Ceanothus ovatus, common
name New Jersey tea, is called
in Ojibwe Odigadimanido, top
gift from the Manido powers.
No use trying to look at a big
photo. Herb Foundation's big
JPEG is damaged. I extracted
this picture full-size from
part that was undamaged.You can see the characteristic curving leaf ribs quite well here. This tea (leaves picked
when flowering, July here, dried in shade) tastes most like Oriental tea of any, but it
contains no thyeine or caffeine; it isn't a stimulant. It is medicinal but the use there is 5 "
of the dried root grated, boiled in a pint of water, with a small dose (one spoonful for
respiratory problems). Name and dosage both indicate the medicine is powerful and
shouldn't be fooled around with. But the leaf tea is just a nice-tasting tea from a common
plant. Its range is much wider (further south) than swamp ta and it like sandy, gravelly
soil and full sun; it is easier to find among roadside weeds.The powerful name given to this plant by Ojibwe women indicates the great regard it
was once held in as a medicinal tea. There is nothing in any analysis of the plant to
suggest why this might have been, and no one I know remembers any more anything
about preparation (of roots, rather than the leaves). Dried leaf tea (and crushed green)
are drunk now just as a good-tasting tea that may be easier to get at -- grows in more
accessible places -- than the ledums.It actually tastes very close to ordinary store-bought Chinese (green, unsmoked). But
the one-time medicinal use from which it its powerful name is derived seems to have
vanished in time with the women who once knew the proparation and uses. New Jersey
leaf tea is popularly drunk by hikers and others all across the US. and Canada. Perhaps
this is a vague remnant of its once-known medicinal powers, perhaps it only means that
it tastes good and is easy to find.Native Foods -- Swamp teas
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/food/swamp.html (3 of 4) [5/17/2004 11:47:56 AM]