Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Medicinal Trees, Fringe Tree, Yellowwood and Clerodendron

[00:00:00] Hey y'all welcome this week's show. We'll get back into our medicinal trees and this is a unique one. It's an American native, you know a lot of the herbs, a lot of the weeds, several of the trees and crops that are documented with use in herbal medicine.

[00:00:30] It's a native plant that has medicinal use because a lot of it doesn't have a lot of documentation. I mean there's certainly exceptions to the rule.

[00:00:44] Well, it's unique with trees because basically you know pine tree in America has the same properties as a pine tree in France or something.

[00:00:53] An oak tree in England has the same properties in Oak Tree in Canada. When we come down to uniquely American herbs there's a really fascinating history of how these came into use in medicine.

[00:01:08] And probably the mid 1700s, there arose a school of herbalism in America that was called the eclectic school and people like James John Audubon or John James Audubon. I don't know, Audubon the one that painted all the birds. He was part of it.

[00:01:29] There were several prominent figures at the time. Basically they would learn the medicinal uses from whatever Native American tribe they were near and then they go out and collect the plant and experiment with it and send samples and documentation back to Europe. And it was actually a very good way to make a living at the time.

[00:01:53] They in Europe they were well interested in new plants, new medicines. I mean Audubon made a fortune just sending them pictures of birds and plants. I mean they just really wanted to see things they couldn't see but they're also very useful medicines.

[00:02:10] I mean so many like a Joe Paiwi major game changer as far as a fever lower and it's fever reduced or an anti-fire properties, clientine, sassafras. Some of these native herbs, the ginseng of course golden seal just really took off.

[00:02:34] Well the eclectics kind of gave way to the Tomsonians and several other what you would call more indigenous schools of American medicine but really when you get it down to it, it's that the reason they were called eclectic. It's the blending together of the European tradition with the new world tradition.

[00:02:55] And a lot of times when you find up the purely native plant like the one we're going to discuss now.

[00:03:02] Chiannathus, Chianathus virginicus means it was discovered in Virginia. Notice Frinsri or Oldman's beard really common where I live. You have to find any documentation on this in European medicine.

[00:03:17] So we start off on this one with King's American dispensatory of 1898.

[00:03:26] I believe the only documented anything I found in British medicine was from Maude Grieve writing in 1930s apparently it kind of made its way to England but she gave a very brief listing just saying it was apparent diuretic.

[00:03:43] Somothories regarded as tonic and slightly narcotic. It has been used in typhoid, interminute and bilis fevers it's really normal area and externally as a poultice for inflammation or wounds and is used when liver complaints.

[00:03:58] So you can see it's somewhat similar to quinine, somewhat similar to dogwood, tulip popular in that it was good for these fevers.

[00:04:09] Well this is always very important for us to know about these trees because mosquito borne illnesses are not a thing of the past and they seem to be making a comeback.

[00:04:21] In fact, you know I don't know if it's conspiracy theory. I don't know if it's true or not but it seems like the Gates Foundation may be experimenting with genetically engineered mosquitoes and we could be up for a whole new wave of new malaria yellow fever type in cephalitis.

[00:04:49] What else is carried by mosquitoes? They carry some pretty bad stuff. So anyway let's look at fringe tree and it's a real pretty tree. Like I said, real common where I live.

[00:05:02] King's American dispensatory tells us of actions, uses and dosages. I'm going to try to pronounce this again. She and Nantes, C-H-I-O-N-A-N-T-H-U-S.

[00:05:18] Acts principally upon the abdominal glandular organs and to some extent upon the venous system, relieving congestion. It is an alternative in the eclectic meaning of that term. While its main action is upon the visceral glands especially the blood making organs, its influence is quite marked in other secretive or secreting structures.

[00:05:42] Besides its pronounced catalytic properties, it is diuretic, conic and said to be apparent and narcotic. It is exceedingly doubtful if the later statement be true and its apparent property if it possesses such is the result of its cologog action.

[00:06:03] So obviously we need to define some terms. These are old medical terms that aren't much in use anymore. So apparent means it stimulates the bowel, so essentially laxative but more stimulates the contractions of the bowel.

[00:06:24] The cologog means it produces bile, increases bile. So King's Medical Dispensatory is saying that its effect upon the bowels is because it helps produce bile.

[00:06:42] So it is stimulating to the digestive system, it is really more of the way we ought to look at it.

[00:06:49] Professor King, in former editions of the American Dispensatory, states that in Bialis and Typhoid Feevers as well as in Opsnet Intermittents, again there are the Intermittent Malarial Feevers, the infusion of the bark of the root is efficient.

[00:07:06] While the remedy is now but very little used, this is in 1898. Still some old school authors as well as some trade catalog seem to have appropriated the above statements in regard to its use.

