Showing posts with label Fringetree. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fringetree. Show all posts

Monday, January 12, 2015

Fringetree, White Clump, Medicinal Uses for Liver and Gallbladder Disorders

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 281-365












White Clump Fringetree is clothed in stunning panicles of fragrant white flowers rising above the foliage in late spring. It has emerald green foliage throughout the season. The narrow leaves turn yellow in fall. 

White Clump Fringetree is a multi-stemmed deciduous tree with a more or less rounded form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.
This is a high maintenance tree that will require regular care and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.
White Clump Fringetree is recommended for the following landscape applications;
  • Accent
  • Mass Planting
  • Hedges/Screening
  • General Garden Use

Plant Characteristics:
White Clump Fringetree will grow to be about 18 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 60 years or more.
This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It is an amazingly adaptable plant, tolerating both dry conditions and even some standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments.
This species is native to parts of North America.
The almost-odorless root bark is gathered, washed, and dried for medicinal use. It has all but eluded modern horticulturists in growing it on a commercial scale, either by cutting or grafting. Most plants seen in gardens are from seeds which require over two years to germinate, if at all.

Medicinal uses
The fringe tree was commonly used by the North American Indians and European settlers alike to treat inflammations of the eye, mouth ulcers and spongy gums. 
In modern herbalism it is considered to be one of the most reliable remedies for disorders of the liver and gall bladder. The dried root bark is alterative, aperient, cholagogue, diuretic, febrifuge and tonic. 
The roots of the fringe tree are dried and used to treat liver and gallbladder disease in traditional American folk medicine, often in combination with barberry and other herbs containing berberine. 
The root acts as a bitter,stimulating release of bile, which increases gastric secretion and improved appetite and digestion. 
American Indians made a root-bark tea to clean wounds and sores and associated inflammation and infections. Overdoses can cause vomiting, frontal headaches and a slow pulse.
 In addition to the conditions cited, homoeopathy practices also use fresh root bark to treat migraine, headache, and depressive symptoms 
 The root bark also appears to strengthen function in the pancreas and spleen whilst anecdotal evidence indicates that it may substantially reduce sugar levels in the urine. Fringe tree also stimulates the appetite and digestion and is an excellent remedy for chronic illness, especially where the liver has been affected.