MEDICINAL TREE USES
Source of Recipe
EMAIL
List of Ingredients
Alder: Is a small tree that thrives in damp areas such as
wetlands and river banks. It usually has several grayish
trunks, and its female catkins develop into what look like
tiny brown pine cones. Alder bark is simmered in water to
make a healing wash for deep wounds. It is astringent and
will help to pull the edges of a wound together. The leaves
and bark can be made into a tea
that will benefit tonsillitis and fever. The leaves are
also used in
poultices to dry up breast milk. Alder bark tea can be
used as a douche or for hemorrhoids. Fresh alder sap can
be applied to any area to relieve itching.
Apple: The bark of the root of apple trees is used for
fevers. Apples are rich in magnesium, iron, potassium, and
Vitamins C, B and B2. When peeled, they relieve diarrhea.
Stewed unpeeled apples are a laxative. Eating apples
regularly promotes restful sleep. Baked apples can be
applied warm as a poultice for sore throats and fevers.
Apple cider is important in this time of antibotics, which
destroy the intestinal flora. Raw, unpasteurized apple
cider will restore the correct bacteria to the bowels after
a course of antibotics.
Apples reduce acidity in the stomach and help to clean the
liver. Add garlic and horseradish to apple cider to clear
the skin. Use the mixture as a wash externally and take it
internally as a drink.
Ash: Ash is a tall tree whose compound leaves are composed
of five to nine, or seven to eleven leaflets. Its bark is
very tightly and regularly furrowed, and its winged,
canoe-paddle-shaped seeds, called keys, hang in clusters
until they are brown and drop off in the fall. The tender
new spring growth of the twig tips and leaves can be
simmered to make a laxative tea that will benefit gout,
jaundice, and rheumatism.
Beech: Beech trees have a distinctive, smooth gray bark
that resembles the skin of an elephant. The bark is used
as a tea for lung problems, including tuberculosis. It is
also cleansing to the blood, through pregnant women should
avoid it. Beech bark tea make a good wash for poison ivy.
Beech leaves are used in poultices for burns and for
frostbite.
Birch: Birch trees have thin papery bark that peels easily
-- so easily that birds actually use it to build their
nests. It can range in color from chalky white and reddish
brown to golden gray and yellow. The sweet birch {black
birch} and yellow birch both have a nice wintergreen flavor
in their twigs and
bark. Birch leaf or twig tea is a laxative, and healing to
mouth sores, kidney and bladder sediments, and gout. The
tea also help rheumatic pains.
Make a strong decoction of the twigs, bark and leaves and
add it to the bath for relief of eczema, psoriasis, and
other moist skin eruptions. Modern medicine has recently
confirmed that betulinic acid, formed in birch sap, has
anti-tumor properties that help fight cancer.
Cedar: The northern white cedar is an evergreen with a
branched trunk, conical shape, and flat scalelike leaves.
It has reddish brown bark that hangs in hairy shreds.
Another name for the tree is Arborvitae, or "tree of life,"
a name given to it by the French explorer Jacques Cartier
after it saved his crew
from scurvy. A tea is made from the leaves and twigs, and
is very high in Vitamin C. Among the Algonquin it is
considered a sacred tree, and they will not perform a
ceremony without it. Its branches are used on the floor of
sweat lodges, and it is dried and burned as an incense
because it harmonizes the emotions and put one in the
proper state of mind for prayer. The tea of the
twigs and branches is simmered until the water in the pot
begins to turn brown.
It is then used for fevers, rheumatic complaints, chest
colds and flu.
Elder: Elder trees are quite small. They have clusters of
white flowers in spring and black or deep purple berries in
fall. They thrive in damp, moist areas. Elderberries are
used to make preserves, pies, and wine. Taken as a tea,
either fresh or dried, the berries benefit the lungs and
nourish the blook. The young leaves of elder are used in
salves and poultices for skin
healing. A root bark tea clears conjestion, eases
headaches, and is used in poultices for mastitis. A
tinture of the flowers lowers fever by promoting
perspiration. Elderflowers water is a traditional remedy
for skin blemishes and sunburn. Cold elderflower tea is
placed on the eyes as a soothing compress
for inflammation. Elderflower oil makes a soothing balm
for sore nipples of nursing mothers.