[00:07:19] So it was being used in patent medicine at the time. You know the kind of thing you'd order from the catalog or pick up at the general store for probably constipation in this case.

[00:07:31] But it seems to be probably better for these types of fevers, something we really need to know about.

[00:07:38] They say it also proves a good local application, external inflammation, ulcers and wounds. So it could be used externally to reduce inflammation for ulcerous sores and wounds.

[00:07:50] The use of an infusion of the bark is directed. Still it is doubtful whether such a preparation would be as efficient as an alcoholic form. That means the tincture for the resin or the rezzanoid, the active constituent of the drug is insoluble in water.

[00:08:06] So better to make a tincture of it with alcohol than a tea of it.

[00:08:13] It says that goss, I guess it was a doctor or researcher whatever at the time, states that the infusion is wholly inert meaning that the tea doesn't really work.

[00:08:26] But that it improves, but that chiannethis improves the appetite, AIDS digestion, promotes assimilation that means again helps digestion.

[00:08:38] And as a tonic to the whole system, it never produces catharsis. That would be like intestinal cramping.

[00:08:49] Ciannethis has been successfully used in scruffy, that's an infected inflammation of lymph nodes syphilis. But now we possess better agents for this class of disease.

[00:09:05] Yet if the patient be salo or yellow or has hepatic pains, it means pain to the liver. This would be jaundice and pain to the liver. The remedy will prove a valuable accessory agent in hastening the cure.

[00:09:19] So they thought it was good combined with other herbs. For its prompt and efficient action in hepatic derangements that's liver issues, we most value friend tree preparations.

[00:09:32] If there is any one true in specific medicine, it is that chiannethis has a decidedly specific action on jaundice. So it was really quite good for the liver.

[00:09:47] The credit of having brought this remedy before the profession for the purposes of which is now used belongs to the late professor goss.

[00:09:57] He was a physician in Georgia and a professor at the University of Georgia. So go dogs, I went to UGA by the way. I'm not going to bark at you, don't worry.

[00:10:09] He tested it on himself by suffering from an attack of jaundice and reported the result in an eastern journal. Since then it has come to be the first remedy thought of for this complaint.

[00:10:20] Goss considered it to be the best remedy for all cases of jaundice, not dependent on goss stems. On the contrary, professor scutter was in high praise of it when he even calculate our present. So he used it for goss stems.

[00:10:35] I think until a little more details, we don't need to worry about too much. But specifically good for hypertrophy or shrinking of the liver.

[00:10:47] After long term liver inflammation it actually begins to harden and shrink. That's when you're in trouble. That's cirrhosis. They found it to be very good for hypertrophy of the liver.

[00:11:02] Chronic hepatic inflammation, that would be inflammation of the liver. And portal congestion are speedily relieved by chiananthus.

[00:11:10] The remedy acts quickly often in one to two weeks removing the jaundice or what they call the ecteric Q. That's really very interesting.

[00:11:24] They said it was good for dyspepsia, which is an ingestion with especially with hepatic complications.

[00:11:35] Irritative states of the stomach from high living. Irritated stomach from drinking too much basically and the use of alcohol stimulants exactly.

[00:11:45] And in general, chronic inflammatory conditions of what I say do a de-dom but now people say doodinum. That's not how I was taught.

[00:11:54] And the ductus. Chiananthus serves a useful purpose. It is often also a good remedy in infantile dyspepsia. So for infants.

[00:12:05] Good for rheumatic affections with soreness in the region of the liver. And jaundice conditions. That's a really good liver plant as well as being good for apparently fevers and infection spread by mosquitoes.

[00:12:20] So I mean, I think it's a really important one to know. Said it was good for chronic inflamed spleen, splinitis and nephritis.

[00:12:31] It's going to be kidney issues and they say those are conditions which the fringe tree often proves a good remedy.

[00:12:39] Also good in pancreatic disease inflammatory or otherwise glangular diseases with evidence of imperfect waste often calls for its administration.

[00:12:51] Yeah, I mean, really interesting. They said, combine with gill smell. Okay, we'll talk about gill semium another day. I'm not going to give you this combination because well, I dropped too much gill semium will kill a person.

[00:13:06] So this was really for pharmacist. Okay, but combine with a few other herbs. It was good for uterine lucorrhea and good as for external inflammation, ulcers and wounds, etc.

[00:13:22] Specific indication and uses they say for dirty, salo skin with expressionless eyes and hepatic tenderness. Again, sore liver, liver inflammation and ecteric hue which is going to be jaundice weather without pain.

[00:13:37] Hepatic collic, intensive pain from liver to umbilicus. That means serious pain from your liver to your belly button essentially attended with nausea and vomiting and great prostration in other words, your liver is in real bad shape.

[00:13:51] Pain in the epigastrum and right hip, hypokondrium stimulating collic sometimes extended to the abdomen jaundice with itching skin.

