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Adders Tongue, Native American Ethnobotanical
Scientific name: Erythronium americanum
Ezekiel 47:12 "And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."
Nicknames: Adders Tongue;[1] Dog Tooth Violet;[1] Serpent's Tongue;[1] Yellow Snowdrop;[1] Trout lily;[9] yellow trout lily;[9] fawn lily;[9]
Classification: Perennial;[7]
Plant Family: Liliaceae;[8] Genus: Erythronium;[8] Species: E. americanum;[8]
Ethnobotany: Native Americans used Adders Tongue mostly externally(applied to the skin, not consumed internally). The fresh root of Erythronium americanum and its leaves are prepared into a medicinal brew by simmering the plant material in milk.[1] This mixture is used for dropsy, hiccoughs, vomiting, and bleeding.[1] It's said that boiling the plant in oil is great for wounds and to reduce inflammation.[1] It's mostly used topically(externally, not internally).
Natural Habitat: North America ( A Native American favorite; );[1] It gows wild in moist meadows or thinly wooded areas.[1] It grows in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.[7]
Mixes well with: It is made into a tea and combined with Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale) traditionally, and this is considered good for ulcers and or any type of bleeding, for the breast, for bowels, for tumors, and inflammation, and for sore eyes.[1]
OG Observations: Adders Tongue WASN'T listed under Wikipedia's huge list of Native American Ethnobotanicals. I found it in a rad new book on the subject that I purchased. I'm glad that it isn't on their list, because that means I am bringing something new to the forefront. I've literally never heard about this plant anywhere. It feels good to be breaking free from the same boring ethnobotanicals that I wrote about for ten years. This ethnobotanical specimen is new and exciting.
How Ethnobotany, The Ethnobotanical Industry, The Occult, The Illegal Drug Trade, And Big Pharma Are All Connected To Each Other, And The Fruit Of The Tree Of Knowledge In The Book Of Genesis: Ethnobotany is the study of the cultural use of plants, which 99% of the time has to do with religious or spiritual applications of said plants.[2][3] The religious or spiritual consumption of plants typically has to do with indigenous pagan cultures, who worshipped gods other than the one of the bible, and the practices that they engaged in are all listed in Deuteronomy 18 of the bible.[2][3] These cultures consumed(and still do) poisonous, and psychedelic plants, in order to practice divination, and necromancy.[2][3] The occult is connected to some of the ethnobotanical plants(deliriants) being sold on the market today, which when consumed, bring the practitioner closer to death(if not flat dead), and thus able to commune with satanic spirits, etc.[2][3] Both the occult, and big pharma use a lot of the same deadly plants.[2][3] Drug companies use deadly plants like Atropa-Bella-Donna, and Datura, and even Serpentine wood, to make "medicine" with.[2][3] Deadly nightshade(A. bella donna) is even used in eye drops. I've seen it listed as an ingredient on the back of some.
It gets interesting because ethnobotany begins in primitive pagan cultures that date back to the early days of humanity, utilizing deadly plants to engage in occult practices, and it ends up in modern times, with mRNA vaccines, and big pharma growing more and more bold and diabolical by the day..[2][3] All of modern medical is connected to both ethnobotany, and the ethnobotanical industry directly competes with big pharma, and helps fuel the illegal black drug market.[2][3][4][5] Both illegal drug manufacturers and big drug companies are both using ethnobotanicals to make and isolate drugs with.[2][3][4][5] It's also competed upon, and fought over by the occult, because a lot of ethnobotanicals are used and cherished by the occult.[2][3] So ethnobotany, is connected to the occult, and the big pharmaceutical industry.[2][3][4][5][6] To reiterate how they're conneceted, some of the ethnobotanicals being sold across the USA, although they're legal to buy, possess, and sell, they can be used illegally, and ARE being used illegally, by illegal drug manufacturing operations taking place within the US. I break down the occult connection much fruther in the blog: Modern Medicines Connection To The Occult
Phytochemicals: a-Methylene butyrolactone;[9] "a-Methylene butyrolactone is a member of a class of naturally occurring sesquiterpene lactones, which in recent years have become the subject of much research interest for its tumor-inhibitory properties."[10] That's a profound discovery! There hasn't been a lot of studies that I can find on this one plant, but we have a little something to say about it in terms of academic literature, and it's already amazing and ground breaking.
Pharmacological / Medicinal Properties / Dosage: Adders Tonge(E. americanum) bulbs and leaves are considered: Emetic, Emollient, and Anti-scorbutic when fresh, and Nutritive when dry;[1] | Dosage: A great book on the subject suggest 1 teaspoonful of dried leaves or root to 1 cup of boiling water.[1] It says one cup per day.[1] This is a good way to start, as it is better to take too little than it is to take too much. You may require more however.
Related HerbsPedia Blogs: I'm putting together a great resource for those who don't know the medical terminology. It's an evolving list of medical terms and their definitions.
Buy Erythronium americanum
Academic citations:
[7] https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/erythronium-americanum/
[9] Diamond, Kenneth B., Guylyn R. Warren, and John H. Cardellina II. "Native American food and medicinal plants. 3. α-methylene butyrolactone from Erythronium grandiflorum Pursh." Journal of ethnopharmacology 14.1 (1985): 99-101.
[10] Akkapeddi, Murali K. "Poly (α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone) synthesis, configurational structure, and properties." Macromolecules 12.4 (1979): 546-551.
[1] Hutchens, Alma R. Indian Herbalogy of North America. Boston ; London, Shambhala, 1991.
[2] Balick, Michael J., and Paul Alan Cox. Plants, People, and Culture : The Science of Ethnobotany. New York, Garland Science, 2020.
[3] Richard Evans Schultes, and Albert Hoffman. Plants of the Gods : Their Sacred, Healing and Hallucinogenic Powers. Rochester, Vt, Healing Arts, 1979.
[4] Swerdlow, Joel L. Nature’s Medicine : Plants That Heal. Washington, D.C., National Geographic Society, 2000.
[5] Tyler, Varro E, et al. Pharmacognosy. 1988.
[6] Voeks, Robert A. "Disturbance pharmacopoeias: medicine and myth from the humid tropics." Annals of the Association of American geographers 94.4 (2004): 868-888.
Encyclopedia Sources:
[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythronium_americanum
Other resources:
M.A.P.S. Ethnobotanical Studies By Scholars
PubChem - pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov