| Vernacular name(s): | arbor vitae, white cedar (Eng.)
thuya, cèdre (Fr.)
mascakes, masikisk, masikiskasiht (Cree)
ka'gsgos (Malecite, masi'ck , mâshtshîshk Montagnais)
gi'jikan'dûg (Ojibwa)
kizek, kiskens, kisgens, songup, kizigantic (Algonquin)
kishig (Chippewa)
malan'dak, môlôdagw (Abenaki) |
| Uses: | | • | Boiled and the steam inhaled for several hours under a tent to treat pleurisy [Algonquin: 68]. Used to treat swellings and to make medicinal pillows [67]. | | • | Twigs : | Bruised and steeped to make a sweat drink [Algonquians 63]. Boiled and used to stimulate synovia production and treat numb articulations [Algonquin 68]. Burned as a disinfectant to fumigate a house where someone is sick of a contagious disease, such as smallpox [Chippewa 85]. Used to make a steam bath to treat cold, fever, rheumatism, menstrual disorders and for women after childbirth. [Algonquin 69]. Crushed and mixed with boiling water, the steam is beneficial for toothache [Algonquin 69]. Decoction taken for pneumonia, powdered branches are used in various ailments. Used in a decoction or chewed to extract the juice and taken internally to treat urine retention, or a sore bladder [Cree 95]. Steeped and taken for cough and cold. Tea used in consumption [Malecite 65]. Mashed, steeped in boiling water and applied for heart pain [Montagnais 70]. | | • | Leaves : | Made into a poultice for swollen hands or feet [Algonquians 63; Mi'kmaq 60]. Fresh, mixed with bear fat and used as an ointment for rheumatism [66]. Tea used for cough, headache and as a blood purifier [Ojibwa 87]. Crused, mixed with other plants in a decoction used as a wash and drunk to treat a facial paralysis caused by a stroke. Powdered with other plants and mixed with water to make a paste used as a poultice to treat facial paralysis caused by "bad medicine", or to treat general pain [Cree 13]. or rheumatism [Algonquin 68]. Pulverized, heated, spread in a cloth and pressed on the chest to treat congestion and pain. Same preparation applied to treat skin infections, cuts and abdominal pain [Cree 80]. Brewed as a wash to treat facial paralysis. Used to treat arthritis and muscular pain [Cree 96]. | | • | Cones : | Tea used to treat colic [Algonquin 69]. | | • | Wood : | Used for ear problems [Montagnais 71]. Rotten wood powdered and used for rashes and skin irritations [Algonquin 69]. | | • | Charcoal : | Combined with bear gall, pricked into the temples with needles to treat convulsions [Chippewa 47]. | | • | Bark : | Pounded, mixed with grease and applied to burns [Malecite 65]. | | • | Gum : | Applied to ease toothache [Malecite 65]. , also applied for chest or heart pain [Montagnais 70]. |
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