[00:14:01] Your liver and skin are very closely related. We can liver will often show up in jaundice skin or itching skin, eczema and psoriasis.

[00:14:12] Like colored watery stools collic urine stain, urine that stains the clothing yellow really dark urine can also be an issue.

[00:14:24] A sign that your really your liver is not cleansing the blood all that well. Or it can be that I mean don't freak out if you have really dark urine many things can cause that many things, okay.

[00:14:37] Dehydration is usually the main thing. You may have a virus and that can do it.

[00:14:45] If you recently had a fever the fever breaks your body flushes a lot of toxins occasionally something you eat or drink drink can do it.

[00:14:56] But so don't freak out but it can be a symptom.

[00:15:00] Plants for future states, French tree was commonly used by the North American Indians and European settlers alike to treat inflammation of the eye, ulcers of the mouth and spongy gums.

[00:15:12] In modern herbalism it is considered to be one of the most reliable liver, one of the most reliable remedies for disorders at the liver and gall bladder.

[00:15:21] The dried bark is alternative apparent colagog, diuretic, febrophusion tonic. It is used in the treatment of gall bladder pain and gallstones, jaundice and chronic weakness.

[00:15:33] A tincture of the bark was once widely used in the treatment of hypertrophy of the liver, jaundice, biles headaches, gallstones, rheumatism etc.

[00:15:43] The root bark also appears to strengthen the function of the pain creus and spleen, whilst anecdotal evidence indicates that it may substantially reduce sugar levels in the urine.

[00:15:53] It is another thing but sure it can affect the color of your urine.

[00:15:57] The French tree also stimulates the appetite and digestion in an excellent remedy for chronic illness especially where the liver has been affected.

[00:16:06] A tear or a pulp is made from the root bark for external use as a wash for wounds, inflammation, sores.

[00:16:14] Infections etc., the roots can be harvested anytime of the year, the bark is peeled from them and is dried for later use.

[00:16:21] Peterson Field Guide for Eastern Central Medicinal Plant says physicians formally use 10 drops every 3 hours of tincture for jaundice.

[00:16:30] The tincture was one part by weight in 5 parts, 50% grain alcohol and water.

[00:16:37] Okay so that's like 100% I mean 100% food vodka that's 50% alcohol and one part weight to 5 parts of the bark to 5 parts of the vodka.

[00:16:51] So it's not as complicated as it sounds.

[00:16:54] In the late 19th century French bark tree was widely employed by physicians who thought it to relieve congestion of glandular organs and the venous system.

[00:17:03] It was employed for hypertrophy of liver, wounds, nephritis and rheumatism.

[00:17:08] Once considered diuretic alternative collagogontonic, American Indians use the root bark tea to wash inflammation sores, cuts and infections.

[00:17:18] Warning overdose causes vomiting, frontal headaches and slow pulse.

[00:17:25] I don't know what that is. Po-U-L-T-S, pulse.

[00:17:30] Hmm sounds like a chicken to me but I don't know why it's here. But anyway, don't overdo it.

[00:17:37] And interestingly the physician's desk reference for herbal medicine which is like the go to for a doctor if you go in and say doc I'm using this herb.

[00:17:46] He's going to pull out the PDR, look it up and see if it country indicates when the medication sees prescribed.

[00:17:51] They actually list French tree and they say French tree because of its sap and content is said to have hepatic collagog, collagog diuretic and tonic effects.

[00:18:03] Unproven uses. It is used in the treatment of the liver and gallbladder conditions including gallstones. North American folk use includes jaundice, epitrophy that again it's the liver of the liver.

[00:18:15] Wounds and ulcers, no health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction with the proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages.

[00:18:25] So according to the PDR which is like the go to for the medical community it's pretty safe. They just don't say whether it works or not.

[00:18:34] Well I think we got a documented evidence to say that we would find it useful.

[00:18:39] Alright got you know one more maybe I can get time to do.

[00:18:44] Okay I got time to do two more because they're both short.

[00:18:50] Colledrastus, kin to k.

[00:18:54] I think it's going to be Kentucky A in Latin.

[00:18:59] This is another native one because it's coming from Kentucky.

[00:19:02] Kentucky A right?

[00:19:04] Colledrastus is known as yellowwood and I'm telling you French trees are really pretty plant but as attractive as French tree is it meets its match in yellowwood.

[00:19:15] Unique to my region, this tree blooms with long trails of cascading flowers.

[00:19:21] It's just gorgeous.

[00:19:23] Unfortunately I cannot nail down any documented research on medicinal use.

[00:19:31] I found some folk lore on it.

[00:19:34] I found some mentions here and there.

[00:19:37] I've mentioned this one because it's really pretty and it's a lagoon ministry which means it's going to help fix nitrogen.

