassafras albidum
Aesculus glabra
Asimina triloba
Morus rubra
Juglans nigra
Cornus sericea
Trifolium repens
Trifolium pratense
Sanguinaria canadensis
Maclura pomifera
Liriodendron tulipifera
Fraxinus nigra
Juniperus virginiana
Symolocarpus foetidus
Thuja occidentalis
Tilia americana
Allium canadense
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Allium vineale
Dogbane, Indian Hemp
Wild Tobacco
Flowering Dogwood
Common Cattail
Slippery Elm, Red E., Soft E.
Stinging nettle
American Plum
Black Walnut
Redbud
Flowering Dogwood
Sycamore, Buttonwood, Button-ball Tree
Mayapple, “Mandrake”
Butternut
Pokeweed
Smooth Sumac, Common S.
Sassafras
Ohio Buckeye
Pawpaw
Red Mulberry
Black Walnut
Red Osier Dogwood
White Clover
Red Clover
Bloodroot
Osage Orange, Bodark
Tuliptree, Yellow Poplar, Tulip P.
Black Ash, Basket A.
Eastern Red Cedar
Skunk Cabbage
Northern White Cedar
Basswood
Wild Garlic
Nodding Wild Onion
Wild Onion
Field Garlic
180
Plants Used by Other Groups Medicinally or Ceremonially (by Scientific name)
page
Scientific name
Common name
Miami name
8
15
17
18
19
22
24
26
28
35
38
40
42
58
60
62
73
78
80
86
88
89
92
94
100
103
105
120
121
131
135
137
139
150
Acer negundo
Allium canadense
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Allium vineale
Apocynum cannabinum
Aralia nudicaulis
Arisaema triphyllum
Asclepias syriaca
Carya illinoinensis
Cercis canadensis
Cornus florida
Cornus sericea
Juglans cinerea
Juglans nigra
Juniperus virginiana
Nicotiana rustica
Panax quinquefolius
Phytolacca americana
Podophyllum peltatum
Populus deltoides
Populus tremuloides
Prunus americana
Prunus serotina
Quercus rubra
Rhus glabra
Ribes americanum
Sanguinaria canadensis
Sassafras albidum
Tilia americana
Typha latifolia
Ulmus rubra
Urtica dioica*
Box-elder, Ashleaf Maple
Wild Garlic
Nodding Wild Onion
Wild Onion
Field Garlic
Dogbane, Indian Hemp
Wild Sarsaparilla
Jack-in-the-pulpit, Indian Turnip
Common Milkweed, Purple M.
Pecan
Redbud
Flowering Dogwood
Red Osier Dogwood
Butternut
Black Walnut
Eastern Red Cedar
Wild Tobacco
American Ginseng
Pokeweed
Mayapple, “Mandrake”
Eastern Cottonwood
Quaking Aspen
American Plum
Black Cherry
Northern Red Oak
Smooth Sumac, Common S.
American Black Currant, Eastern B. C.
Bloodroot
Sassafras
Basswood
Common Cattail
Slippery Elm, Red E., Soft E.
Stinging nettle
šiišiikweehkihsi
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
ahsapa
maahkwana*
wiikopayiisia*
leninši
kaanseenseemini (nut)
eeyoonsaaweekiša
akanteemiši (M), iihkalomiši (P)
neehpikaahkwi
kiinošiši
Zanthoxylum americanum
Northern Prickly Ash, Common Prickly A.
