The Ozark and Appalachian mountains became home to people with diverse backgrounds and ethnic origins. Each brought a different tradition, which mixed with the others to produce the regions complex and rich plant lore.
The Ozark and Appalachian mountains became home to people with diverse backgrounds and ethnic origins. This rugged terrain often drew rebels and individualist, each bringing a different tradition, which mixed with the others to produce the regions complex plant lore. Ozark woods and fields are filled with herbs that have been used as medicine for ages, but plant superstitions also prevailed.
White hillmen believed that a buckeye in the pocket warded off rheumatism and hemorrhoids, and to lose it meant bad luck. Buckeye is the large nutlike seed of the horsechesnut, and it was prized by both Indians and whites.
In fact, respect for the horsechesnut was passed to the white by the Osage Indians of the region, who made a fish poison from the root of the tree. Cherokees made a shampoo from the root. They believed it would make their hair as thick and tough as the plant itself.
Garlic was looked upon as a cure-all, and was used for a multitude of illnesses. Even today, Ozark herbalists prescribe garlic to lower blood pressure.
The cedar tree of the Ozarks was held in high esteem by the Cherokee's. They believed its wood was sacred, and stained by the blood of a wicked magician. They only burned the wood of the cedar on special occasions, like to drive off ghosts and evil spirits.
Aloe vera was prized as a healing plant by the mountain people long before it became a popular addition to suntan and skin lotions. Settlers used it on burns to soothe and promote healing, and even on poison ivy to stop itching. Mullein was used for chest ailments, and smoked as a decongestant. And the milky juice of the wild lettuce was recommended to make warts disappear.
Slippery elm's inside bark was dried and pounded to powder, and was used to make a drink to soothe sore throats and stomach upsets. Violet leaves were a popular blood purifier, sassafras root a popular spring tonic, while dandelion tea was prescribed for kidney trouble.
The tradition of planting crops during certain phases of the moon was brought to the hills by the settlers, and even though at times it was ridiculed, the practice served Ozark farmers well for many millennia.
Folk medicine was also widely practiced in the Appalachian Mountains. Goldenseal was used for sores (and still is, today.) American ginseng was believed to be a universal tonic. Goldenrod and boneset were used for colds, fever, and flu. Alfalfa tea was drunk for arthritis, and blackberry juice was given for diarrhea. Yellowroot, white and black oak, wild cherry, horehound, and many other plants were gathered and used according to time-honored recipes. And the practice among some mountain folk continues to this day.
Of course, education and the increasing contact with the outside world have eroded many of the old ways and beliefs. But even as traditional lore has waned, recognition of its importance has grown, and is now regarded by many as valuable self-knowledge.
