Native American
Plant Use
Before Colorado was a state, there were many Native Americans who called
this area home. These tribes included the Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne,
and Ute Nations, along with the Pueblo and Shoshones. The Comanche,
Kiowa, and Navajo tribes would occasionally extend into Colorado, as well.
Gum plant or Gumweed
Before there were traditional doctors and pharmacists to offer medicine
for colds, pain, or other ailments, members of the tribe would use
plants to help people. The Native Americans knew how to properly
identify a plant and what part to use for treatments. There are plants
in Colorado even today that Native Americans might have used. It is
recommended not to ingest any plants unless you have identified
them correctly and know how to use them in the proper way.
Gum plant or gumweed can be found almost everywhere in
Colorado and has medicinal leaves and flowers. If a Native American
touched poison ivy, the leaves and flowers of the gum plant could
be used as an antidote and applied often to help calm the itch.
Another plant that can be found almost everywhere in Colorado is the
Helianthus annuus, or the common sunflower. The seeds, petals, leaves, and
roots all have a variety of medicinal uses. The leaves, flowers, and seeds can help
with coughs, congestion, and lung issues. A tea made from the leaves can treat
high fevers. A tea made from the flowers helps treat malaria. The roots help with
aches and pains. This plant contains numerous vitamins and minerals as well.
The Colorado Reader publication and Ag in the Classroom are projects of the Colorado Foundation
for Agriculture. Educational projects are produced in cooperation with the Colorado Department
of Agriculture, other state and federal agencies, Colorado commodity groups, Colorado agricultural
associations, state universities and colleges and interested individuals. Colorado Readers are provided
free to educators requesting them. For more information, visit www.GrowingYourFuture.com, or
contact Jennifer Scharpe, Colorado Foundation for Agriculture, 10343 Federal Blvd Unit J Box 224,
Westminster, CO 80260 or phone 970-818-3308. Content for this Reader has been provided by Jim
Tolstrup, High Plains Environmental Center; Kristi Helzer and Jasen Kettle, West Greeley Conservation
District; and Ruth Quade, Pam Wright, and Janice Burton, City of Greeley Water Conservation. Financial
support for this reader has been provided by the City of Greeley Water Conservation, West Greeley
Conservation District, Central Colorado Water Conservancy District, Colorado Native Plant Society, and
Colorado State University-Jefferson County Extension.
Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom
Helianthus annuus
The next time you admire
the beauty of a plant,
keep in mind it could
contain key properties
that could help someone
when they are hurt or ill.
Water Conservation
8 www.GrowingYourFuture.com