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Many plants that grow in the American West are purported to have therapeutic properties by practitioners of alternative medicine.
Use and availability
European and Asian plants are commonly used in herbalism and are generally available in retail shops. Medicinal plants of the American West are generally not as available, but can be grown in gardens. Collecting plants in nature may be illegal without a proper permit.Native Americans of the West routinely use these plants in health care. Among Native Americans spiritual health and physical health are inseparable. In fact, an unhealthy spirit leads to an unhealthy body. Most Native American healers start by healing the spirit, then the body. Prayer, singing, talking and comforting are an essential part of healing.
Ritualistic use
Many traditionally used plants are ritualistic or shamanistic in nature, prompting interest as recreational or hallucinogenic uses of western plants, such as peyote, Lophophora williamsii, California Jimson weed and others. Jimson weed,
Datura wrightii and
Datura stramonium, as well as most other
Datura species, can cause respiratory depression and death when not used in carefully controlled dosage.
These plants have been used for centuries by Native Americans to induce sacred dreams, as a spiritual experience. Some of these plants were also used in rites of passage.
Particular plants
The following plants are routinely used by American Indians, and have come to be recognized as safe by virtue of historical and continued use without deleterious effects to health.
Black sage, (Salvia mellifera), can be used against pain. A strong sun tea of the leaves and stems of the plant can be rubbed on the painful area or used to soak one's feet. The plant contains diterpenoids, such as aethiopinone and ursolic acid, that are pain relievers.[Sales of Supplements Containing Ephedrine Alkaloids (Ephedra) Prohibited. From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed September 12 2007.] Horsetail or Scouring Rush (Equisetum spp.) is used as a diuretic because of it contains high concentrations of oxalic acid and calcium oxalate and therefore can also be a throat irritant if brewed improperly.:{| class="wikitable"
|+Chemical Constituents and Relative Percentages
|-
| α-Thujene || align="right" | 0.3%
|-
| α-Pinene || align="right" | 9.0%
|-
| Camphene || align="right" | 0.4%
|-
| β-Pinene|| align="right" | 9.1%
|-
| Myrcene || align="right" | 0.5%
|-
| 3-Carene || align="right" | 1.3%
|-
| Cymene || align="right" | 2.8%
|-
| Limonene || align="right" | 2.0%
|-
| 1,8-Cineole || align="right" | 71.6%
|-
| α-Pinene oxide || align="right" | 0.2%
|-
| Camphor || align="right" | 2.1%
|-
| Terpinolenone || align="right" | 0.2%
|-
| β-Carophyllene oxide || align="right" | 0.6%
|}
Willow Salix spp. used to treat headache and as an antipyretic due to the content of salicylic acid.Books
There are several books about western medicinal plants:
A comprehensive collection of many plants with descriptions of their uses.
Very thorough discussion of California medicinal plants.
A partial list of plants used in the west.
A field guide with photographs of each plant and descriptions of their uses.
Gives the Chumash Indian and scientific basis for use of many plants, along with color photographs of each plant. Cecilia Garcia is a Chumash healer.
A discussion of Cahuilla Indian plants and their uses. Saubel is a Cahuilla Indian.
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