Native Americans to make bows, fire-bows, nets, tie down straps, hunting nets, fishing lines, bags, and clothing. Food The seeds have an edible use as a meal (raw or cooked) when ground into a powder. Chewing gum The plant's latex sap can be squeezed from the plant and allowed to stand overnight to harden into a white gum which can be used (sometimes mixed with clean clay) as chewing gum. Phytoremediation Apocynum cannabinum can be used to sequester lead in its biomass by taking it up from the soil through its roots. This process, called phytoremediation, could help clean sites contaminated with lead. Medicinal It is used in herbal medicine to treat fever and to slow the pulse. Apocynum cannabinum has been employed by various Native American tribes to treat a wide variety of complaints including rheumatism, coughs, pox, whooping cough, asthma, internal parasites, diarrhea, and to increase lactation. The root has been used as a tonic, cardiotonic, diaphoretic, diuretic, an emetic (to induce vomiting), and an expectorant. It is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use. The fresh root is medicinally the most active part. A weak tea made from the dried root has been used for cardiac diseases and as a vermifuge (an agent that expels parasitic worms). The milky sap is a folk remedy for genital warts. References Further reading Davis, A.; Renner, K.; Sprague, C.; Dyer, L.; Mutch, D. (2005) "Integrated Weed Management: One Year's Seeding." Michigan State University Extension Bulletin E-2931. East Lansing, Michigan. Accession Number LTER62246. Native American Ethnobotany DB: Apocynum cannabinum External links Jepson Manual Treatment – Apocynum cannabinum Apocyneae Fiber plants Flora of North America Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Butterfly food plants Phytoremediation plants Poisonous plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus