Tick Bite

EASTERN DECIDUOUS FOREST AND TALL GRASS PRAIRIE

COMMON NAME: Plantain

GENUS AND SPECIES NAME: Plantago lanceolata

Habitat: mostly found in yards, fields and waste areas

Medicinal Uses: The leaves are used for a poultice as an anti-inflammatory and infection fighter, treats burns

Preparation: Chew some of the leaves at release its juices and firmly roll between thumb and fingers. Press the juicy leaves directly on the site of the bite. If necessary, tape the leaves or simply hold them. 

Active Chemical: aucubin

Formula: C15H22O9

EASTERN DECIDUOUS FROEST AND TALL GRASS PRAIRIE

COMMON NAME: Jewelweed

GENUS AND SPECIES NAME: Impatiens carpensis

Season: June-October

Habitat: mostly shaded areas all over the US

Use: the juice from the stem and leaves treat poison ivy, bug bites, dermatitis. Lawsone makes the plant have the effect of anti-inflammatory and antihistamine, prevents infection

Preparation: Crush the leaves to create a poultice that can be applied directly to the bite.

Active Chemical: Eupatorine

TALL GRASS PRAIRIE AND EASTERN DECIDUOUS FOREST

COMMON NAME: Joe-pye weed

GENUS AND SPECIES NAME: Eupatorium purpureum

Season: July to September

Habitat: wooded slopes, wet meadows and thickets, stream margins

Use: Infection: teas of roots or tops used as a diuretic, root tea used for diarrhea, tea used as blood purifier and prevents infection-open wounds, tea used to treat frostbite, tea used for swelling and sore throat, and kidney ailments

Preparation: can make root or flower tea. To make root tea, steep oz of dried and crushed root into 1 pint of boiling water for thirty minutes and drink half a cup at a time. To make flower tea, steep 1teaspoon of dried flower into 8oz of boiling water for ten minutes. 

Active Chemical: Eupatorin

Chemical Structure: C18H16O7

(n.d.). GreenMedInfo - The World's Natural Health Resource | GreenMedInfo. The Medicinal Properties of Plantain | GreenMedInfo | Blog Entry. Retrieved September 6, 2015, from http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/medicinal-properties-plantain

(n.d.). Medicinal Herb Info Home. Joe-Pye Weed - Medicinal Herb Info. Retrieved September 8, 2015, from http://medicinalherbinfo.org/herbs/JoePyeWeed.html