Page 160 - Lost Book Remedies

The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies

well as lateral roots and it often grows in rocky soil. fresh Arrowleaf Balsamroot root, chopped into small
Harvest the root in mid-spring to mid-August. You’ll pieces, and 1 cup raw honey. Bring the honey to a sim-
probably need to dig out a large area to get most of the mer and add the chopped balsamroot. Keep the heat at
root. Bring good tools and only take what you need a low simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Strain the warm honey
from this slow-growing plant. to remove the root pieces. Place in a clean jar and label
and date. Use 1 to 2 teaspoons every 2 to 4 hours or as
Recipes. Balsamroot and Raw Honey needed.
Cough Syrup: You’ll need 3 to 4 Tablespoons of

Bearberry, fruit is 1/4 to 1/2 inch (0.75 cm to 1.25 cm) in diameter
and can remain on the plant until winter. Each mealy
Arctostaphylos uva ursi, fruit contains up to five tiny hard seeds.

or Arbutus uva ursi

Also called kinnikinnik, uva ursi, hog cranberry,
mountain cranberry, upland cranberry, bear’s grape,
and red bearberry, this herb is a small evergreen shrub
that grows in northern North America and in higher
elevations throughout the Appalachian Mountains. It
likes acidic dry soils, especially sandy and gravel rich
soils. It is in the Ericaceae (Heath) Family. It is com-
monly used in smoking mixtures.

Identification: The alternate paddle-shaped leaves
are small and shiny with a thick, stiff feel. The under-
side is lighter in color than the green topside. Leaves
are up to an inch (2.5 cm) long and have rounded tips. Bearberry Flowers, By Yvonne Zimmermann - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
The leaves are evergreen, changing from dark green to
The root system has a fibrous main root with buried
stems that give rise to the stems of the herb. These
trailing stems form layered mats with small roots and
have stems growing up 6 inches (15 cm) tall when ma-
ture, with a reddish- brown bark. Younger branches
are white to pale green.
Edible Use: Bearberry fruits are edible, but they are
not tasty, so they are rarely eaten or used in cooking.
They are sometimes used in pemmican.
Medicinal Use: The leaves and berries are used for
medicine. I usually use it in tincture form for internal
use.
Urinary Tract Infections, Nephritis, Kid-
ney Stones, Cystitis, and Gout: Bearberry
Bearberry, Jesse Taylor - Own work, CC by SA 3.0 leaves treat kidney (nephritis), bladder (cystitis), and
a reddish-green and then to purple in autumn. The urinary tract infections extremely well. It is a diuretic,
small dark brown buds have three scales. increasing the urine volume, and it has antiseptic
Bearberry has small white or pink, urn-shaped flowers properties that reduce bacteria populations in the kid-
that appear in terminal clusters from May to June. neys, bladder, and urinary tract. It relieves bladder in-
They mature into pink to bright red fleshy drupes. The flammation and helps relieves the pain of kidney

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