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P), myaalweehki (Wea)
šiinkwaahkwa
ahseema
piloohsa
maamilaneewiaahkwia
kahkiteemišaahkwi
waapaahkoonseentia
siipiomeekwa*
ateehseemišaahkwa
katoohwakimišaahkwi
maamhkatiaahkatwi
mahkomiši
eehsipanimini
oonsaalemooni
mankiišaahkwi
wiikapimišii
apahkwaya
ašaahšikopa
ašošaawia*
seenankašia*
181
Plants Used by Other Groups Medicinally or Ceremonially (by Common name)
page
Common name
Scientific name
Miami name
150
150
89
131
120
8
58
135
94
88
105
105
22
40
42
137
137
137
19
15
78
22
26
26
86
8
86
28
28
139
100
17
18
35
92
80
62
38
24
121
103
103
73
60
Ash, Common Prickly
Ash, Northern Prickly
Aspen, Quaking
Basswood
Bloodroot
Box-elder
Butternut
Cattail, Common
Cherry, Black
Cottonwood, Eastern
Currant, American Black
Currant, Eastern Black
Dogbane
Dogwood, Flowering
Dogwood, Red Osier
Elm, Red
Elm, Slippery
Elm, Soft
Garlic, Field
Garlic, Wild
Ginseng, American
Indian Hemp
Indian Turnip
Jack-in-the-pulpit
Mandrake
Maple, Ashleaf
Mayapple
Milkweed, Common
Milkweed, Purple
Nettle, Stinging
Oak, Northern Red
Onion, Nodding Wild
Onion, Wild
Pecan
Plum, American
Pokeweed
Red Cedar, Eastern
Redbud
Sarsaparilla, Wild
Sassafras
Sumac, Common
Sumac, Smooth
Tobacco, Wild
Walnut, Black
Zanthoxylum americanum
Zanthoxylum americanum
Populus tremuloides
Tilia americana
Sanguinaria canadensis
Acer negundo
Juglans cinerea
Typha latifolia
Prunus serotina
Populus deltoides
Ribes americanum
Ribes americanum
Apocynum cannabinum
Cornus florida
Cornus sericea
Ulmus rubra
Ulmus rubra
Ulmus rubra
Allium vineale
Allium canadense
Panax quinquefolius
Apocynum cannabinum
Arisaema triphyllum
Arisaema triphyllum
Podophyllum peltatum
Acer negundo
Podophyllum peltatum
Asclepias syriaca
Asclepias syriaca
Urtica dioica*
Quercus rubra
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Carya illinoinensis
Prunus americana
Phytolacca americana
Juniperus virginiana
Cercis canadensis
Aralia nudicaulis
Sassafras albidum
Rhus glabra
Rhus glabra
Nicotiana rustica
Juglans nigra
seenankašia*
seenankašia*
siipiomeekwa*
wiikapimišii
oonsaalemooni
šiišiikweehkihsi
kiinošiši
apahkwaya
katoohwakimišaahkwi
waapaahkoonseentia
eehsipanimini
eehsipanimini
ahsapa
akanteemiši (M), iihkalomiši (P)
neehpikaahkwi
ašaahšikopa
ašaahšikopa
ašaahšikopa
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
piloohsa
ahsapa
wiikopayiisia*
wiikopayiisia*
kahkiteemišaahkwi
šiišiikweehkihsi
kahkiteemišaahkwi
leninši
leninši
ašošaawia*
maamhkatiaahkatwi
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
kaanseenseemini (nut)
ateehseemišaahkwa
maamilaneewiaahkwia
šiinkwaahkwa
eeyoonsaaweekiša
maahkwana*
mankiišaahkwi
mahkomiši
mahkomiši
ahseema
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P), myaalweehki (Wea)
182
Plants Used by Other Groups Medicinally or Ceremonially (by Miami name)
page
Miami name
Scientific name
Common name
8
22
73
40
135
137
139
92
60
105
38
40
35
86
94
58
28
24
100
80
103
121
60
42
120
78
150
62
89
8
88
131
26
15
17
18
19
šiišiikweehkihsi
ahsapa
ahseema
akanteemiši (M)
apahkwaya
ašaahšikopa
ašošaawia*
ateehseemišaahkwa
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P)
eehsipanimini
eeyoonsaaweekiša
iihkalomiši (P)
kaanseenseemini (nut)
kahkiteemišaahkwi
katoohwakimišaahkwi
kiinošiši
leninši
maahkwana*
maamhkatiaahkatwi
maamilaneewiaahkwia
mahkomiši
mankiišaahkwi
myaalweehki (Wea)
neehpikaahkwi
oonsaalemooni
piloohsa
seenankašia*
šiinkwaahkwa
siipiomeekwa*
šiišiikweehkihsi
waapaahkoonseentia
wiikapimišii
wiikopayiisia*
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
Acer negundo
Apocynum cannabinum
Nicotiana rustica
Cornus florida
Typha latifolia
Ulmus rubra
Urtica dioica*
Prunus americana
Juglans nigra
Ribes americanum
Cercis canadensis
Cornus florida
Carya illinoinensis
Podophyllum peltatum
Prunus serotina
Juglans cinerea
Asclepias syriaca
Aralia nudicaulis
Quercus rubra
Phytolacca americana
Rhus glabra
Sassafras albidum
Juglans nigra
Cornus sericea
Sanguinaria canadensis
Panax quinquefolius
Zanthoxylum americanum
Juniperus virginiana
Populus tremuloides
Acer negundo
Populus deltoides
Tilia americana
Arisaema triphyllum
Allium canadense
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Allium vineale
Box-elder, Ashleaf Maple
Dogbane, Indian Hemp
Wild Tobacco
Flowering Dogwood
Common Cattail
Slippery Elm, Red E., Soft E.
