|
Antispasmodic, nervine, tonic, relaxant, diuretic, expectorant, astringent, sedative and emmenagogue.
Cramp bark is possibly the best female regulator-relaxant agent that we have for the uterus and ovaries, and is especially useful for painful and difficult menstruation and for nervous affections during pregnancy that threaten abortion.
A deciduous, thicket-forming shrub, 12 feet tall, with smooth gray branches. The winter buds are scaly. Leaves are maple-like, pubescent beneath with 3-5 acuminate lobes, coarsely,and irregularly toothed. It turns burgundy in the autumn. In early summer.the conspicuous, large, nearly flat-topped heads of snow-white flowers appear. The berries are bright red. Cultivated and wild throughout the U.S.
The fruit is used as a substitute for cranberries. It makes a tart jelly or distilled spirit. It is toxic and bitter if eaten fresh. The bark from the stem is a nerve-sedative, and uterine antispasmodic which reduces muscle cramps in intestinal spasms. Use 1 teaspoon to 1 cup of the bark decoction in tablespoon doses. Native Americans used it to treat mumps. Note: Viburnum prunifolium bark is used similarly.V.trilobum was used by the Alberta Cree tribe for many illnesses, especially for high fevers and pain relief.
| 
