Putty Root
Also called
: Adam & Eve Root Botanical: Aplectrum hyemaleDescription
: A native wild orchid that has a lone leaf that endures all winter. This leaf can be up to 10" long and 3" wide with striking silver veins. In the spring, the leaf vanishes and a thin stem of green purple flowers appears.Habitat
: Native woodland plant of North America that can be found in the shade of rich moist woods.
The name "putty root" comes from the fact that Indians used the sticky matter retrieved from crushing the bulb of the plant. This was used in the same manner as glue, to mend pottery and other objects together.
"Adam & Eve" comes from the growth habit of the bulbs. As the flower and leaf grow from the year's growth, referred to as "Eve", last year's bulb, called Adam, is still present. One way of propagating the plant is to cut Adam away from Eve and replant him.
Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants : Eastern and Central North America
by Roger Tory Peterson
$14.40
This is one of the easier orchids to grow from seed. Pour boiling water over a pot of soil to sterilize it, let it cool and sprinkle the seeds over the soil. Then cover with a dusting of fine granite grit to prevent slugs from eating your seedlings, and set it outside and let nature take its course. The seeds will usually germinate the following spring and before long you will have a settlement of plants that will be sure to receive comment.
If you're foraging for wild "putty root" it would be best to search during the autumn and winter, especially when there is a light coating of snow on the ground. The plants are much easier to find then. They grow in small colonies, with only a few plants flowering in a season.
What the Ancestors Knew:
The
Catawba used this root as a pain killer. The roots were boiled, pounded and powdered, then used for boils and head pains. A dressing of the beaten roots was applied to boils.The
Cherokee give this to endow children with the gift of expression and to make them fat.
The Healing Herbs : The Ultimate Guide to the Curative Power of Nature's Medicines
by Michael Castleman
$19.57
Midwinter Rites of the Cayuga Long House
by Frank G. Speck
$8.95
Penobscot Man : The Life History of a Forest Tribe in Maine
by Frank Gouldsmith Speck
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids
by Alec Pridgeon
$27.97
This site written, designed,and maintained by Lame Wolf
@ Lame Wolf's Den
www.native.cjb.net 
