Cecilia Garcia and James Adams: Healing With Medicinal Plants of the West, Abedus Press
Chumash people had several medicines used against pain such as willow (S.lasiolepis), momoy (D.wrightii) and black sage (pictured-Salvia mellifera). Soaking in a handful of crushed black sage leaves and stems in a warm bath relieves pain in the feet and lower legs. -Cecilia Garcia
The late Cecilia Garcia taught Chumash traditional spirit healing with prayers, laughter, dreaming, herbal medicines and aromatherapy, leading to mending the body’s physical processes.
In early October 2011,a groupgathered at Quail Springs Learning Oasis and Permaculture Farm to study with Chumash medicine woman Cecilia Garciaand USC professor of pharmcology James D. Adams Jr. Quail Springs isset in the Cuyama Valley,surrounded bythe Los Padres National Forest, backcountry to Santa Barbara and Ventura. Nearby are the Chumash sacred Mt. Pinos and the enchantedLockwood Valley.
Renowned Chumash medicine woman Cecilia Garcia departed our human-bond in Ensenadain May 2012. A terrible loss, considering her tireless teaching of healing through native plants, ceremony, and laughter for the many-too-many overly-serious and botanically-ignorant migrants to her ancestral South-Central California home. Read a tribute to her on WilderUtopia (link).
Quail Springsfocuses onpermaculture and human sustainability, a farming and living experiment emulating ecologic relationships from wild nature. Studying ethnobotany and healing in the Chumash tradition with a scientific overlay therewas a rare and edifying experience.
Spirit Healing, Mind-Body Follows
According to an article published in the Oxford Journals byJames Adams, traditional Chumash healingwith prayers, laughter, dreaming, herbal medicines, aromatherapy, and ceremonieshave been employed in south-central Californiafor 13,000 years. Healing the spirit aways comes first, followed by mending the body’s physical processes. Prayer and fasting, connecting with the land, and breathing fresh air all help us to communicate with the Creator and life-giving energies. Families and friends too can fast, pray, laughand dance together, assisting with a patient’scomfort and reassurance. This runs contrary to modern modalities focused on healing the organism separate from spirit,family, wild earth,and ceremony.
White Sage – Salvia apiana – waykway (Chumash)
Possibly the most integral spirit plant is the white sage. The concentratedbundling commonto sage burnersis not recommended, allowing the leaves todry freely, avoiding mold.Use of white sage purifies the central nervous system and brings calm. In Cecilia’s words “It tickles the spirit” and promotes protection, equilibrium.White sagecan be administered as a drink by putting a leaf in cold water, used with prayer. This could be consumed every day, one leaf per day, all the water you can drink. A lukewarm teais also used.Burning, smudging or smoking sage functions as a blessing, accompanied with prayer, in order to protect someone. It should not be used as incense and not be tied with yarn or string.The book lists anumber of other uses, modern and traditional.
Eat flowers and seeds, not leaves
Black Sage, make sun tea and soak feet for 20 minutes for pain relief.
Break off end and suck – breath in and out – your medicine, use one leaf at a time.
Mugwort – Artemisia douglasiana – molush (Chumash) 1 leaf in mug of simmering water -4 days for PMS, until not tasty for menopause
Another important spirit plant is “dream sage” or mugwort. It grows in river valleys in riparian areas and leaves have a mild sage smell. This herb has usage with people under stress who cannot sleep nor dream. Lack of sleeping and dreaming leads to depression, overeating, and health debilitation. A handful of dream sage can be collected and stuffed into a pillow, the aromatherapy calming the mind,promoting rest, dreaming, and ultimately the spirit. For women and some men, drinking a cup of mugwort tea at night helps deal with chemical imbalance and feminine problems, but not to be used in pregnancy.
Put fresh under pillow, put dried leaves into sewn pillow – your medicine – into star pillow size of hand for kid – Use for poison oak – pee on leaves and rub on wound
Cigar of leaves, light and hold hot end over acupuncture points
California Sagebrush – Artemisia californica – kopsheek (Chumash)
California sagebrush is everpresent in the foothill chaparral with a strong smell used torecall pleasant memories, burned or carried in a sack. Here shown dried out in fall, during the spring it has feathery leaves, silver-green, a few inches long. It also can be used as a decoction formuscle, joint or arthritis pain relief.Stuff sagebrushinto a jar, soaked inalcohol, withcracked avocado seeds andone leaf of white sage added. The tincture is allowed tosoak for3-6 weeks in a dark place and can be used in addition to standard treatments. Anxiety can be relieved by sagebrush tea mixed with cinnamon.
