The Pharmacy In The Forest

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Other Woodland Remedies of Note

0n the banks of streams, and now cultivated in yards, is the witch hazel bush. It is of particular interest because of the appearance of yellow flowers which do not appear until October and November and remain until temperatures become quite cold. Botanists call this bush hamemelis, and its leaves and bark, long used by Indian tribes, are distilled with diluted alcohol to produce the popular astringent sold in drugstores and also used in cosmetics called hamemelis water, or just simply witch hazel.

While not being a native North American plant, the aloe , with some 170 different species, has become widely cultivated here and thereby a part of both the garden and the woodlands scene. The dried juice of the leaves was known to the ancients as far back as the time of Alexander the Great. It continues to be used in pharmacy today in two ways: first, as an ingredient in drug mixtures designed to induce bowel movements and secondly, as a healing agent used in various ointments applied to burns and cuts.

A flowering plant native to Europe, but now found in American woods, and particularly grandma's flower garden, is the popular purple foxglove , known botanically as Digitalis purpurea. From the dried flowers of this plant have been isolated some powerful heart medications often marketed under the general name of Digoxin. The history of digitalis goes back to the tenth century when the British physicians were using it to treat cardiac irregularities. It remains a widely used drug to this day.

One of the most common trees we encounter in our walk through the forest is the elm, which grows over a wide range of territory. The specific tree of pharmaceutical value is the slippery elm , or Ulmus fulva. For centuries American Indians used the bark for preserving fatty substances from becoming rancid by melting, for example, bear's fat with the bark and then straining off the fat. The other use, however, is the one that has continued to this day. A warm infusion of the bark was discovered to relieve throat irritations. It is now used either alone or as an ingredient of throat lozenges which can be purchased over the counter in drug and grocery stores.

Our next stop in our journey through the wild forest brings us to the jimson or Jamestown weed, which grows wild throughout the United States. The thornapple species of the annual plant is called the Datura strammonium, and from its dried leaves and flowering tops is obtained the drug strammonium. It was first brought to England from the East Indies where natives there were smoking it for the relief of asthma symptoms. The fluid extract of strammonium continues to be used in medicine as a bronchial dilator for the relief of breathing problems associated with asthma.

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