Traditional medicines in the Pacific | 275popularly known as the toothache tree (Euoidia vitiflora). The wood of this
tree has what is described as a ‘nauseating odour’ but its resinous exudates,
when placed in tooth cavities, did relieve the pain of toothache.
Many other plants, including several species of acacia, were used as
painkillers for both internal and external sources of pain. A number of these
also had sedative properties, especially those in the Solanaceae and Lobeli-
aceae families, the best known of which is the plant known as ‘pituri’
(Duboisia hopwoodii). This has been shown to contain a number of alka-
loids, including nicotine. The leaves of pituri were chewed in much the same
manner as is tobacco and produced a number of similar effects, initially
stimulation of activity, followed by lethargy and fatigue. The plant grows in
many parts of Australia and its use by Aborigines was so well known that
it was considered to be like:
... what opium is to the Chinaman, what whisky is to the Scotch
man...^4
Skin disorders were also common, although the vague descriptions of
many of these make it difficult for us to identify their specific cause. Many
were probably the result of living in close proximity to others. Under these
conditions fungal and viral infections could spread rapidly, as did parasitic
infestations such as scabies. Warts also appear to have been common and
were removed by inserting sharp spines of an acacia under them and then
pulling away the withered wart an hour or so later. The milky sap of the
native fig was used to treat ringworm, as were resins of the eucalypt species,
red blood wood and a Myristicaspecies, the Queensland nutmeg. The
Aborigines used many plants to treat general infections although these were
not widespread before the arrival of the Europeans. Nevertheless, 43 reme-
dies were listed in a 1903 bulletin entitled ‘Superstition, magic and medi-
cine’.^5 These remedies were generally extracted into water (which initially
would have been cold or just warm because the Aborigines had no means of
boiling water until the Europeans introduced them to metal utensils). Such
extracts were then taken internally or used to bathe the skin, eyes or other
affected parts. Melaleuca(tea tree) spp., for example, were used for general
infections and, more specifically, for respiratory ones (Figure 10.2). Euca-
lypts were also widely used to ease disordered breathing by breaking up
phlegm and reducing the swelling of mucous membranes.
The settlers investigated the medicinal value of a number of indigenous
plants basing their choices on similarities that they observed between these
and the European plants with which they were more familiar. One of the
first to be identified as being medicinally useful was a species of eucalyptus
(E. piperita), the Sydney peppermint tree, the crushed leaves of which emit
an odour strongly reminiscent of the peppermint herb (Mentha piperita).