Witches who live in Western Washington (Puget Sound region) can easily grow any or all of the following Native plants in their yard. Here's a list of Native Plant Nurseries that are located in this region. While these plant-allies grow wild in our local forests and meadows, foraging for wild plants requires knowledge and respect for the ecosystem. Always identify plants correctly before consuming them, and only harvest sustainably to ensure the continued existence of these plants for future generations!
- Camas (Camassia quamash): This bulbous and flowering plant grows on both sides of the Cascade Mountains' crest. It also grows along the Ocean's coast in Washington (state). The Native Americans here (Kalispel and other tribes throughout the coastal and interior Northwest) used Camas as a staple food source. They also used the flowers for medicine but cooked the bulbs for carbohydrates and essential nutrients. Its starchy bulbs were roasted, baked like a potato, or ground into flour and used to make bread. ...more information about Camas.
- Salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis Pursh): These tart and juicy berries were a valuable source of vitamins and antioxidants for the Indigenous people living in the Pacific Northwest before settlement from Europe. I grow a thick clump of these berries in my back yard. The berries were eaten fresh by the indigenous tribes here, or the berries were dried, or preserved in cakes and pemmican. The young stalks were eaten like asparagus!
For medicine, Salmonberry was consumed as a tea to treat diarrhea or dysentery. As an astringent, a poultice of leaves and bark was used for dressing burns and open sores. ... more - Huckleberries (Vaccinium parvifolium): Similar to salmonberries, tribes from Western Washington enjoyed huckleberries for their delicious taste and nutritional value. The huckleberries were eaten fresh, or dried in the Sun and kept for the winter, or else used in jams and jellies. Sometimes, the tribes would mix the dried huckleberries with bitterroot in stew, possibly with venison, for feasts in the colder times of the year. Huckleberries grow prolifically around both Washington and Oregon. They can be found in any wooded area, just about anywhere you're willing to hike. ...more
- Oregon grape: Both the Native American Tribal Members and the Pilgriming Pioneers ate the tart berries of the Oregon grape. They ate the berries fresh, dried, or used them to make jams and jellies. The leaves were also used as a tea for medicinal purposes; As mentioned earlier, the leaves of Oregon grape were used as a tea for various ailments, including stomach problems. The root of this plant was known for its antiseptic properties and the Flathead Indians would clean and crush the roots to heal their wounds and cuts. Similarly, the Kutenai Indians drank a tea made from the root of Oregon grape to enrich their blood and to treat kidney troubles. The National Standard Dispensatory, a reference book of pharmaceutical plants, warns that an overdose on Oregon grape can be fatal. So DO NOT consume Oregon grape or any of these plants listed on this blog in excess! ...more on the healing properties of Oregon grape.
- Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica): Children playing in any wooded area will quickly learn that mature leaves on the Stinging nettle can really HURT! The young nettle leaves are not so BITEY and they can be eaten raw. Drying the mature nettle leaves deactivates the stinging agent, however, the plant will still have thorns with small amounts of formic acid on them – gloves are recommended. Throughout history, Nettles have provided a nutritious source of minerals and vitamins for the people who lived here in the Pacific Northwest. Nettles can be boiled and eaten like spinach. This plant grows in wooded areas stretching from Alaska to California and the local tribes found MANY uses (beyond food) for the plant. The stems have been dried and peeled to make ropes, and nets. Fibers from the plant have been used to make string or to weave baskets! Medicinally, this plant has been used to treat asthma and/or to *beat* an arthritic person, as the leaves have fine hairs that hold strong medicine (formic acid). Getting whipped with Stinging nettle releases the medicine through the patient's skin and is reported to help alleviate arthritis symptoms.
Medicine:
- Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea aka "purple coneflower"): This plant grows readily in flowerpots here in Western Washington but it's actually native from the Eastern states. The Native Americans from the Great Plains (e.g., the Lakota Sioux) used its roots and leaves to treat wounds (including snake bites!), infections, and coughs. It grows tall in sunny, well-drained soils (that's why I recommend growing it in flower pots if you live in rainy Western Washington) and it can survive drought, high summer temperatures and poor soils! In 2012, echinacea was the sixth most common non-vitamin, non-mineral supplement used by adults in the United States, used by 2.3 million adults!
- Echinacea works as an amplifier in both medicine and in spell work (example: when taken orally with Goldenseal it helps to cure colds or flu) and is often used in spells for prosperity, drawing in money, and in defensive magic.
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium): According to the U.S. Forest Service, "The Chinese considered yarrow plants to be good luck! So dry the leaves and put them in your MOJO bag the next time you need to get situations to work more in your favor! Yarrow has been used world-wide to stop bleeding, reduce inflammation and make beer! It grows wild along roadsides here in Western Washington in bright sunny locations. Numerous tribes in North America used the crushed plant as a poultice to treat wounds and burns. The dried leaves were also drank as tea to soothe colds, fever, and headache. Yarrow beer has been brewed in Europe since the middle ages! Yarrow in small doses is known to heighten sensory perception of all kinds and clears the neural pathways to increase visual and auditory acuity.
- Cedar: The original peoples here in the Pacific Northwest used the bark and leaves of cedar for a variety of medicinal purposes, such as treating coughs, colds, and headaches. Women from indigenous tribes would beat the inner wood until it was soft and absorbent. Then it could be used for diapers and menstrual pads. Cedar was a Tree of Life to local tribes. They made their long houses and canoes out of it and the branches were used in bedding because their essential oils kept insects away. Cedar bark was used to create clothing, blankets, and ceremonial objects. Cedar bundles can still be burned to smudge away bad energies; much like Sage. Cedar bough is often placed over door archways and used as protection against negative energies entering your environment"... ...more
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