English

hobblebush

Scientific Name

Viburnum spp., most likely V. alnifolium

Arapaho

no Arapaho name known.

Hobblebush and the Arapaho

Drug: insect bite remedy. Kroeber says that a plant known as “shoestring” among Whites in Oklahoma was powdered by the Arapaho and mixed with crushed tarantulas or centipedes to treat the bites of these creatures. The name “shoestring” is used for several Viburnum species, especially V. alnifolium. An alternate name is “Devil’s Shoestring,” and the plant is widely used in the South in “root doctoring” or “hoodoo.”