Contributed by Mrs. Cara Dafforn
Jack-in-the-Pulpit root is used in alternative medicine and is edible (only after drying and cooking), it is acrid, antiseptic, diaphoretic, expectorant, irritant and stimulant. A medicinal poultice of root used for headaches and various skin diseases. Ointment used for ringworm, tetterworm and abscess. The fresh root contains high concentrations of calcium oxalate and is considered to be too dangerous and intensely acrid to use. Roasting the root after drying it 6 months removes the acridity. In this way Native Americans peeled and ground the roots to powder to make a bread, which has a flavor similar to chocolate. The roots can be cut into very thin slices and allowed to dry for several months, after which they are eaten like potato chips, crumbled to make a cereal or ground into a cocoa-flavored powder for making biscuits and cakes. A starch obtained from the roots is used as a stiffener for clothes.
Caution is advised as ingesting the fresh root can cause poisoning and even death.
The field guide to Indiana Wildflowers by Kay Yatskievych published by Indiana University Press on page 284 says this perennial herb grows in most counties of Indiana in woods and bogs.
www.easywildflowers.com
www.wildflower.org
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