Stinging nettle
American Plum
Black Walnut
American Black Currant, Eastern B. C.
Redbud
Flowering Dogwood
Pecan
Mayapple, “Mandrake”
Black Cherry
Butternut
Common Milkweed, Purple M.
Wild Sarsaparilla
Northern Red Oak
Pokeweed
Smooth Sumac, Common S.
Sassafras
Black Walnut
Red Osier Dogwood
Bloodroot
American Ginseng
Northern Prickly Ash, Common Prickly A.
Eastern Red Cedar
Quaking Aspen
Box-elder, Ashleaf Maple
Eastern Cottonwood
Basswood
Jack-in-the-pulpit, Indian Turnip
Wild Garlic
Nodding Wild Onion
Wild Onion
Field Garlic
183
Index to All Plants (by Scientific name)
page
8
9
11
14
15
17
18
19
20
22
24
26
28
31
32
34
35
37
38
40
42
43
45
47
49
50
52
54
56
58
60
62
64
66
67
68
69
71
73
75
77
78
80
82
84
86
88
89
90
92
94
96
Scientific name
Common name
Miami name
Acer negundo
Acer sacchararinum
Acer saccharum
Aesculus glabra
Allium canadense
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Allium vineale
Apios americana
Box-elder, Ashleaf Maple
Soft Maple, Silver M.
Sugar Maple
Ohio Buckeye
Wild Garlic
Nodding Wild Onion
Wild Onion
Field Garlic
Common Groundnut
Dogbane, Indian Hemp
Wild Sarsaparilla
Jack-in-the-pulpit, Indian Turnip
Common Milkweed, Purple M.
White Milkweed
Pawpaw
Ironwood, Musclewood, Hornbeam
Pecan
Northern Hackberry
Redbud
Flowering Dogwood
Red Osier Dogwood
American Hazelnut
Common Persimmon
Beech
Wood Strawberry
Common Strawberry
Black Ash, Basket A.
Honey Locust
Jerusalem Artichoke
Butternut
Black Walnut
Eastern Red Cedar
Spicebush
Tuliptree, Yellow Poplar, Tulip P.