[00:19:43] I would encourage you to plant this when you're in landscape.

[00:19:46] It's going to be probably the prettiest tree in your yard and if I ever find anything I can say for sure is accurate about its medicinal use.

[00:19:54] I'll let you know but one that does have some limited medicinal use not at all native to America is

[00:20:05] Clary dindrum tricho tommum.

[00:20:11] Trico tommum I guess.

[00:20:14] It is Chinese and who knows when it was brought here?

[00:20:19] It's been naturalized.

[00:20:20] It's become a really common plant in America, Southeast, North Carolina and such.

[00:20:26] Its names, common names include Harlequin glory bower so obviously it was brought in ornamentally.

[00:20:32] It's another very pretty tree.

[00:20:34] The Chinese name is Cho Wu Tong.

[00:20:38] Plants for future states of medicinal use of Cho Wu Tong, the leaves are mildly analgesic.

[00:20:46] It helps with pain like an aspirin.

[00:20:49] That's analgesic.

[00:20:52] Antipuritic and that's well basically means itchy skin.

[00:21:01] It helps against itchy skin.

[00:21:04] Hypotensive means it lowers blood pressure and sedative.

[00:21:09] They are used externally in the treatment of dermatitis and internally for the treatment of hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, joint pain, numbness and paralysis when used in a clinical trial of 171 people.

[00:21:22] The blood pressure of 81% of the people drops significantly.

[00:21:27] This effect was reversed when the treatment was stopped.

[00:21:30] It's pretty incredible actually.

[00:21:33] You can probably find...

[00:21:38] Clero dendrum.

[00:21:40] There we go, Clero dendrum.

[00:21:43] I think that's it.

[00:21:45] Clero dendrum known as Harlequin glory bower or Cho Wu Tong at your local garden center as an ornamental plant.

[00:21:54] It's a fact that blood pressure is really impressive.

[00:22:00] The plant is normally used in conjunction with bidens, bipinata.

[00:22:05] When used with the herb,

[00:22:09] Cegus bechia pubescence.

[00:22:12] There's a common name for that, but it is not common to me.

[00:22:15] S-I-E-G-E-S-B-C-K-I-A.

[00:22:20] Cegin's bechia pubescence.

[00:22:24] Alright, well I'll look at it at some point and let you know.

[00:22:27] So when used with that, it's anti-inflammatory.

[00:22:30] The roots and leaves are anti-romatic and hypotensive.

[00:22:33] A decoction is used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and hypertension.

[00:22:37] The pounded seed is used to kill lice.

[00:22:40] That's a really nice ornamental plant.

[00:22:42] I'll just go ahead real quick and just google this Cegin's bechia so you know what it is.

[00:22:48] I don't normally do this in the middle of a show obviously, but I don't want to leave you hanging.

[00:22:54] Oh okay, st. Paul's ward.

[00:22:57] Yeah, it's in the asterisia family.

[00:23:01] It's pretty common weed actually, a real good herb.

[00:23:06] It looks a lot like St. John's ward, but it's more witty and it's known as St. Paul's ward.

[00:23:13] So yes, that's Cegin's bechia.

[00:23:16] So apparently that combined with chowu tong or clerodendrum is anti-inflammatory.

[00:23:26] So, y'all I'm going to wrap it up there.

[00:23:29] I think, wow these are some really useful trees.

[00:23:33] Some of them like I said are wild and native.

[00:23:37] Well two of them and one of them is an import that you may actually have an easier time finding because it's going to be sold as an ornamental.

[00:23:44] Really all these are just really gorgeous trees.

[00:23:47] I mean if you're planning your landscaping, I would definitely think about including any of the three in there.

[00:23:55] Y'all have a good one and I'll talk to you next time.

[00:23:59] The information this podcast is non-intended to diagnose your treatine disease or condition.

[00:24:05] Nothing I say or write has been evaluated or approved by the FDA.

[00:24:09] I'm not a doctor.

[00:24:11] The US government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and there is no governing body regularly herbless.

[00:24:17] Therefore, I'm really just a guy who says herbs.

[00:24:19] I'm not offering any advice.

[00:24:21] I don't even claim that anything I write or say is accurate or true.

[00:24:24] I can tell you what herbs have been traditionally used for.

[00:24:27] I can tell you my own experience and if I believe in herbs help me.

[00:24:30] I cannot nor would I tell you to do the same.

[00:24:33] If you use an herb anyone recommends you are treating yourself.

[00:24:37] You take full responsibility for your health.

[00:24:40] Humans are individuals and no two are identical.

[00:24:42] What works for me may not work for you.

[00:24:45] You may have an allergy, a sensitivity and underlying condition.

[00:24:49] Then no one else human shares and you don't even know about it.

[00:24:51] Be careful with your health.

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