WAHOO / Euonymus atropurpureus

An American species whose name comes from the Dakota word wan-hu. It has a digitalin-like action on the heart, and it became a popular heart medicine in American domestic medicine (Weiner). The Indians had already used it for other medicinal purposes – Winnebago women, for instance, used to drink a decoction made from the inner bark for uterine troubles (Gilmore), and the Meskwaki, whose name for the shrub means “weak-eye tree”, used it for just that. The inner bark is steeped, to make a solution with which to bathe the eyes, and a tea was made from the root bark for the same purpose (H H Smith. 1928).