Medicinal Herbs and Remedies Grown In A Native American Garden

Important: This following is a list of plants for a garden theme, not a medical recommendation or advice to use them.
Do not take these herbs without studying herbalism, checking with your doctor or Native American healer, or licensed traditional medical practitioner first, to ascertain the safety. Especially if you are presently taking modern-day chemical medicines for your health. Included on this page will be the books and references I refer to when researching and deciding on particular medicinal herbs for my own use. All medicines, traditional and chemical, have potentially harmful side effects.

Native Americans are renowned and respected for their medicinal plants and healing knowledge. It is said they first started using plants and herbs for healing after watching animals eat certain plants when they were sick. In order to protect these plants from over-harvesting, the medicine man picked only every third plant he found.

Indigenous peoples believed that some illnesses were life lessons that the person needed to learn, and that they shouldn’t interfere. Many modern remedies and medicines are based on the Native American knowledge of the different plants and herbs they used for thousands of years.

These plants and herbs were used frequently.

Blackberry
The Cherokee use this plant for treating an upset stomach. They used blackberry tea for curing diarrhea and soothing swollen joints. An all-natural cough syrup to heal sore throats can be made from blackberry root mixed with honey or maple syrup. To soothe bleeding gums, they used to chew the leaves. This plant is also good for strengthening the whole immune system.

This plant was an important plant for healers because of its many unusual medicinal uses. It treats bone weakness, muscle weakness and tension, loose teeth, memory loss, and rheumatism. It can also be used as a sedative. It has an overall rejuvenating effect on the body. The leaves and the root bark can also be used as an antibiotic. If made into a poultice, it helps reduce swelling and treats pain. 

Sumac
 Used for multiple medicinal remedies. One of the only plants that the healers used in treating eye problems. A decoction from sumac was used as a gargle to relieve sore throats, or taken as a remedy for diarrhea. The leaves and berries were combined in tea to reduce fever or made into a poultice to soothe poison ivy.

Rosemary
Native American tribes considered this plant sacred. They used it mostly as a pain reliever for alleviating sore joints. This herb improves memory, relieves muscle pain and spasm, and helps the circulatory and the nervous systems. It also improves the immune system and treats indigestion.

Mints
Cherokee made a mint tea to soothe digestion problems, and to relieve an upset stomach. They also made a salve from the leaves to relieve itchy skin and rashes.

Yarrow (Achillea)
Used in Ancient Greece to stop excess bleeding. It is said that Achilles used it to heal his wounds. Native people applied this on open wounds and on cuts, as a poultice made from the leaves to help clot the blood. They also combined fresh yarrow juice with water to help an upset stomach and for intestinal disorders. I grow a variety as ornamental plants that the butterflies love.

Red Clover
Used by healers for treating inflammation and respiratory conditions. Recent studies show that red clover helps to prevent heart disease by improving circulation and lowering cholesterol.

Black Gum
Bark and twigs used as a mild tea to relieve chest pains.

Cattails
One of the most important survival plants that the indigenous population used for food and also as a preventative medicine. Because it’s an easily digestible food, it’s helpful for recovering from illness. It can be used in multiple dishes.

Greenbriar
This root was used as a tea as a blood purifier or for relieving joint pain. Some healers made a salve from leaves and bark mixed with hog lard, which was applied to minor sores, scalds, and burns.

Hummingbird Blossom (Buck Brush)
Recent studies have shown that hummingbird blossom is effective in treating high blood pressure and lymphatic blockages.
The Native Americans used this plant for treating mouth and throat conditions, as well as cysts, fibroid tumors, and inflammation. It can be made into a poultice to treat burns, sores, and wounds. Roots were used as a diuretic to stimulate kidney function. The early settlers used this plant as a substitute for black tea.

Mullein
A tobacco-like plant, it was mainly used to treat respiratory disorders. The Native Americans made concoctions from the roots to reduce swelling in the joints, feet, or hands.

Wild Roses
The Native Americans used wild rose as a preventive and a cure for a mild common cold. The tea stimulates the bladder and kidneys and is a mild diuretic. An infusion or tea of the petals was used to soothe a sore throat.

Honeysuckle
This plant has been used as a natural remedy by the Native Americans for treating asthma, but it has multiple healing purposes, including rheumatoid arthritis, mumps, and hepatitis. It also helps with upper respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia.

Saw Palmetto
The Seminoles used the plant for food, but medicine men used it as a natural remedy for abdominal pain. It also helps digestion, reduces inflammation, and stimulates appetite.

Licorice Root
This root is famously used for flavoring candies, foods, and beverages. But it has also been used by healers to treat stomach problems, bronchitis, food poisoning, and chronic fatigue.

Sage
A sacred plant for many indigenous tribes, as it was thought to have effective purifying energies, and to cleanse the body of negative energies. As a remedy, it was used for treating medical conditions like abdominal cramps, spasms, cuts, bruises, colds, and flu.

Wild Ginger
Healers used this plant for treating earaches and ear infections. They made a mild tea from the rootstock for stimulating the digestive system and relieving bloating. It also helps with bronchial infections and nausea. Today we use ginger ale to ease nausea and minor stomach problems.

Prickly Pear Cactus
I grow quite a few for their gorgeous blooms. Native Americans used it as both a food and medicine. They made a poultice from mature pads as an antiseptic and for treating wounds, burns, and boils. Tea was made to treat urinary tract infections and to help the immune system. Research shows that the prickly pear cactus helps to lower cholesterol and prevents diabetes and diet-related heart disease.

Slippery Elm
The Native Americans used the inner bark to fashion bow strings, rope, thread, and clothing. Tea was made from the bark and leaves to soothe toothaches, respiratory irritations, skin conditions, stomach ache, sore throats, and spider bites.

Lavender
Healers used this plant as a remedy for insomnia, anxiety, depression, headache, and fatigue. The essential oil has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. Infusions can be used to soothe insect bites as well as burns.

Devil's Claw
Native Americans used this to heal various conditions, from fever to skin conditions, improving digestion, and treating arthritis. The tea can reduce the effects of diabetes, while a concoction made from the plant’s roots reduces swelling and helps with joint disease, arthritis, gout, back pain, headache, and sores.

Uva Ursi
Bearberry or Beargrape. The Native Americans used this plant mainly for treating bladder and urinary tract infections.