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Before there were antibiotics, painkillers, insect spray, or Band-Aids, there were plants.
Through the ages, people have found ways to use plants to meet all kinds of needs. The process continues today.
Nature’s Cough Medicine ▶
Mullein plants grow in pastures and on rocky slopes in North America. Their flowers contain an oil used to treat coughs and earaches. Their large soft leaves may have been used as an early toilet paper!
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▲ Healing Plant
If you cut into an aloe vera leaf, a clear gel oozes out. It contains aloectin B, which revs up the immune system. It’ll ease the pain if you put it on a burn or wound.
▼ Multipurpose
In addition to finding their way into many recipes, lemons also remove ink stains from clothes, shine aluminum and copper, dry facial blemishes, stop motion sickness, and are used to make perfume.
◀ Flavor, Housekeeping, and Glue
Many people use onions and garlic when cooking. But did you know they can also help polish copper and glass? And if you don’t mind the stink, garlic juice works as a glue.
Natural Painkiller ▶
Native Americans used the root of the cow parsnip plant to treat the pain of a toothache. The roots also help joints that ache with arthritis. They have to be mashed and soaked first.
Thirsty Plant ▶
Imagine a powder so thirsty that one teaspoon can absorb a gallon of water. That’s super slurper. It’s made from corn. The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) says one flake of it can absorb more than 2,000 times its weight. That makes it perfect for diapers, bandages, and cleaning cloths.
Green Fuel
Corn, grain, and sugarcane are used to make fuel for cars and trucks. That fuel is called ethanol, and it’s a renewable source of energy. It’s also less expensive and pollutes less than petroleum-based fuels.
▲ Antibacterial Plus
Native South Americans use bark from the Brazilian pepper-tree as a medicine. They use it to make a liquid that kills bacteria and viruses and also heals wounds. People in Africa use the tree’s leaves, too. They use them in a tea that treats colds, hypertension, and depression.
▼ Bug Repellent
Seeds from columbine repel bugs. Long ago, people would mash them up and mix them with water. Then they’d rub the paste hard into the hair and scalp to ward off lice.
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◀ Ways Ants Have Used Plants
Leafcutter ants can carry loads that are ten times their own weight. That’s like a 200-pound person lifting a 2,000-pound car! The ants carry the leaf pieces to their underground nests, where they chew the leaves into a pulp. The pulp is used as a compost (fertilizer) to grow a kind of fungus that the ants eat. They do not eat the leaves.
Tomorrow
Future Fuel ▶
Some day, fuel made from vegetables other than corn and grain may be used in trucks and cars. Other plants are also being considered as fuel sources. They include soybeans and algae.
◀ Limonene
The citrus smell in many household products comes from limonene. That’s the oil in the peel of any citrus fruit. Scientists are now using limonene from oranges, plus carbon dioxide, to develop a new kind of plastic. It is not based on petroleum, as current plastics are.