Osage Orange, Bodark
Common Morel
Red Mulberry
šiišiikweehkihsi
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
ahsenaamiši
mihsihkiišikomiši
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
eepiikanita
ahsapa
maahkwana*
wiikopayiisia*
leninši
alemontehsa
mihsiimišaahkwi
myaalwamiši
kaanseenseemini (nut)
pakamaakaniši
eeyoonsaaweekiša
akanteemiši (M), iihkalomiši (P)
neehpikaahkwi
paahkiteensaahkwi
pyaakimišaahkwi
sansakamiši*
ateehimini (fruit)
ateehimini (fruit)
peepihkwilakiki*
akaawinšaahkwa
oonsaapeehkateeki
kiinošiši
Apocynum cannabinum
Aralia nudicaulis
Arisaema triphyllum
Asclepias syriaca
Asclepias variegata
Asimina triloba
Carpinus caroliniana
Carya illinoinensis
Celtis occidentalis
Cercis canadensis
Cornus florida
Cornus sericea
Corylus americana
Diospyros virginiana
Fagus grandifolia
Fragaria vesca
Fragaria virginiana
Fraxinus nigra
Gleditsia triacanthos
Helianthus tuberosus
Juglans cinerea
Juglans nigra
Juniperus virginiana
Lindera benzoin
Liriodendron tulipifera
Maclura pomifera
Morchella esculenta
Morus rubra
Nelumbo lutea
Nicotiana rustica
Nymphaea odorata
Opuntia humifusa
Panax quinquefolius
Phytolacca americana
Planera aquatica*
Platanus occidentalis
Podophyllum peltatum
Populus deltoides
Populus tremuloides
Portulaca oleracea
Prunus americana
Prunus serotina
Quercus alba
American Lotus, Water Chinquapin, Yellow Water Lily
Wild Tobacco
White Water Lily, Fragrant W. L.
Eastern Prickly Pear
American Ginseng
Pokeweed
Water Elm
Sycamore, Buttonwood, Button-ball Tree
Mayapple, “Mandrake”
Eastern Cottonwood
Quaking Aspen
Common Purslane
American Plum
Black Cherry
White Oak
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P), myaalweehki (Wea)
šiinkwaahkwa
wiinaahkatwi
oonseentiaahkwi
oonsaawaahkwa
minohsakayi
mihtekwapimiši
poohkhšikwalia
ahseema
mahkohpena
ilenoonkwia
piloohsa
maamilaneewiaahkwia
apahkoohkwaniši siipiomeekwi
kaakihšaahkatwi
kahkiteemišaahkwi
waapaahkoonseentia
siipiomeekwa*
koohkooša awiilawi
ateehseemišaahkwa
katoohwakimišaahkwi
waawaapinkwaahkatwi
184
98
100
102
103
105
107
108
109
111
113
115
116
117
119
120
121
123
125
127
129
131
133
134
135
137
139
142
143
144
145
147
149
150
152
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus rubra
Rhus copallina
Rhus glabra
Ribes americanum
Ribes cynosbati
Robinia pseudo-acacia
Rubus allegheniensis
Rubus flagellaris
Rubus occidentalis
Rudbeckia hirta*
Salix babylonica
Sambucus canadensis
Sambucus racemosa
Sanguinaria canadensis
Sassafras albidum
Scirpus validus
Smilacina racemosa
Symolocarpus foetidus
Thuja occidentalis
Tilia americana
Trifolium pratense
Trifolium repens
Typha latifolia
Ulmus rubra
Urtica dioica*
Vaccinium macrocarpon
Vaccinium oxycoccos
Viburnum prunifolium
Vitis aestivalis
Vitis labrusca
Xanthium strumarium
Zanthoxylum americanum
Zizania aquatica
Bur Oak, Mossycup O.
Northern Red Oak
Winged Sumac, Shining S., Dwarf S.
Smooth Sumac, Common S.
American Black Currant, Eastern B. C.
Pasture Gooseberry, Dogberry
Black Locust, Yellow L.
Common Blackberry
Northern Dewberry
Black Raspberry
Blackeyed Susan
Weeping Willow
Common Elderberry
Red Elderberry
Bloodroot
Sassafras
Softstem Bulrush
False Solomon’s Seal, Wild Spikenard
Skunk Cabbage
Northern White Cedar
Basswood
Red Clover
White Clover
Common Cattail
Slippery Elm, Red E., Soft E.
Stinging nettle
Large Cranberry
Small Cranberry
Smooth Black-haw
Summer Grape, Pigeon G.
Fox Grape
Common Cocklebur
Northern Prickly Ash, Common Prickly A.
