Shrubs

Willow

As fuel
The small, dry twigs found among branches on the willow tree are good for starting fires. Mary Francis (COPE,c) said that willow was used to make smoke for drying meat. 
 
As food
In the spring, the Gwich’in peel bark from the new shoots and lick the sweet juice, chew the stem or eat the tips. Annie Norbert said,

           Mrs. Norris used to eat the pussy buds just like that.

English

Red willow (alder)

As food
Annie Benoit of Aklavik says that scraping off the dark outer covering of the bark is an option before eating or boiling it. Medicine from red willow is considered as valuable as spruce gum tea. The bark can be collected year round from any size of red willow.
 
As fuel
Effie Francis (COPE) preferred alder wood for drying fish:
English

Labrador tea - tall

As medicine
All of the above ground parts of the Labrador (muskeg) tea plant are used to make a relaxant tea. The dwarf labrador plant, with its smaller leaves, is more aromatic than the tall labrador plant as a tea. Labrador tea is used as a medicine to treat colds, either for drinking, gargling, or for steaming. Ruth Welsh cautioned however that
English

Labrador tea - dwarf

As food
The leaves and stems can be picked year round and boiled into a tea. In the spring, the white flowers can also be collected and used to make tea. Muskeg tea is considered good for children and is known to be a relaxant and high in vitamin C. Many Gwich’in Elders, including Ida Stewart from Fort McPherson, add a regular tea bag for flavor.
 
As medicine
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Dwarf birch

As flooring
Dwarf birch is widespread in the Gwich’in Settlement Region and is commonly found growing among cranberries and alders (red willow) on muskeg. It is used for flooring in tents. When it is placed among ah’ (spruce boughs) the birch keeps the boughs fresh longer.
Source: Andre, Alestine and Alan Fehr, Gwich'in Ethnobotany, 2nd ed. (2002)
 
As medicine
English

Dogwood

As medicine
The leaves of the dogwood plant, also known as red osier dogwood, are crushed and used to treat burns, bee stings and insect bites. The white and waxy berries of the plant are not used at all.
Source: Andre, Alestine, Nan t'aih nakwits'inahtsìh (The Land Gives Us Strength) (2006)   
English
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