Traditional Uses for some of
the Plants and Trees
in my Back Yard
Horse Tail
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Harvested in springtime
Stems contain sweet liquid
Cure for diarrhea
Believed to be good for the
blood
• Can be toxic if consumed in
large quantities
Salmonberry
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Similar to Raspberry in growth
Young shoots harvested in spring, peeled and eaten
Berries eaten fresh when ripe
Woody branches used for smoking salmon
Vines boiled into a tea for stomach troubles
Bark can be chewed for toothaches
Bark boiled into a tea to ease labour pains
Many women make jams and jellies from
Salmonberries
Pineapple Weed
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Related to German and Roman chamomile
Boiled into a tea to act as a mild sedative
Eaten to treat digestive and kidney problems
Can be given to calm a baby
Can be used to treat eye infections
Sword Fern
• Rhizomes can be boiled
and eaten
• Fronds are used to line
baking pits, and spread
under drying berries
• Young fronds can be
chewed to ease a sore
throat
• Leaves can be chewed to
ease the pain of child birth
• Often used as bedding
Western Hemlock
• Also called Alaskan Pine
• Grows to over 200 feet tall
• Different parts of the inner and outer
bark is used to make dyes (red,
black, and yellow/orange)
• Used to collect herring spawn
• Bark is boiled and used to
waterproof woven baskets
• Pitch is used to prevent chapped lips
• Bark boiled into a tea to act as a
laxative, an appetite stimulant, a
treatment for TB, and to ease a sore
throat
Western Red Cedar
• Grows to over 200 feet tall
• Can live up to 800 years
• Because of its straight grain, cedar is
often used for carvings, houses, and
dugout canoes
• Also used to make twine, rope, mats,
clothing, and dishes
• Beaten bark can be used as a sponge
• Shredded inner bark is soft and
absorbent, and can be used for diapers
Yellow Cedar
• Grows to over 200 feet tall
• Used in much the same way
as the Western Red Cedar
• The Yellow Cedar tree does
not grow as large in
diameter as the Western
Red Cedar
• Fibers are much softer and
used for weaving into
blankets and clothing
Edible Seaweed
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Important gift and trade item
Eaten fresh or dried
Very high protein content
More vitamin C than an orange
Especially important in times of
food shortage
• Can be harvested year round, but
is best in the springtime
• Still harvested and eaten today
• Some First Nations communities
continue to harvest seaweed and
sell to markets overseas
Seaweed traditionally made
up 10% of the diet of the
Northwest Coast First
Nations
Question:
What plant traditionally formed 10% of the
diet of Northwest Coast First Nations
Peoples, and was especially important during
times of food shortage?
a) sword fern
b) seaweed
c) salmonberry
d) horsetail