Devils Club is a herbal medicine power house! Wish it grew here, I'd be using it... It's related to the ginsengs. And just like ginseng it treats a wide range conditions. It's used by almost all tribes in the northwest of n. america.
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Oplopanax horridus
"Devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus (Sm.) Torr. & A. Gray ex. Miq., Araliaceae) is probably the most important spiritual and medicinal plant to most indigenous peoples who live within its range. Different parts of this plant are used by over 38 linguistic groups for over 34 categories of physical ailment, as well as many spiritual applications. Devil’s club [syn. Echinopanax horridus (Sm.) Decne. & Planch, Fatsia horrida (Sm.) Benth. & Hook, Panax horridum Sm.; Riconophyllum horridum Pall.] is a common deciduous understory shrub occurring in moist, but well drained, forested ecosystems from coastal Alaska southward to central Oregon and eastward to the southwestern Yukon, the Canadian Rockies, northwestern Alberta, Montana, and Idaho. There are also several disjunct populations near northern Lake Superior in Michigan and Ontario. The stems of this shrub are upright to decumbent and can reach heights exceeding 6 meters (~20 feet). The leaves are large (up to 35 cm across [~14 inches]) and maple-shaped."
"A member of the family Araliaceae (which also contains the ginsengs), devil’s club is related to a number of widely known medicinals including Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer), American ginseng (P. quinquefolius L.), eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus Maxim., formerly called Siberian ginseng), and small spikenard (Aralia nudicaulis L., or sarsaparilla). Devil’s club is often cited as the most significant plant, both medicinally and spiritually, to the indigenous peoples within its range.2-5 The first ethnographic record of devil’s club use dates back to 1842, when Eduardo Blaschke, the chief physician for the Russian American Company, reported the use of devil’s club ash as a treatment for sores amongst the Tlingit.6 Subsequently, devil’s club has received widespread documentation for its medicinal, spiritual, and technological uses in ethnographies, ethnobotanies, medical journals, and historical records from within (as well as outside) its geographical range. In a 1982 review, Turner reported more than 30 categories of medicinal, spiritual, and technological uses by peoples of over 25 different indigenous linguistic groups of western North America.4 Phytochemical research has revealed that this plant has antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial, and antimycobacterial properties, and these are undoubtedly related to its widespread use in traditional medicine."
Table 1: Summary of Medicinal Uses of Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus) Medicinal Uses
Appetite Stimulant Infusion of inner bark. Nlaka’pamux (64); Secwepemc (65); Squamish (66)
Arthritis / Rheumatism Infusion or decoction of inner bark, pounded leaves and sometimes roots, inner bark used in bath/steam bath, inner bark chewed, crushed root used as poultice, and whole stems used to beat rheumatic limbs as counter-irritant.
Blood Purifier Decoction of inner bark.
Broken Bone Decoction of inner bark.
Cancer Infusion of inner bark.
Childbirth / Menstruation Inner bark mashed and swallowed, or decoction of inner bark taken as purgative to expel afterbirth, to start post-partum menstrual flow, regulate menstruation, and for cramps.
Diabetes Infusion or decoction of inner bark and sometimes roots, both alone and in mixtures.
Diphtheria Infusion of roots applied externally.
Emetic / Purgative Decoction or infusion of inner bark prepared in water or seal oil, both alone and in mixtures, roots chewed and the inner bark sometimes swallowed.
Fertility Unspecified.
Fever Decoction of inner bark.
Flu Infusion of inner bark, alone and in mixtures, and the inner stem bark chewed.
Gall Stones Infusion of inner bark.
Haemorrhaging and Blood Disorders Infusion of inner bark, alone and in mixture, and berries pounded into paste taken internally.
Heart Disease Berries pounded into paste taken internally.
Insanity Introduced into the system by beating with stems.
Internal Infections Infusion of inner bark.
Laxative Infusion or decoction of inner bark prepared both alone and in mixtures.
Lice and Dandruff Pounded berries rubbed on hair and scalp.
Lymph Trouble (Dropsy) Ash of inner bark.
Measles Decoction of inner bark.
Pain Relief, Analgesic Decoction of inner bark, inner stem bark mixed with oil and eaten, dried inner bark laid into tooth cavity, steam bath with inner bark.
Perfume, Baby Talc Unspecified.
Pneumonia Decoction or infusion of inner bark, and inner bark used in steam baths with a variety of additional plants.
Respiratory Ailments, Coughs, Colds Decoctions and infusions prepared from inner stem bark, whole stems and sometimes roots, inner bark also chewed, used in sweat baths, and burned and dampened and worn around the neck.
Skin Wash Infusion or decoction of roots used as a general wash for acne, skin disease, dandruff, etc.
Sores (Swellings, Cuts, Boils, Burns, and External Infections) Inner bark, or infusion of, used externally as a poultice or wound dressing or rubbed over sore, dried inner bark pulverized with pitch or burnt to ash and mixed with oil or grease (sometimes salmonberries and dog feces) and applied externally, berries pounded into a paste and applied externally, decoction of root applied externally, and sliver of bark placed in wound to prevent infection.
Stomach Trouble / Pains, Ulcers Infusion or decoction of inner bark or paste made from berries taken internally.
Tonic Infusion or decoction of inner bark or sometimes roots, inner bark chewed, and bark ash infused.
Venereal Disease Decoction prepared from inner bark and whole stems both alone and in mixtures with a variety of other plants.
Vision / Blindness Infusion of inner bark taken internally, inner bark applied externally with pitch, and decoction used asan eyewash to reverse the effects of cataracts.
Weight Loss Infusion of de-spined stems.
https://www.herbalgram.org/resources/herbalgram/issues/62/table-of-contents/article2697/
