Sharing Our Stories: Echinacea, Boneset & Yarrow / Katsistohkóntha’, Tekastien’tahnhontéhrha’ Tánon’ Aró:sen Aotáhson – Niagara Falls Review
April 5, 2024
By Story told by: Elaine Delaronde, Edited by: Sanatana Deer – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Translated by: Karonhí:io Delaronde The Eastern Door
Echinacea, boneset and yarrow are powerful medicinal perennial plants, indigenous to our land.
Echinacea has pink flowers and looks beautiful in your garden. You can make tea with the flowers and leaves for your immune system. However, it is the roots that are most powerful as an immune booster. Echinacea roots act as a spark plug to stimulate your immune system to fight off infections and should be only taken when needed. You can take echinacea for no longer than two weeks, it’s just used to help your immune system gain strength. It’s used for colds, flu, viral and bacterial infections and as a blood purifier. It’s best to harvest the roots after the first frost. Harvest only the fresh flowers and leaves for tea.
Boneset is a unique medicine plant that is easy to identify. The long leaves alternate through the stem. The stem looks like it is punctured through the leaves, rather than its leaves growing off the stem. Boneset’s white flowers and leaves are great tea medicines to treat high, achy fevers. It’s suitable for when the immune system is being attacked, where the body feels like you’re freezing and burning up with sore bones and muscles. The best time to harvest boneset is when the flowers are fresh in bloom. More at the end of summer, into fall. Making a poultice with the leaves can help heal broken bones and sprains.
