Indigenous Medicinal Plant Research by Pepper Ford

Plants Traditonal use as a medicine

pf166 — 2024-09-11 15:54:53 UTC

Cedar has been used for generations as an air purifier, antiseptic, antifungal, antiviral, and all-around immune-boosting agent because of its healing properties.

What parts of Cedar is used as medicine?

pf166 — 2024-09-11 15:58:07 UTC

The wood, bark, roots, branches, and leaves are all highly prized and useful elements of the cedar tree.

How is Cedar prepared to be used as medicine?

pf166 — 2024-09-12 17:27:11 UTC

Cedar leaves can be used to make tea, burnt to purify the air, or used to treat flu or chest colds. The oils can also be extracted from the leaves. Fresh cedar leaves can be used to extract the oils, or you can dry them by tying several tiny branches together with a rubber band and hanging them, or you can put them in baskets in a dry area that has proper ventilation. To preserve the fragrant oils, keep them whole and crush them right before using. Keep it in a glass jar or paper bag.

What Indigenous Peoples used Cedar as medicine?

pf166 — 2024-09-12 17:27:35 UTC

Many groups use cedar medicine as it is one of the 4 sacred medicines and is found widely throughout Canada, Some examples include Métis, Anishinaabe, Cree, and Coast Salish groups.

Where Does Cedar Grow?

pf166 — 2024-09-12 17:28:03 UTC

Two species of cedar is recognied in Canada: The Eastern White Cedar and Western Red Cedar.

When and how Cedar is harvested as Medicine

pf166 — 2024-09-12 17:28:30 UTC

Harvesting season usually occurs in the spring. Only trees we can fully wrap with our arms are suitable for harvesting. Neither smaller nor larger trees than that are suitable for harvesting. Only the portion of the tree unaffected by the light will be used for harvesting. When the weather is warm and their aromatic oil content is at its peak, some people like to gather Cedar in the late summer or early fall.

What is Cedar used for today?

pf166 — 2024-09-12 17:28:51 UTC

When it's not being used as medicine, it is still used to make many sorts of furniture today. Cedar is an extremely lightweight and durable wood used to build canoes, paddles, dwellings, boxes, totem poles, and tools.

Eastern White Cedar

pf166 — 2024-09-17 01:06:22 UTC

Eastern White Cedar trees are aptly found in eastern Canada. They grow in the Maritimes, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence forests of Quebec and Ontario, in addition to parts of Manitoba and New Brunswick. They are also found on the western portions of Nova Scotia and PEI.

Western Red Cedar

pf166 — 2024-09-17 01:07:09 UTC

This type will be the most familiar to Vancouver Islanders as it grows along the Pacific Coast of BC, including the Queen Charlotte Islands. Western Reds are also found in parts of Alberta.

pf166 — 2024-09-17 22:20:41 UTC