Wild Bergamot

The Tewa Indians because of the
flavor it imparted cooked Wild bergamot with meat.
The Iroquois used the plant in the making of a
beverage. The plant has a wide variety of medicinal
uses. The Ojibwe put a wad of chewed leaves of this
plant into their nostrils to relieve headache. The tops
of the plant were dried and used as a sternutatory for
the relief of colds. The leaves were placed in warm
water baths for babies. The Flambeau Ojibwe
gathered and dried the whole plant, boiling it in a
vessel to obtain the volatile oil to inhale to cure
catarrh and bronchial affections. The Menomini also
used this plant as a remedy for catarrh, steeping the
leaves and inflorescences in a tea. The Meskwaki
used this plant in combination with other plants to
relieve colds. The Hocak (Winnebago) used wild
bergamot in their sweat bath and inhaled the fumes to
cure colds. A decoction of boiled leaves was used as
a cure for eruptions on the face. The Cherokee made
a warm poultice of the plant to relieve a headache.
The Teton Dakota boiled together the leaves and
flowers as a cure for abdominal pains. The Blackfoot
made a tea from the blossoms and leaves to cure
stomach pains. They also applied boiled leaves to the
pustules of acne. The Tewa dried the plant and
ground it into a powder that was rubbed over the
head to cure headaches, over the body to cure fever,
and as a remedy for sore eyes and colds. Early white
settlers used it as a diaphoretic and carminative, and
occasionally employed it for the relief of flatulent
colic, nausea and vomiting.