Crampbark
Parts Usually Used
Bark
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Crampbark is a large, handsome, upright shrub or tree; to 12 feet high; leaves maple-like, with 3-5 lobes, hairy beneath. The leaf stalks have a narrow groove, and a disk-shaped gland. Leaves have three lobes and are broadly wedge-shaped. White flowers in a rounded head, to 4 inches across; April to June. Flowers are showy and are succeeded by red, very acid berries, resembling low cranberries, and sometimes substituted for them.
Flower clusters have inner fertile flowers, outer sterile ones. They remain on the bush after the leaves have fallen and throughout the winter. The bark has no smell, but has a peculiar bitterish and astringent taste, which leaves a clean taste in the mouth. Viburnine is the active principle found in the dried bark of the stem.
Where Found
Found in the northern part of the United States and Canada. Grows in low rich lands, woods, and borders of fields.
Medicinal Properties
Antispasmodic, nervine, tonic, astringent, diuretic
Biochemical Information
Viburnine, chlorogenic acid, beta-sitosterol, and ursolic acid, vitamins C and K
Legends, Myths and Stories
This plant was well known to the Native Americans. Crampbark was also a favorite of the horse and buggy doctors. They were known to say that it will stop cramp. To prevent recurrence of the trouble they suggested drinking the tea.
Uses
Historically, herbalists utilized crampbark for involuntary muscular spasms, cramps, and dysmenorrhea. Traditional practitioners also recommended it for headaches, neuralgia, earaches, lumbago, stomach cramps, coughs, colds, and minor fevers, as well as for general skin conditions. In certain folk traditions, the plant was prepared with honey and administered for high blood pressure.
Low cranberry and high cranberry were historically applied as external poultices of crushed berries for localized skin inflammation. In Chinese traditional practices, the leaves and fruit were employed as an emetic, laxative, and antiscorbutic.
How Sold
Capsules, extract
Warning
Berries are considered potentially poisonous; they contain chlorogenic acid, beta-sitosterol, and ursolic acid, at least when they are unripe.
Bibliography
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr. A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R.
, 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974 An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992). The Magic of Herbs in Daily Living , by Richard Lucas, Parker Publishing Co. (1988). The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr.
David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , Special Sale Catalog, 1996 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974