Fringe Tree
Parts Usually Used
Root bark, trunk bark
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Fringe tree reaches 8-25 feet in height; the leaves are opposite, smooth, and oblong to oval in shape, grow 8 inches long. In May and June, when the leaves are only partially developed, the fragrant, slender-petaled, white flowers, from whose fringe-like petals the tree derives its name, appear in dense, drooping, panicles. The fruit is an oval, purple drupe, resemble small olives.
Other varieties: Leaves of the Chinese species (C. retusus) have been used in Asia as a tea substitute.
Where Found
Grows in the middle and southern United States and in New England. Cultivated in parks and gardens, dry slopes, and occurs wild along riverbanks and on higher ground. New Jersey to Florida; Texas, eastern Oklahoma, north to Missouri, southern Ohio.
Medicinal Properties
Alterative, aperient, cholagogue, diuretic, febrifuge, hepatic, laxative, tonic
Biochemical Information
Glycoside phyllirine, saponin
Legends, Myths and Stories
Native Americans and early colonists were familiar with fringe tree’s healing virtues. Migraine sufferers were amazed at the results of treatment.
Uses
A tea prepared from the bark was historically utilized by herbalists to address fevers, dyspepsia, headaches, migraines, and colic. Traditional practitioners also employed the bark as a cathartic, as a general tonic, and to stimulate bile secretion, recommending it for complaints involving the kidneys, liver, jaundice, and gallstones. Externally, folk traditions applied poultices made from the bark to wounds, sores, and skin irritations.
Warning
Overdose may cause vomiting, frontal headaches, slow pulse.
Bibliography
, Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.
copyright 1974. Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 The Magic of Herbs in Daily Living , by Richard Lucas, Parker Publishing Co. (1988). , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023