An Indian medicine plant
When you’re sick, your mother or father calls a doctor.
Long ago, when Indian children became sick, their mothers or fathers
called a medicine man. The medicine man didn’t have pills or shots, but
he could make many kinds of medicine from wild plants.
One plant the medicine man used was the May apple. With its slim stem
and large green leaves, the May apple looks like a little umbrella.
While it does bloom in May, its fruit doesn’t appear until July or
August, and looks more like a lemon than an apple.
The root of the May apple plant is actually poisonous and should never
be eaten. But the medicine men boiled the roots in water. Then the water
became a medicine that was good for curing a stomachache.
May apples
