Paleo Foraging

Aralia racemosa L.

Synonym: = A. bicrenata

Common names: American spikenard, Indian spikenard

Menominee: kwutä’tcia kopûn – “crane-root, and like a a potato” (Smith 1923:17)

Location in Texas: W TX, Jeff Davis Co. (Davis Mts.) only.

Form: herb, low shrub; perennial.

Food

Root – cooked and eaten by the Menominee (Smith 1923:62). One dish considered very fine was spikenard root, wild onion, wild gooseberry and sugar (Smith 1923:62).

Medicine

Root – used as a poultice for sores by the Menominee (Smith 1923:17). A drink was prepared to treat stomachache (Smith 1923:17). An infusion was drunk for backache or lower back pain, and kidney health by the Cherokee (Banks 1953:91).