Cherokee Snakebite Remedies

 Just yesterday, I was reading "my kind of article,"  Cherokee Snakebite Remedies, by David Cozzo.  What I like about it is that the author compiles a number of historic documents that address the topic, and provides helpful context for those documents.  That is pretty much the formula I use for many of the posts on this site.  When something is done so well, as with Cozzo's article, I don't see any need to reinvent or recreate the good work.  In reading the article, though, there was one thing missing:  a summary list or index of the many plants mentioned as possible remedies. And that is the point of today's post.

This beauty, stationed in the middle of Wolf Ridge Trail (Great Smoky Mountains National Park), greeted us as we descended from Gregory Bald on June 16, 2013.

I highly recommend Cozzo's article and I think my contribution adds to its value.  My initial reaction to the article was "Yes, it is interesting to read these old accounts of medicinal plants, but in a crisis would I count on them?"  I'll admit that I would be calling 911 during a snakebite emergency.  On the other hand, such an event would likely occur deep in the woods somewhere.  I would stand a good chance of putting my hands on one or more of these plants long before the arrival of paramedics.  So, as a practical matter and not just cultural trivia, the article warrants more study.

These lists could be improved upon.  I suspect the taxonomy needs to be cleaned up.  The popular names of plants are so often interchangeable, and even the scientific names change over time.  Many of the accounts cited by Cozzo are from the 18th and 19th centuries and therefore the listings might not reflect current botanical nomenclature.  

Plants Mentioned in Cozzo article, alphabetical by scientific name:

Ageratina altissima	White Snakeroot
Amphicarpa bracteata	Hog Peanut
Angelica venenosa	Hairy Angelica
Aristolochia serpentaria	Virginia Snakeroot
Asplenium rhizophyllum	Snake’s Tongue
Botrychium virginianum	Rattlesnake Fern
Cacalia atriplicifolia	Pale Indian Plantain
Cicuta maculata	Wild Parsnip
Coronilla varia	Crown Vetch
Cunila origanoides	Mountain Dittany
Eryngium yuccafolium	Rattlesnake Master
Gentiana villosa	Sampson Snakeroot
Helianthus annuus	Sunflower
Hepatica acutiloba	Hepatica
Hypericum gentioides	Pineweed
Hypericum hypericoides	St. Andrew’s Cross
Juncus effusus	Soft Rush
Liriodendron tulipifera	Tulip Poplar
Lobelia inflata	Indian Tobacco
Lycopus virginicus	Water Hoarhound
Pedicularis canadensis	Lousewort
Plantago major	Common Plantain
Polygala senega	Seneca Snakeroot
Prenanthes alba	Rattlesnake Root
Prunella vulgaris	Heal-all
Rhus radicans	Poison Ivy
Rudbeckia fulgida	Black-eyed Susan
Sanicula canadensis	Black Snakeroot
Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani	Soft-stemmed Bulrush
Silene stellata	Starry Campion
Spiraea trifoliata	Indian Physic
Thalictrum dioicum	Early Meadow Rue
Tilia americana	Basswood
Vicia caroliniana	Wood Vetch
Xanthium strumarium	Cocklebur

Plants Mentioned in Cozzo article, alphabetical by common name:

Basswood	Tilia americana
Black Snakeroot	Sanicula canadensis
Black-eyed Susan	Rudbeckia fulgida
Cocklebur	Xanthium strumarium
Common Plantain	Plantago major
Crown Vetch	Coronilla varia
Early Meadow Rue	Thalictrum dioicum
Hairy Angelica	Angelica venenosa
Heal-all	Prunella vulgaris
Hepatica	Hepatica acutiloba
Hog Peanut	Amphicarpa bracteata
Indian Physic	Spiraea trifoliata
Indian Tobacco	Lobelia inflata
Lousewort	Pedicularis canadensis
Mountain Dittany	Cunila origanoides
Pale Indian Plantain	Cacalia atriplicifolia
Pineweed	Hypericum gentioides
Poison Ivy	Rhus radicans
Rattlesnake Fern	Botrychium virginianum
Rattlesnake Master	Eryngium yuccafolium
Rattlesnake Root	Prenanthes alba
Sampson Snakeroot	Gentiana villosa
Seneca Snakeroot	Polygala senega
Snake’s Tongue	Asplenium rhizophyllum
Soft Rush	Juncus effusus
Soft-stemmed Bulrush	Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani
St. Andrew’s Cross	Hypericum hypericoides
Starry Campion	Silene stellata
Sunflower	Helianthus annuus
Tulip Poplar	Liriodendron tulipifera
Virginia Snakeroot	Aristolochia serpentaria
Water Hoarhound	Lycopus virginicus
White Snakeroot	Ageratina altissima
Wild Parsnip	Cicuta maculata
Wood Vetch	Vicia caroliniana

Citation for original article:

Cozzo, David (2013) "Cherokee Snakebite Remedies," Proceedings of the annual meeting of the Southern Anthropological Society: Vol. 41: No. 1, Article 5.
DOI: 10.56702/MPMC7908/saspro4101.4
Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/southernanthro_proceedings/vol41/iss1/5