Elm: Slippery elm is a medium-sized tree with grayish bark,
usually found near streams. Unlike the American elm its
crown does not droop. It leaves are also larger than the
American elm's with coarsely toothed margins. The inner
bark of the slippery elm, which is sticky and fragrant when
fresh, is used
medicinally. Slippery Elm bark is available in dried and
powdered forms from herbalists. It is made into paste with
water and then applied as a poultice to injuries of flesh
and bone, on gunshot wounds, ulcers, tumors, swellings,
chilblains, and on the adomen to draw fever out. Slippery
elm is very high in
calcium, and a pudding or tea of the bark can be ingested to
help speed bone healing. The powdered bark in water makes a
jelly that soothes bowel and urinary problems, sore
throats, and diarrhea. It makes a perfect substitute milk
for
babies who are allergic to cow's milk. Try adding a little
lemon and honey for flavor.
Hawthorn: Hawthorne is a small, broad, round, and dense
tree with thorns and edible red fruits. The fall berries
and spring new leaves and flowers make a cardiac tonic that
benefits virtually all heart conditions. Be aware,
however: Prolonged used does cause the blood pressure to
drop. Use it for a few weeks and then take a week off to
prevent a precipitious decrease in blood
pressure. Use caution when combining this herb with other
heart medications to prevent a sudden drop in blood
pressure. For maxiumum benefit eat fresh raw garlic as you
undergo a hawthorn regime. {Garlic provides extra cleansing
of plaque in the blood vessels}.
Hazel: Is a small tree with small rounded nuts that grow
tow to four in a cluster. Hazel twigs are traditionally
used by dowers to find hidden sources of water. Hazel nuts
are said to benefit the kidneys. Huron herbalists used the
bark in poultices for tumors and ulcers. The Iroquois mixed
the nut oil with bear's grease to make mosquito repellent.
The Chippewa used a decoction of
hazel root, white oak root, chokecherry bark, and the
heartwood of ironwood for bleeding from the lungs.
Holly: Mountain Holly is a small tree with ovarte, fine
saw-toothed leaves and large orange berrie. The buds were
twigs that were used by Native Amercian herbalists in
decoctions and as an external wash for ulcers, herpetic
eruptions, jaundice, fever and diarrhea. The leaves alone
were used as beverage
tea. English holly of European holly is a familiar
evergreen usually seen as decoration at Yuletide. It has
spiny, elliptical leaves and shiny red berries.
The leaves can be used as a tea substitute and in infusions
for coughs, colds and flu. Be aware: The berries of all
holly varieties are strongly purgative.
Linden and Basswood: Linden is a large tree found in moist,
rich soils near
other hardwoods. It has a heart-shaped leaves with toothed
margins. The bark is dark gray, and its fruit is nutlike,
downy, and peasized. It has clusters of yellowish-white
fragrant flowers in the spring. Basswood, or American
linden, is a close relative. Linden flower tea is a popular
beverage in Europe
for nervous headaches and upset digestion, hysteria, nervous
vomiting, and heart pappitations. Linden flower tea can
also be added to baths to calm the nerves. Linden flower
honey is prized for medicinal use. Native Amercian
herbalists used the roots and bark of basswood for burns and
the flower tea for
epilepsy, headache, spasm, spasmodic cough, and general
pain. The buds were eaten as famine food, and the bark was
pounded and added to soups.
Maple: Maples are large trees with deeply lobed, toothed
leaves. The bark of the younger tress is gray and smooth,
on older trees it breaks into ridges and fissures. Maples
have winged seeds that hang in cluster of two. The Ojibwa
and the Cherokee made a decoration of the inner bark or red
maple to use as
a wash for sore eyes. The leaves of striped maple, or
moosehead, were used to poultice sour breasts. A decoration
of inner bark of sugar maple was used for diarrhea. The
Penobscot used striped maple bark in poultices for swollen
limbs, and as a tea for kidney infections, coughs, colds,
and bronchitis.
Young maple leaves can be made into massage oil that will
be soothing to sore muscles.
Oak: Oaks are large trees with lobed leaves and acorns
topped by
bowl-shaped caps. The best oak for internal use is white
oak, though all oaks are valuable as external washes. The
tannins in oak bark and leaves are helpful in pulling the
edges of a wound together and is antiseptic and antiviral.
