Page 259 - Lost Book Remedies
P. 259
The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies
bark is removed all the way around the tree, it will die.
Once the bark is free, remove the outer bark, keeping
the inner bark that is closest to the wood. Cut the har-
vested bark into small pieces and dry it for future use.
Slippery Elm Bark Tea/Pudding: Combine 1
teaspoon to several tablespoons of ground inner bark
from slippery elm, 1 cup of warm water or milk (al-
mond, coconut, hemp, etc.)
Mix the water or milk with the ground bark and sim-
mer the mixture gently for 10 to 15 minutes. Add less
bark for a thinner drink or more to thicken it to pud-
Remove the inner bark from larger branches as they ding consistency. Flavor it as desired with cinnamon,
are harvested from the tree or cut a rectangle of bark ginger, or raw honey.
from the tree without cutting around the tree. If the
Sugar Maple,
Acer saccharum
The sugar maple is a surprisingly healthy tree. Many
people think of sugar when they think of sugar maple
and assume that the sweet syrup is unhealthy. Instead,
the opposite is true and I have used maple syrup as a
remedy when the sap is not available. Maples are in
the Sapindaceae (Soapberry) Family.
Identification: Yellowish-green flower clusters ap-
pear in April or May, growing on umbels. The flowers Sugar Maple Leaves, photo by Superior National Forest [CC BY 2.0 ]
produce a dry fruit called a samara that contains two
seeds and paper-like wings (like a helicopter) that help Blood Tonic and Diuretic: A tea made from the
dispersal. The trunk, branches and leaves produce a inner bark is used as a blood tonic. It helps remove tox-
sweet sap, which is tapped, boiled, and concentrated to ins from the body and cleans the blood. It also has di-
produce maple syrup. uretic effects so it should be taken early in the day and
in moderation.
Edible Use: Maple syrup made from
the sap serves as a popular sweetener, Coughs, Bronchial Congestion: Ma-
but the sap can also be used as a drink ple Bark Tea, made from the inner bark of
in its raw form. The seeds are edible the sugar maple, has expectorant properties.
raw or cooked – just remove the It loosens phlegm in the lungs and helps the
“wings”. Pieces of the inner bark can be body get rid of it. It makes the cough more
cooked, dried, and ground into flour for productive and relieves the need for exces-
thickening or mixed with grains for bak- sive coughing. In addition to the tea, maple
ing. I love the blossoms and young buds of syrup is soothing on the throat and for coughs.
the Big Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) both I use it as a base in cough syrups.
raw and cooked. They are one of my favorite sweet Eye Remedy: Traditionally, a compound infu-
spring greens where I live. sion of the bark was used as an eye drop to treat blind-
Medicinal Use: The inner bark and sap are the ness, though a reference for what type of blindness
parts used for medicine. is not known. The sap is useful to treat sore eyes.
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