Euro-American Settlers' Use of Forest Medicines and Foods
By Shannon E. Bell, Professor of Sociology, Virginia Tech
As white settlers of European descent began to colonize the Appalachian Mountains in the 1700s, they established subsistence farms that relied heavily on the nuts, fruits, and greens that could be gathered from the forests.
These pre-industrial settlers learned from American Indians how to identify and use the medicinal plants growing in the Appalachian forests and meadows. They also brought medicinal plants with them from Europe, such as mullein, red clover, broadleaf plantain, catnip, and burdock, which became naturalized and were also widely used.
In rural mountain communities where formally trained doctors were scarce, people depended on local lay healers for health care. These lay healers maintained specialized knowledge of herbal remedies that were used extensively in Appalachian folk healing traditions.
The American Chestnut (Castanea dentata)
For thousands of years, American chestnut trees provided an important and nutrient-dense food source for the human and animal inhabitants of the Appalachian Mountains. The Cherokee also used the leaves to make teas for treating typhoid, stomach pains, and heart problems. An estimated 3 to 4 billion chestnut trees once populated approximately 200 million acres of forests in the eastern U.S. During the late 1800s, however, a parasitic fungus from Asia was accidentally introduced to North America. Over the span of about 50 years, what came to be known as the ‘chestnut blight’ wiped out nearly all of the mature stands of American chestnut trees in eastern North America.
Look carefully and you may find young American chestnut trees growing along the trail. Chestnut trees can resprout from root systems that are still living underground. These trees will live for a few years, but most will succumb to the blight before they begin producing chestnuts. The American Chestnut Foundation has been working for the past four decades to create blight-resistant chestnut trees to reintroduce to the Appalachian forests. Learn about their work by visiting https://tacf.org/.
The Cherokee word for chestnut tree is tili (ᏘᎵ) and the word for chestnut is unagina (ᎤᎾᎩᎾ).
Red Trillium (Trillium erectum)
Also called Wakerobin or Bethroot. Historically used as an aid in childbirth, menstrual disorders, menopause, hemorrhages, asthma, and chronic lung conditions. Used externally for tumors, ulcers, snake bites and stings. At least 11 steroidal saponins have been isolated from this species. It used by some herbalists today to help stop post-partum bleeding.
Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)
Also called Touch-Me-Not. The sap has been used to treat a variety of skin ailments, including poison ivy, stinging nettle, insect stings and bites. The sap also has anti-fungal properties.
Pinkroot (Spigelia marilandica)
Historically, pinkroot was used in combination with a strong laxative, such as wild senna, to kill and expel intestinal worms.
Warning: Can cause heart palpitations, vertigo, and convulsions.