Edible Uses:
Leaves and young shoot tips of fireweed are edible, raw or cooked. Early season shoots are considered to be delicacy by some, and are harvested late spring or early in the summer. Shoots and young stems are peeled and can be eaten raw or steamed as a substitute for asparagus. When properly prepared soon after picking they are a good source of vitamin C and pro-vitamin A. Yupik eskimos preserved the stems in seal oil in order to have them year-round, and their name for Fireweed, Pahmeyuktuk, referred to its edibility. The peelings of the stems were not wasted as they were dried and used to weave strong twine for fishing nets. Very young leaves are also edible in salads or in soups or steeped for use as a tonic tea for upset stomach. The leaves should only be used when they are young, and with moderation. Infusions of leaves have been known to cause nausea. Mature leaves become tough and bitter, but by then the unopened flowerbuds are tasty for salads or in stir-fries. A syrup was traditionally extracted from the stems and flowers, having a high mucilage content that made it useful among native peoples in preparing berry-cakes that dry solidly. Today the flowers are harvested to make Fireweed Jelly, available from small cottage-industry canning companies. Pioneer Alaskans used the sweet pith in the manufacture of ales and vinegars. The root can be eaten raw, cooked or dried and ground into a powder. Used in spring, it has a sweet taste.
Medicinal Uses:
Although sometimes considered a weed, it has a long history of use as a medicinal plant. The herb is antispasmodic, hypnotic, laxative and tonic, and has agents that cause tissue to contract, and that soften and soothe the skin when applied locally. Historically, medicinal use includes oral use of the plant extracts, often in the form of an infusion or tea, as a treatment for prostate and urinary problems including benign prostatic hyperplasia or enlarged prostate, and for various gastrointestinal disorders such as dysentery or diarrhea. Topically the plant has been used traditionally as a soothing, cleansing and healing agent to treat minor burns, skin rashes, ulcers, and numerous other skin irritations and afflictions.
Chemically, the plant contains an abundance of phenolic compounds, tannins and flavonoids, many of which appear to have biological activity. Fireweed is also a medicine of the Upper Inlet Denalina, who treat pus-filled boils or cuts by placing a piece of the raw stem on the afflicted area. This is said to draw the pus out of the cut or boil and prevents a cut with pus in it from healing over too quickly. The Blackfoot Indians used the powdered inner cortex rubbed on the hands and face to protect them from the cold during the winter. They also made a tea of roots and inner cortex given to babies as an enema for constipation.
Other Uses:
A fiber obtained from the outer stems can be used to make cordage. The 'cottony' seed hairs has been used as a stuffing material or as tinder.
Leaves and young shoot tips of fireweed are edible, raw or cooked. Early season shoots are considered to be delicacy by some, and are harvested late spring or early in the summer. Shoots and young stems are peeled and can be eaten raw or steamed as a substitute for asparagus. When properly prepared soon after picking they are a good source of vitamin C and pro-vitamin A. Yupik eskimos preserved the stems in seal oil in order to have them year-round, and their name for Fireweed, Pahmeyuktuk, referred to its edibility. The peelings of the stems were not wasted as they were dried and used to weave strong twine for fishing nets. Very young leaves are also edible in salads or in soups or steeped for use as a tonic tea for upset stomach. The leaves should only be used when they are young, and with moderation. Infusions of leaves have been known to cause nausea. Mature leaves become tough and bitter, but by then the unopened flowerbuds are tasty for salads or in stir-fries. A syrup was traditionally extracted from the stems and flowers, having a high mucilage content that made it useful among native peoples in preparing berry-cakes that dry solidly. Today the flowers are harvested to make Fireweed Jelly, available from small cottage-industry canning companies. Pioneer Alaskans used the sweet pith in the manufacture of ales and vinegars. The root can be eaten raw, cooked or dried and ground into a powder. Used in spring, it has a sweet taste.
Medicinal Uses:
Although sometimes considered a weed, it has a long history of use as a medicinal plant. The herb is antispasmodic, hypnotic, laxative and tonic, and has agents that cause tissue to contract, and that soften and soothe the skin when applied locally. Historically, medicinal use includes oral use of the plant extracts, often in the form of an infusion or tea, as a treatment for prostate and urinary problems including benign prostatic hyperplasia or enlarged prostate, and for various gastrointestinal disorders such as dysentery or diarrhea. Topically the plant has been used traditionally as a soothing, cleansing and healing agent to treat minor burns, skin rashes, ulcers, and numerous other skin irritations and afflictions.
Chemically, the plant contains an abundance of phenolic compounds, tannins and flavonoids, many of which appear to have biological activity. Fireweed is also a medicine of the Upper Inlet Denalina, who treat pus-filled boils or cuts by placing a piece of the raw stem on the afflicted area. This is said to draw the pus out of the cut or boil and prevents a cut with pus in it from healing over too quickly. The Blackfoot Indians used the powdered inner cortex rubbed on the hands and face to protect them from the cold during the winter. They also made a tea of roots and inner cortex given to babies as an enema for constipation.
Other Uses:
A fiber obtained from the outer stems can be used to make cordage. The 'cottony' seed hairs has been used as a stuffing material or as tinder.