Wild rice
mihšiinkweemiši
maamhkatiaahkatwi
ciiciinkweemiši
mahkomiši
eehsipanimini
kaayomišaahkwi
unknown
makiinkweemina
meenkaalakiinkweemina
neepaleeteemina
meehkateewi ciipihki
niipiaahkatwi
wiikooloomphsa*, kikalosa*
wiikooloomphsa*, kikalosa*
oonsaalemooni
mankiišaahkwi
alaansooni
kahkiitiaahkwi*
šikaakwainši
unknown
wiikapimišii
neehsopaki eensiwatoonki
neehsopaki
apahkwaya
ašaahšikopa
ašošaawia*
neehpikicia
neehpikicia
papaakimišaahkwi
kiišiipitoonisinki
waawipinkwaki ahsantepakwa*
sakinteepwa
seenankašia*
naloomini
185
Index to All Plants (by Common name)
page
Common name
Scientific name
Miami name
52
52
150
150
89
131
47
109
115
144
120
67
8
14
123
58
84
84
135
62
129
94
133
134
149
88
142
143
105
105
111
22
107
40
42
117
119
137
137
137
82
125
19
15
78
107
147
145
145
20
37
43
Ash, Basket
Ash, Black
Ash, Common Prickly
Ash, Northern Prickly
Aspen, Quaking
Basswood
Beech
Blackberry, Common
Blackeyed Susan
Black-haw, Smooth
Bloodroot
Bodark
Box-elder
Buckeye, Ohio
Bulrush, Softstem
Butternut
Button-ball Tree
Buttonwood
Cattail, Common
Cedar, Eastern Red
Cedar, Northern White
Cherry, Black
Clover, Red
Clover, White
Cocklebur, Common
Cottonwood, Eastern
Cranberry, Large
Cranberry, Small
Currant, American Black
Currant, Eastern Black
Dewberry, Northern
Dogbane
Dogberry
Dogwood, Flowering
Dogwood, Red Osier
Elderberry, Common
Elderberry, Red
Elm, Red
Elm, Slippery
Elm, Soft
Elm, Water
False Solomon’s Seal
Garlic, Field
Garlic, Wild
Ginseng, American
Gooseberry, Pasture
Grape, Fox
Grape, Pigeon
Grape, Summer
Groundnut, Common
Hackberry, Northern
Hazelnut, American
Fraxinus nigra
Fraxinus nigra
Zanthoxylum americanum
Zanthoxylum americanum
Populus tremuloides
Tilia americana
Fagus grandifolia
Rubus allegheniensis
Rudbeckia hirta*
Viburnum prunifolium
Sanguinaria canadensis
Maclura pomifera
Acer negundo
Aesculus glabra
Scirpus validus
Juglans cinerea
Platanus occidentalis
Platanus occidentalis
Typha latifolia
Juniperus virginiana
Thuja occidentalis
Prunus serotina
Trifolium pratense
Trifolium repens
Xanthium strumarium
Populus deltoides
Vaccinium macrocarpon
Vaccinium oxycoccos
Ribes americanum
Ribes americanum
Rubus flagellaris
Apocynum cannabinum
Ribes cynosbati
Cornus florida
Cornus sericea
Sambucus canadensis
Sambucus racemosa
Ulmus rubra
Ulmus rubra
Ulmus rubra
Planera aquatica*
Smilacina racemosa
Allium vineale
Allium canadense
Panax quinquefolius
Ribes cynosbati
Vitis labrusca
Vitis aestivalis
Vitis aestivalis
Apios americana
Celtis occidentalis
Corylus americana
peepihkwilakiki*
peepihkwilakiki*
seenankašia*
seenankašia*
siipiomeekwa*
wiikapimišii
sansakamiši*
makiinkweemina
meehkateewi ciipihki
papaakimišaahkwi
oonsaalemooni
oonsaawaahkwa
šiišiikweehkihsi
mihsihkiišikomiši
alaansooni
kiinošiši
kaakihšaahkatwi
kaakihšaahkatwi
apahkwaya
šiinkwaahkwa
unknown