California Bay (Laurel)- Umbellularia californica – pshakn (Chumash)
One of the most pungent medicinals is the Bay tree, traditionally used in hot spring baths. Growing in riparian areas near water,an aromatherapyhot soak inbay leaves can comfort joints. Though much stronger than European bay leaves, it flavors food ormakes a tea to strengthen the immune system or relievedigestion problems. Wrapped in a cloth, deveined leaves relieve migraine headaches or put in the mouth until the pain subsides.
Yerba Santa – antibiotic used for Pnemonia – boil and use vapor, use any variety (smooth or fuzzy), use boiled leaves with raw garlic as poultice on bare chest, drink solution for 4 nights then 2 weeks off.
Treatment for TB
Sassafras tea – good stuff…
Momoy (Chumash)- Datura wrightii
Also called California Jimson Weed or in Spanish, toloache, this small bush is common in disturbed areas and often considered one of the most sacred plants in the Chumash world. According to Cecilia, Momoy protects and ticklesthe soul,brings you back to earth. Ingestion of the rootmixture wouldinitiate young boys or girls into adulthoodand can induce sacred dreams or hallucinations. Unfortunately, the dreaming-dosecan inhibit breathing, become poisonous, or induce blindness. It can be dangerous or deadly, and not recommended outside of sacred, not psychedelic,Chumash ceremonies.In small amounts it can help a patient breathe as aromatherapy mixed with yerba santa leaves (Eriotdictyon crassifolium)or destress as a foot soak, andcan bring luck by sucking on a piece.
Coast Live Oak – Quercus agrifolia
Acorns from the Coast Live Oak along with its valley cousin, the roble (Spanish) or ko (Chumash), were the most important food source through the winter. Storable for four months, they could beeaten in a soup, as porridge or baked as a bread. The thin soup was used for almost any disease as good nutrition. Tannins must be removed, processed through warm water leaching and adding baking soda. Acorns drop in the fall in two stages. The first tend to become wormy and are shared with the deer and other animals. The second drop are gathered by humans.
CaliforniaEverlasting – Gnaphalia californicum
This flower has an everlasting butterscotch (or maple) scent with clustered pearly flowers (in spring)and is referred to as “women’s tobacco.” It should be drank as a tea at night for four days when you have a cold and the illness will not persist or progress. It is also used to change people’s attitudes, smoked with tobacco. Some varieties are considered a tonic for women’s fertility.
Acorn recipe – Valley Oak and Blue Oak are Jim Adams favorites
Collect and freeze for two days
Cut about 40 in half w/ cleaver and remove meat
Put meat in blender with 1 Tbs of baking soda and fill half way with water and blend,
Pour off water and add more, blend and then do it again (three washes)
Microwave for about 4-5 minutes, but I think we can just cook it.
Serve w/ maple syrup
Acorn is 5% protein, 35 Carbs, and 55 fat
Peanut is 50% protein / 50 fat
Korean markets have Acorn powder
1st drop is end of August – leave for deer, take second drop – second week in September and on.
Traditional used stone – see Antap (healer) stone in Thousand Oaks, near Chumash Interpretive Center.
Cuddy Valley near Frazier Park is where the Chumash medical school was – Mt Pinos is center of universe, end of rainbow bridge from Santa Cruz Island
Tarweed Native Plants, Theodore Payne, and Rancho Santa Ana gardens for plants
Herbs of Mexico for chia et.al.
Chia
seed from sage, make water ½ cup and 1.5 liters water, add water slowly shaking intermittently
Table 1.
