plants for outdoor first aid

8/7/2019 Plants for Outdoor First Aid

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Using wildcrafted plants in wilderness medicine.Finding, identifying and using easily found wild medicinal plants can

greatly enhance your wilderness first aid kit. A few easily identifiable optionsare quickly learned. Search and rescue teams, wilderness guides, outdoorenthusiasts, and hillwalkers can expand their medical kit with the introduction

to a few plant families. There are a number of plants that can be found in mostwilderness settings. This article will discuss just a few of the most easilyidentifiable options with no look-a-like plants that may be dangerous. Theseplants will be safe for the novice wilderness enthusiast to use it for their

wilderness medicine applications.

YARROW ( Achillea Millefolium)This feather like plant is found in every state, country and in every

climate found within North America and Europe. I have found huge plantsreaching to one meter in height in Southeast Alaska. The same species can alsobe found in the high deserts of the mid west, but only grow a few inches high.

Nonetheless, this plant is useful wherever it is found. Uses for this plant rangefrom a topical anesthesia, a tea for colds, or a gargle for sore throats (Pojar,1994).

Yarrow’s botanical name, Achillea, honors the ancient hero Achilles.According to folklore, the mother of this young warrior dipped him in the riverStyx in order to make him invincible (King, 1987). Other stories relate howAchilles used the medicinal qualities of Yarrow to staunch wounds obtained inbattle (Schofield, 1989).

Scientific studies have shown that theplant does in fact stop bleeding by causingvasoconstriction of blood vessels that are

exposed to the plant (Evelyn, 1998). Otherapplications include drinking a tea made fromthe leaves of Yarrow for colds, flu symptoms,and internal bleeding (Schofield, 1989).Yarrow causes diaphoresis that in turn coolsthe body temperature from the mildsweating.

Recent studies have shown theantimicrobial properties of Yarrow (StojanovicG. et al., 2005). Topical applications of thisplant not only address a bleeding wound, it

can also prevent infection. This plant hasshown that it minimizes microbial growth fivebacteria; Staph aureus, E. coli, Klebsiella

pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella enteritidis. Yarrow isalso effective against two fungi; Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans (Stojanovic et al., 2005).

The Bella Coola tribe in British Columbia chewed the leaves of Yarrowand applied them to burns (Hutchens, 1973). Tarran et. al, showed the



Alexander the Great used plantain for headaches. It was added to Roseoil and rubbed on the temples of relief, and on the feet for pain from arthritis(Schofield, 1989). Shakespeare referenced the wonders of this healing herbwhen he had Romeo instructs Benvolio to apply plantain on his broken skin(Romeo and Juliet, Act I. Scene II).

Plantain is a great addition to any backpacker’s medical kit. Even if thewilderness destination is thousands of feet above the tree line, the dried herbcan be carried for minor cuts, scrapes, and abrasions. The dried plant does notadd much weight and a lot of the herb can be carried for extended trips. A

pinch of the herb is chewed for a few seconds to reconstitute the mucilaginoustexture and applied to the skin. It can be kept in place with a medical dressing,duct tape, or anything that can be used to keep the moist medicine in contactwith the skin.

CONIFER TREES (Pinus contorta, Tsuga spp, Psedotsuga Menziesii) The wilderness enthusiast is seldom found hiking where there are no

evergreen trees. The pine, hemlock, spruce, and the Douglas fir trees can befound throughout Europe. These species are effortless sources for medical

supplies. The pine needles from each of these evergreen plants are extremelyhigh in vitamin C, (Korotkova et. al,2003). The First Nations communitieswould make a pine needle tea tosupplement their diet (Hutchens,1973).

Pinus contorta includes fourdistinctly different varieties; Rocky

Mountain lodgepole pine, shore pine,Sierra lodgepole pine, and Bolanderpine. The term ‘Lodgepole pine’ refers

to this species. All of these plant species have similar uses for wildernessmedicine. Besides the nutritious pine needles, the First Nations used the pitch,the inner Cambium bark, and the nuts from the cones (Pojar, 1994, Hutchens,1973). The trees were also a large source for hunting and building supplies. TheWestern Red Cedar was called ‘the tree of life’ by the Haida tribe because of how many of their common items originated from that one tree species(Turner, 1999).

The Bella Coola tribe from the coast of British Columbia, would collect

the gum from tree bark, chew it into a soft consistency, and apply it to cuts,burns, and broken skin (Pojar, 1994). The Tadoussac tribe boiled the pineneedles for a remedy for sore throat. The Montagnais people used boiled pitchfor the same ailment (Vogel, 1970).

The only caution found within the evergreen family is the needles foundon the Yew and Cedar species. The volatile oils found within these two plantsare very potent. The leaves should not be used internally (Pojar, 1994).



The beauty of learning the medicinal qualities of the evergreen trees isthat they are prolific in the backcountry, easily identifiable, and quickly found.The needles from the pine, fir, spruce, and Douglas fir are all edible and verynutritious. The pitch and needles can be applied directly to wounds and burns.The leaves need to be crushed into a salve in order free the constituents found

within the plant.

SUMMARYThere are many easily identifiable plants found in nature that can address

many of the first aid situations one would find themselves in during a bushcraftor outdoors experience. You can add to your herbal library by finding abushcraft school who offers courses in wildcrafting herbal medicines and offersoutdoor first aid courses.

plants for outdoor first aid

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