Asteraceae Balsamorhiza sagittata (Pursh) Nutt.

Arrowleaf Balsamroot

Blackfoot - Other, Incense & Fragrance

Use documented by:
Hellson, John C., 1974, Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 47

View all documented uses for Balsamorhiza sagittata (Pursh) Nutt.

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Scientific name: Balsamorhiza sagittata (Pursh) Nutt.
USDA symbol: BASA3 (View details at USDA PLANTS site)
Common names: Arrowleaf Balsamroot
Family: Asteraceae
Family (APG): Asteraceae
Native American Tribe: Blackfoot
Use category: Other
Use sub-category: Incense & Fragrance
Notes: Roots used as incense during the preparatory rites for the ceremonial runner. The ceremonial runner, in pre-horse days, had the duty of herding the buffalo toward the piskun (buffalo jump). The runner bathed himself in the smoke from a smudge of the dried root; according to tradition, that would enable him to run long distances--more than twenty miles a day. The runner wore special moccasins, which were transferable annually.

RECRD: 3625 id: 6855

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