This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Fw: Pale Indian Plantain -ethnobotanical info ? try this:

The true plantains (Plantago) have long been recognized as plants 
that followed European settlement of North America. Some of the 
Cacalia or Arnoglossum species, especially the tellingly named 
A. plantagineum, have leaves very similar to Plantago, but grow in 
relatively undisturbed or wild (thus "of the Indians") places. The 
other species may get their name by virtue of their relationship to 
A. plantagineum, though their leaves are dissimilar.

I am not aware of any ethnobotanical importance, but keep looking. It 
seems almost every plant was sampled by the first human inhabitants 
of North America, and someone may well have found or thought of a use 
for it. It is, however, interesting that many plants have widely 
differing or even conflicting uses in the Native American herbology, 
leading one to the unavoidable conclusion that many of the putative 
effects were more akin to placebo effects than to demonstrated 
pharmacological responses.

James C. Trager
Shaw Arboretum
P.O. Box 38
Gray Summit MO 63039
PH# 314-451-3512
FAX 314-451-5583
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PRAIRIE
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index