katoohwakimišaahkwi
neehsopaki eensiwatoonki
neehsopaki
sakinteepwa
waapaahkoonseentia
neehpikicia
neehpikicia
eehsipanimini
eehsipanimini
meenkaalakiinkweemina
ahsapa
kaayomišaahkwi
akanteemiši (M), iihkalomiši (P)
neehpikaahkwi
wiikooloomphsa*, kikalosa*
wiikooloomphsa*, kikalosa*
ašaahšikopa
ašaahšikopa
ašaahšikopa
apahkoohkwaniši siipiomeekwi
kahkiitiaahkwi*
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
piloohsa
kaayomišaahkwi
waawipinkwaki ahsantepakwa*
kiišiipitoonisinki
kiišiipitoonisinki
eepiikanita
pakamaakaniši
paahkiteensaahkwi
186
34
22
26
34
26
56
108
54
108
71
86
8
9
9
11
86
28
28
31
68
69
34
139
98
98
100
96
17
18
67
32
35
45
92
80
66
66
77
90
113
38
152
24
121
127
64
125
50
49
103
102
102
103
102
84
73
66
60
71
Hornbeam
Indian Hemp
Indian Turnip
Ironwood
Jack-in-the-pulpit
Jerusalem Artichoke
Locust, Black
Locust, Honey
Locust, Yellow
Lotus, American
Mandrake
Maple, Ashleaf
Maple, Silver
Maple, Soft
Maple, Sugar
Mayapple
Milkweed, Common
Milkweed, Purple
Milkweed, White
Morel, Common
Mulberry, Red
Musclewood
Nettle, Stinging
Oak, Bur
Oak, Mossycup
Oak, Northern Red
Oak, White
Onion, Nodding Wild
Onion, Wild
Osage Orange
Pawpaw
Pecan
Persimmon, Common
Plum, American
Pokeweed
Poplar, Tulip
Poplar, Yellow
Prickly Pear, Eastern
Purslane, Common
Raspberry, Black
Redbud
Rice, Wild
Sarsaparilla, Wild
Sassafras
Skunk Cabbage
Spicebush
Spikenard, Wild
Strawberry, Common
Strawberry, Wood
Sumac, Common
Sumac, Dwarf
Sumac, Shining
Sumac, Smooth
Sumac, Winged
Sycamore
Tobacco, Wild
Tuliptree
Walnut, Black
Water Chinquapin
Carpinus caroliniana
Apocynum cannabinum
Arisaema triphyllum
Carpinus caroliniana
Arisaema triphyllum
Helianthus tuberosus
Robinia pseudo-acacia
Gleditsia triacanthos
Robinia pseudo-acacia
Nelumbo lutea
Podophyllum peltatum
Acer negundo
Acer sacchararinum
Acer sacchararinum
Acer saccharum
Podophyllum peltatum
Asclepias syriaca
Asclepias syriaca
Asclepias variegata
Morchella esculenta
Morus rubra
Carpinus caroliniana
Urtica dioica*
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus rubra
Quercus alba
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Maclura pomifera
Asimina triloba
Carya illinoinensis
Diospyros virginiana
Prunus americana
Phytolacca americana
Liriodendron tulipifera
Liriodendron tulipifera
Opuntia humifusa
Portulaca oleracea
Rubus occidentalis
Cercis canadensis
Zizania aquatica
Aralia nudicaulis
Sassafras albidum
Symolocarpus foetidus
Lindera benzoin
Smilacina racemosa
Fragaria virginiana
Fragaria vesca
Rhus glabra
Rhus copallina
Rhus copallina
Rhus glabra
Rhus copallina
Platanus occidentalis
Nicotiana rustica
Liriodendron tulipifera
Juglans nigra
Nelumbo lutea
myaalwamiši
ahsapa
wiikopayiisia*
myaalwamiši
wiikopayiisia*
oonsaapeehkateeki
unknown
akaawinšaahkwa
unknown
poohkhšikwalia
kahkiteemišaahkwi
