Around Fort Macon and its vicinity are many plants that could be used for medical remedies.  Here are just a few of the plants that were available to the Fort’s Physician if “patent medicine” was not available at the fort.  In 1870 Dr. Elliott Coues documented some of the plants that he felt were important in a medical point of view:

The oil of this herb is a well-known for expelling or destroying intestinal worms such as roundworms, tapeworms, and whipworms.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

This herb was used as a tea in the treatment of tuberculosis and headaches.   It has also been used in the treatment of gastrointestinal and gallbladder complaints.

Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia)

Tea made from this shrub or small tree was believed to speed up delivery in childbirth.   Crushed nuts and hot water were placed on a cloth and applied to the skin surface which was used in the treatment of swelling, sprains, and infected wounds.  Dr. Coues stated “an almost universal superstition accredits the fruit with remedial agency in hemorrhoids.” 

Yaupon  (Ilex vomitoria)

The leaves from this shrub contain caffeine, and the Native Americans used the plant to prepare a tea to induce vomiting.   They believed this cleansed the person soul.  Dr. Elliott Coues stated it was “a plentiful shrub, furnishes a drink often used by the lower classes as a substitute for tea.” 

Yellow Wood-sorrel (Oxalis stricta)

This herb was often chewed for mouth sores.  It was also used in the treatment of urinary infection, nausea and scurvy.  Dr. Coues stated, “It is agreeably acid to the taste, but if taken freely produces unpleasant sensations in the fauces and stomach.”

Yellow Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia flava)

Used in the treatment of Dysentery which is a disease characterized by frequent, scanty and bloody stools.  Dr. Coues stated it is common in the swamps and is noted in connection with variola (smallpox), but its remedial efficacy probably remains questionable.