Leatherwood

Scientific Names

• Dirca palustris L.
• Mezereum family

Common Name

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Parts Usually Used

Bark
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Leatherwood is a small North American tree of the mezereum family, with a tough, flexible bark used by the Native Americans for making rope. This branched shrub grows 1-9 feet. Branchlets pliable, smooth, jointed, bark is very tough. Leaves oval to obovate, on short stalks. Yellowish, bell-like flowers appear before leaves. April to May.
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Where Found

Rich woods, along streams. Canada to Florida; Louisiana to Minnesota.
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Uses

Native Americans used Leatherwood bark tea as a laxative. minute doses cause burning of the tongue, salivation. Folk remedy for toothaches, facial neuralgia, paralysis of the tongue.
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Warning

Leatherwood is poisonous. Causes severe dermatitis, with redness, blistering, and sores. Use only under medical supervision.
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Bibliography

Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000

How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine & Crafts, by Frances Densmore, Dover Publications, Inc., 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974

American Folk Medicine, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973

Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023

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