šiišiikweehkihsi
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
ahsenaamiši
kahkiteemišaahkwi
leninši
leninši
alemontehsa
minohsakayi
mihtekwapimiši
myaalwamiši
ašošaawia*
mihšiinkweemiši
mihšiinkweemiši
maamhkatiaahkatwi
waawaapinkwaahkatwi
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
oonsaawaahkwa
mihsiimišaahkwi
kaanseenseemini (nut)
pyaakimišaahkwi
ateehseemišaahkwa
maamilaneewiaahkwia
oonseentiaahkwi
oonseentiaahkwi
ilenoonkwia
koohkooša awiilawi
neepaleeteemina
eeyoonsaaweekiša
naloomini
maahkwana*
mankiišaahkwi
šikaakwainši
wiinaahkatwi
kahkiitiaahkwi*
ateehimini (fruit)
ateehimini (fruit)
mahkomiši
ciiciinkweemiši
ciiciinkweemiši
mahkomiši
ciiciinkweemiši
kaakihšaahkatwi
ahseema
oonseentiaahkwi
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P), myaalweehki (Wea)
poohkhšikwalia
187
75
75
71
116
Water Lily, Fragrant
Water Lily, White
Water Lily, Yellow
Willow, Weeping
Nymphaea odorata
Nymphaea odorata
Nelumbo lutea
Salix babylonica
mahkohpena
mahkohpena
poohkhšikwalia
niipiaahkatwi
Index to All Plants (by Miami name)
page
Miami name
Scientific name
Common name
22
73
11
54
40
123
31
82
135
137
139
49
50
92
60
102
105
20
38
40
77
84
35
107
125
86
94
58
145
117
119
90
28
24
100
80
75
103
109
121
115
111
14
32
ahsapa
ahseema
ahsenaamiši
akaawinšaahkwa
akanteemiši (M)
alaansooni
alemontehsa
Apocynum cannabinum
Nicotiana rustica
Acer saccharum
Gleditsia triacanthos
Cornus florida
Scirpus validus
Asclepias variegata
Planera aquatica*
Typha latifolia
Ulmus rubra
Urtica dioica*
Fragaria vesca
Fragaria virginiana
Prunus americana
Juglans nigra
Rhus copallina
Ribes americanum
Apios americana
Cercis canadensis
Cornus florida
Opuntia humifusa
Platanus occidentalis
Carya illinoinensis
Ribes cynosbati
Smilacina racemosa
Podophyllum peltatum
Prunus serotina
Juglans cinerea
Vitis aestivalis
Sambucus canadensis
Sambucus racemosa
Portulaca oleracea
Asclepias syriaca
Aralia nudicaulis
Quercus rubra
Phytolacca americana
Nymphaea odorata
Rhus glabra
Rubus allegheniensis
Sassafras albidum
Rudbeckia hirta*
Rubus flagellaris
Aesculus glabra
Asimina triloba
Dogbane, Indian Hemp
Wild Tobacco
Sugar Maple
Honey Locust
Dogwood
Softstem Bulrush
White Milkweed
Water Elm
Common Cattail
Slippery Elm, Red E., Soft E.
Stinging nettle
Wood Strawberry
Common Strawberry
American Plum
Black Walnut
Winged Sumac, Shining S., Dwarf S.
American Black Currant, Eastern B. C.
Common Groundnut
Redbud
Flowering Dogwood
Eastern Prickly Pear
Sycamore, Buttonwood, Button-ball Tree
Pecan
Pasture Gooseberry, Dogberry
False Solomon’s Seal, Wild Spikenard
Mayapple, “Mandrake”
Black Cherry
Butternut
Summer Grape, Pigeon G.
Common Elderberry
Red Elderberry
Common Purslane
Common Milkweed, Purple M.
Wild Sarsaparilla
Northern Red Oak
Pokeweed
White Water Lily, Fragrant W. L.
Smooth Sumac, Common S.
