Ranunculaceae Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis

Western Blue Virginsbower

Blackfoot - Other, Ceremonial Items

Use documented by:
Hellson, John C., 1974, Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 111

View all documented uses for Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis

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Scientific name: Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis
USDA symbol: CLOCO (View details at USDA PLANTS site)
Common names: Western Blue Virginsbower
Family: Ranunculaceae
Family (APG): Ranunculaceae
Native American Tribe: Blackfoot
Use category: Other
Use sub-category: Ceremonial Items
Notes: Leaves used to remove 'ghost bullets,' supernatural objects shot into people by ghosts. The bullets were removed by a diviner either with a sucking tube or through a slit in the skin made with a flint. Then the leaves were boiled and applied to the place where the bullets were removed. Fainting was often the result of coming near a ghost and the victim was revived with a smudge of the stem of this plant.

RECRD: 4050 id: 10271

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