#kinnickinnick

[crippled-peeper]

Kinnikinnick, also known as Bearberry

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Puget Sound, North America

[riverwindphotography]

Kinnickinnick or Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) growing in fractured granitic boulders, Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming: (c) riverwindphotography

[pnwbotany]

Bearberry / Kinnickinnick, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Ericaceae). ... #bearberry #kinnickinnick #ericaceae #plants #botany #plantsofinstagram #plantphotography #naturephotography #pnw #pnwonderland https://www.instagram.com/pnw_botany/p/BwQlsU5ltSL/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1id2mxxyeg497

[soje-hemp]

Our Floral Blend, a modern adaptation of our traditional kinnickinnick, a blend of Native smoking herbs such as lobelia and bear berry. The active ingredients in our floral blends have all been shown to help assist with nicotine detoxification and cessation as NRTs through their neuroprotective anti-inflammatory and calming anti-anxiety properties. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ #NRT #kinnickinnick #cbdcigarettes #hempcigarettes #hempsmokes #nativeblend #hemprolls #floralblend #smokingblend #nativeamerican #ioway #iowartibeofkansasandnebraska #soje #hemp #hempfarmers #bearcountry #cbd #nativegrown #nativehemp #cigarettealternative #nicotinealternative #tobaccoalternative #livewell ⁠⠀ (at Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJHW6tjAgzY/?igshid=yye0vgnrfmjm

[joyfulbynature]

Spring is springing. Finally! I love breaking out of the office for a spin. . (at University of Wisconsin-River Falls)

[nettlesandchickweed-blog]

Straining kinnickinnick tincture.

[nettlesandchickweed-blog]

Kinnickinnick // Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

made: Tuesday, May 28, 2013

ready: Tuesday, June 11, 2013

66% menstrum (2 parts everclear, 1 part water)

harvested from Mt. Hood, OR

Hurray kinnickinnick! Also, known as bearberry. This is a plant I first met 2 summers ago doing Americorps in OR. A Native American herbalist was kind enough to point out a few plants to me while we were camping in the Gifford Pinchot Forest in WA. Ever since, I try to take note of when I see bearberry while hiking, camping, etc. It grows natively in the PNW, as a ground cover. It's an evergreen and sets fruit in late summer/fall. Though the berries are a bit gritty and not super flavorful, if you're foraging for a snack on a winter hike, you'll likely find bearberries. Obviously, they're an important food for bears, birds, and other wildlife.

The SN of bearberry is great. Arctos means "bear" in Greek, and staphyle is "bunch of grapes." In Latin, uva means "berry," and ursi is "bear." Pretty repetitive and easy to remember.

Kinnickinnick, its other common name, means "smoking mixture" in Algonquian (p.67, Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Pojar). Easily concluded, this plant was a regular is smoking blends. Smoked, it doesn't have any effects, but mostly is used as filler to extend a dwindling supply of tobacco, etc.

And, the reason I made a tincture of this plant is because it's anti-microbial and a diuretic and doesn't taste that great as a tea. It's a go-to herb for treating UTIs and its astringent qualities help treat diarrhea  It can also be used for a sitz bath for hemorrhoids or other unpleasant junk happening in that area. It's very astringent, so it shouldn't be taken for a prolonged period of time (maybe just 3 days and switch to something not astringent to finish battling a UTI). Because of it's astringency, it can also be extracted in rubbing alcohol to make a facial toner similar to witch hazel (don't ingest!). In class, we learn a ton more about the urinary system and how to formulate what herbs to use for a UTI. Anyhow, that's my brain dump, for now, on bearberry!