White oak bark tea is used for chronic diarrhea, cronic
mucus discharges, and piles.
It makes a nice gargle for sore throats and wash for skin
problems such as poison ivy, burn and wounds. The tea of
the leaf of the bark may be used by women
as a douche for vaginitis. Use caution: Prolonged
ingestion of oak is potentially harmful.
Pine: All pines are evergreens, with needles that grow in
soft, flexable clusters. Pine trees are revered worldwide
as healing agents. Any pine, or other evergreen such as
spruce, larch, and ceder, will have antiseptic properties
useful as a wound wash. The most palatable pine for
internal use is the white
pine. Its needles and twigs are simmered into a tea that is
rich in Vitamin C. The tea is used for sore throats,
coughs, and colds. Chinese herbalists boil the knot of the
wood because of the concentrated resins found there.
Pine baths aid kidney ailments, improve circulation, and
are relaxing to sore muscles. The aroma of pine is
soothing to the nerves and lungs. Pine tea make a wonderful
foot bath.
Poplar: Poplars are distinguished by their drooping catkins
and rounded leaves with pointed tips. Balsam poplar was
used by Native American herbalists who scored the bark and
applied the resinous gum to toothaches and swellings.
The sticky spring buds were gathered in May and used in
salves for skin problems, sprains, sore muscles, wounds,
headaches, tumores, eczemia, bruises, gout, and on the chest
for lung ailments and coughs. The buds were decorated and
used internally for phlegm, kidney and bladder ailments,
coughs, scurvy, and rheumatic pains. The root was combined
with the root of white poplar in a decoction to stop
premature bleeding in pregnancy. The warmed juice of white
poplar
was dropped into sore ears. Poplar barks are high in
salicin, making them useful in treating deep wounds,
gangrene, eczema, cancer, burns, and strong body
odor. The inner bark of a young poplar tree is edible in
the spring and can be simmered into a tea for liver and
kidney ailments.
Rowan, or Mountain Ash: The American mountain ash and the
European mountain ash have identical uses. The former has
bunches of orange berries that look like tiny apples, and
the latter one has red ones. Both are small, sturdy trees
with compound leaves of nine to seventeen leaflets. Their
clusters of
white flowers, composed of five petals each, appear in
spring. Rowan berries are bitter, astringent, and very
high in Vitaman C. They should be picked just after the
first frost when their color has deepened . The fresh juice
of the berries is added to sore throut gargles, and jelly is
made from the berries
will treat diarrhea in adults and children. Rowan berries
are added to ales and cordials. In ancient Scotland, a
syrup for coughs and colds was made from rowan berries,
apples, and honey.
Walnut: Walnut trees are tall and have compound,
alternative leaflets.
Their spring flowers are drooping green catkins that mature
into large, round nuts covered in green, spongy husks that
stain the hands brown when cut open with a knife. Walnut
husks are medicinally active. They are antifungal and rich
in manganese, a skin-healing agent. Gather them when fresh,
and rub directly
onto ringworm. The tea of the hull may be used as a douche
for vaginitis.
For stubborn old ulcers apply the dried , powdered leaf,
and then poultice with fresh green leaves. Do this for
about twenty days, daily. The leaf tea increases
circulation, digestion, and energy. The fresh bark may be
applied to the temples for headache or to teeth to relieve
pain. The dried and powdered bark, or pounded fresh bark,
can be applied to wounds to stop swelling and
to hasten healing.
Willow: There are more than forty varieties of willow
growing in the US.
They are water-loving trees, a good indicator species if
your looking for a regular water source, either above or
below ground. Willows have slender flexable twigs and long,
narrow, simple leaves. In early spring, willows bloom with
golden catkins that mature into small seed capsules in late
summer. All
willow barks have salicylic acid, which is a natural form
of aspirin. Willow bark tea treats muscle pain and
inflammation, diarrhea, fever, arthritc pain, and headache.
Used externally it makes a wash for cuts, ulcers, and poison
ivy.
Willow bark in teas and capsules is sedative and eases
insomina. It reduces the rise of heart disease and may
delay cataract formation.
Recipe
|
|
member logon