Common Blackberry
Sassafras
Blackeyed Susan
Northern Dewberry
Ohio Buckeye
Pawpaw
apahkoohkwaniši siipiomeekwi
apahkwaya
ašaahšikopa
ašošaawia*
ateehimini (fruit)
ateehimini (fruit)
ateehseemišaahkwa
ayoonseekaahkwi (M, P)
ciiciinkweemiši
eehsipanimini
eepiikanita
eeyoonsaaweekiša
iihkalomiši (P)
ilenoonkwia
kaakihšaahkatwi
kaanseenseemini (nut)
kaayomišaahkwi
kahkiitiaahkwi*
kahkiteemišaahkwi
katoohwakimišaahkwi
kiinošiši
kiišiipitoonisinki
kikalosa*
kikalosa*
koohkooša awiilawi
leninši
maahkwana*
maamhkatiaahkatwi
maamilaneewiaahkwia
mahkohpena
mahkomiši
makiinkweemina
mankiišaahkwi
meehkateewi ciipihki
meenkaalakiinkweemina
mihsihkiišikomiši
mihsiimišaahkwi
188
98
69
68
34
60
152
42
142
143
134
133
113
116
120
56
67
66
43
37
144
52
78
71
45
149
47
150
62
89
8
127
108
129
88
96
147
9
131
117
119
26
64
15
17
18
19
mihšiinkweemiši
mihtekwapimiši
minohsakayi
myaalwamiši
myaalweehki (Wea)
naloomini
neehpikaahkwi
neehpikicia
neehpikicia
neehsopaki
neehsopaki eensiwatoonki
neepaleeteemina
niipiaahkatwi
oonsaalemooni
oonsaapeehkateeki
oonsaawaahkwa
oonseentiaahkwi
paahkiteensaahkwi
pakamaakaniši
papaakimišaahkwi
peepihkwilakiki*
piloohsa
poohkhšikwalia
pyaakimišaahkwi
sakinteepwa
sansakamiši*
seenankašia*
šiinkwaahkwa
siipiomeekwa*
šiišiikweehkihsi
šikaakwainši
unknown
unknown
waapaahkoonseentia
waawaapinkwaahkatwi
waawipinkwaki ahsantepakwa*
wiikapaahkwaahkaniša
wiikapimišii
wiikooloomphsa*
wiikooloomphsa*
wiikopayiisia*
wiinaahkatwi
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
wiinhsihsia
Quercus macrocarpa
Morus rubra
Morchella esculenta
Carpinus caroliniana
Juglans nigra
Zizania aquatica
Cornus sericea
Vaccinium macrocarpon
Vaccinium oxycoccos
Trifolium repens
Trifolium pratense
Rubus occidentalis
Salix babylonica
Sanguinaria canadensis
Helianthus tuberosus
Maclura pomifera
Liriodendron tulipifera
Corylus americana
Celtis occidentalis
Viburnum prunifolium
Fraxinus nigra
Panax quinquefolius
Nelumbo lutea
Diospyros virginiana
Xanthium strumarium
Fagus grandifolia
Zanthoxylum americanum
Juniperus virginiana
Populus tremuloides
Acer negundo
Symolocarpus foetidus
Robinia pseudo-acacia
Thuja occidentalis
Populus deltoides
Quercus alba
Vitis labrusca
Acer sacchararinum
Tilia americana
Sambucus canadensis
Sambucus racemosa
Arisaema triphyllum
Lindera benzoin
Allium canadense
Allium cernuum
Allium stellatum
Allium vineale
Bur Oak, Mossycup O.
Red Mulberry
Common Morel
Ironwood, Musclewood, Hornbeam
Black Walnut
Wild rice
Red Osier Dogwood
Large Cranberry
Small Cranberry
White Clover
Red Clover
Black Raspberry
Weeping Willow
Bloodroot
Jerusalem Artichoke
Osage Orange, Bodark
Tuliptree, Yellow Poplar, Tulip P.
American Hazelnut
Northern Hackberry
Smooth Black-haw
Black Ash, Basket A.
American Ginseng
American Lotus, Water Chinquapin, Yellow Water Lily
Common Persimmon
Common Cocklebur
Beech
Northern Prickly Ash, Common Prickly A.
Eastern Red Cedar
Quaking Aspen
Box-elder, Ashleaf Maple
Skunk Cabbage
Black Locust, Yellow L.
Northern White Cedar
Eastern Cottonwood
White Oak
Fox Grape
Soft Maple, Silver M.
Basswood
Common Elderberry
Red Elderberry
Jack-in-the-pulpit, Indian Turnip
Spicebush
Wild Garlic
Nodding Wild Onion
Wild Onion
Field Garlic