California and Chinese plant medicines—a comparison of their uses
California plant / California use / Chinese plant / Chinese use / Major chemical constituentsAchillea millefolium / Pain / Achillea alpina / Abdominal discomfort, antibacterial / Flavonoids
Aesculus californica / Toothaches, hemorrhoid pain / Aesculus chinensis / Pain, digestion, increased strength and circulation / Escins
Allium haematochiton / Stings and bites / Allium sativum / Antibacterial, anticancer, stroke and heart attack / Alliin, Allicin, ajoene
Apocynum cannabinium / Intestinal and lung diseases / Apocynum venetum / Liver disease, antihypertensive, diuretic / Glycosides, flavanols, cardenolides
Aquilegia formosa / Diarrhea, stomach ache / Aquilegia ecalcarata / Toxin elimination, muscle growth / Flavonoids, alkaloids and glycosides
Artemisia douglasiana / Wound cauterization / Artemisia argyi / Moxibustion / Monoterpenoids
Astragalus purshii / Menstrual pain / Astragalus membranaceus / Diuretic, antidiabetic, immunostimulant / Cycloartane glycosides, flavones, sitosterol
Baccharis pilularis / Poison oak rash, skin diseases / Baccharis indica / Skin diseases, stomach ache / Flavones, diterpenoids
Berberis aquifolium / Gonorrhea / Berberis souliena / Antibacterial / Berberine alkaloids
Clematis ligusticifolia / Sore throat, pain, colds / Clematis chinensis / Pain, diuretic, antibacterial / Anemonin saponins
Datura wrightii / Anesthesia, pain, asthma / Datura metel / Pain, asthma, arthritis / Scopolamine, hyoscyamine
Ephedra californica / Bladder infections, colds, pain / Ephedra sinica / Asthma, colds, headache, pain / Pseudoephedrine alkaloids
Gnaphalium californicum / Pain, colds, GI problems / Gnaphalium affine / Antitussive, expectorant, asthma / Flavonoids and diterpenoids
Iris missouriensis / Pain, venereal disease / Iris pallasii / Cancer / Iris quinone
Juniperus californica / Colds, fevers, constipation, pain / Juniperus chinensis / Digestion, circulation, arthritis / Amentoflavone, hinokiflavone, cedrol
Lobelia cardinalis / Pain, lung problems / Lobelia chinensis / Diuretic / Lobeline, lobelanine
Oenothera elata / Bladder and yeast infections / Oenothera odorata / Fevers, colds / Monoterpenes, flavonoids, sterols
Opuntia littoralis / Poultice for wounds, pain / Opuntia dillenii / Promotes circulation, diarrhea, burns / Triterpenoids, beta-sitosterol
Paeonia californica / Depression, lung disease, pain / Paeonia lactiflora / Fever, pain, liver disease / Paeoniflorin, paeonol
Papaver californicum / Pain / Papaver somniferum / Pain, diarrhea / Morphine and papaverine alkaloids
Prunus ilicifolium / Colds, flus, headaches / Prunus armenica / Pain, antitussive / Flavonoids, amygdalin
Quercus lobata / Diarrhea, pain / Quercus acutissima / Diarrhea, hemorrhoids / Starch, tannins
Rhamnus californica / Purging, constipation / Rhamnus crenata / Fever, antifungal, constipation / Anthraquinone glycosides
Rhus trilobata / Colds, stomach ache, sores / Rhus chinensis / Diarrhea, GI infections, skin problems / Flavones, salicylates, tannins
Rosa woodsii / Diarrhea, colds / Rosa laevigata / Diarrhea, astringent / Vitamin C, flavonols, tannins
Salix lasiolepis / Fever, colds, pain, malaria / Salix babylonica / Goiter, tuberculosis, expectorant / Salicin, saligenin, iodine
Salvia columbariae / Stroke, heart attack / Salvia miltiorrhiza / Stroke, heart attack / Tanshinones, salvianolic acids
Sambucus mexicana / Colds, flus / Sambucus chinensis / Arthritis, edema, diarrhea, bronchitis / Flavonoids, sterols, tannins, alkaloids
Scirpus acutus / Casts / Scirpus dichotoma / Diuretic / Dihydrocyper-aquinone
Solanum douglasii / Anesthesia / Solanum nigrum / Antibacterial, diuretic / Alkaloids, steroids
Stachys bullata / Stomach ache, inflammation / Stachys baicalensis / Inflammation, bleeding disorders, diarrhea / Flavonoid glycosides
Suaeda esteroa / Soap / Suaeda glauca / Fever, blood circulation / Triterpenoids, sterols
Urtica dioica / Arthritis pain / Urtica angustifolia / Digestion, pain / Histamine, serotonin, leukotrienes
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The data in this table is a compilation of published data (30,37,38). From