This is a
root that my family and I have been harvesting from a
local swamp for a few years now.
We chew on a piece of it whenever we have a cold and my grand father chewed it as a pain reliever before he died of a very painful cancer of the ear.
Interestingly
enough, it seems that this root was a trade good between the
Native Americans before the Europeans arrived in America.
It has a sharp, unpleasant taste,
should NOT be brewed into a tea (I attempted this once to my regret), and can be smoked if ground down to a fine enough powder.
It reduces appetite, increases stamina, clears up colds faster and can do some interesting things when smoked.