Ethnobotany of the Meskwaki Indians / by Huron H. Smith.

232

BULLETIN, PUBLIC MUSEUM, MILWAUKEE.

[Vol. 4

XLII, fig. 4. This is used as a love medicine and the roots of the preceding one, Cardinal Flower, were used in the same way. They are
finely chopped and put into the food of a quarrelsome pair, without their
knowledge. This medicine averts divorce and makes the pair love each
other again. The eclectic practitioners among the whites used L.
cardinalis as an anthelmintic and the L. syphilitica was a well known
old time remedy for syphilis, deriving its scientific name from this use.
MALVACEAE (MALLOW FAMILY)
Indian Mallow (Abutilon theophrasti Medic.). Neither tribe used
it but the Meskwaki had a name for it, "m.nakwfiski" [smells bad].
Glade Mallow (Napaea dioica L.), "wisaitce'piki" [sweet root],
"we'sakaki," "wesasa'k," and "wepokfin" [like pumpkin vine] (M),
"wasa'was tca'pkfikfik" [yellow root] (P P). The roots of this were
a special remedy for piles. It was growing only in McIntosh's farm
yard. The Meskwaki name "wesasak" means slippery, as does another
Potawatomi name for it, "wapfiku'n pfikoki'sakfik," and it was a great
female remedy to render parturition easy. It was also a remedy for
female troubles. The root fibers were slippery like the fibers of slippery
elm bark. It was used as a poultice to keep old sores soft. It could
be used alone, but was generally used in combination with other medicines. It was also a hunting charm.
Specimen 5157 of the Dr. Jones collection is the root of Napaea
dioica and is called "wapaskwa." The root was boiled and used as a
poultice for a swelling, There is no record of the use among the
whites.
NYCTAGINACEAE (FOUR O'CLOCK FAMILY)
Heart-leaved Umbrella-wort (Oxybaphus nyctaginea (Mx.)
Sweet), "apatci'mikaki" (M), "aiatciami'kifk" [sneezing] (P P). The
whole herb or the root only is used in treating bladder troubles.
Specimen 5129 of the Dr. Jones collection is the root of Oxybaphus
nyctaginea and was called "wisagagi." It was boiled and made into a
drink, and it was also used in a macerated preparation as a poultice for
a burn. There is no record of its use among the whites.