By Liliana Usvat
Blog 157 -365
Rhus chinensis, the Chinese sumac or nutgall tree, is a plant species in the genus Rhus. The species is used to produce galls, called Chinese gall,
Other scientific names: Ailanthus glandulosus, Ailanthus peregrina, Toxicodendron altissimum
French names: Ailante glanduleux, paradise-tree, and copal-tree
Medicinal Uses
Nearly every part of the tree has some application in Chinese traditional medicine. One of the oldest recipes, recorded in a work from 732 AD, is used for treating mental illness. It involved chopped root material, young boys' urine and douchi. After sitting for a day the liquid was strained out and given to the patient over the course of several days.
Douchi is a type of fermented and salted soybean. In English it is known simply as "black bean", and is also called fermented black soybeans, Chinese fermented black beans.
Another source from 684 AD, during the Tang dynasty and recorded in Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica, states that when the leaves are taken internally, they make one incoherent and sleepy, while when used externally they can be effectively used to treat boils, abscesses and itches.
Yet another recipe recorded by Li uses the leaves to treat baldness. This formula calls for young leaves of ailanthus, catalpa and peach tree to be crushed together and the resulting liquid applied to the scalp to stimulate hair growth.
The dried bark, however, is still an officinal drug and is listed in the modern Chinese materia medica as chun bai pi , meaning "white bark of spring"
It is prepared by felling the tree in fall or spring, stripping the bark and then scraping off the hardest, outermost portion, which is then sun-dried, soaked in water, partially re-dried in a basket and finally cut into strips. The bark is said to have cooling and astringent properties and is primarily used to treat dysentery, intestinal hemorrhage, menorrhagia and spermatorrhea. It is only prescribed in amounts between 4 and 10 grams, so as not to poison the patients.
A tincture of the root-bark has been used successfully in treating cardiac palpitation, asthma and epilepsy. Tincture1:2 ratio of chopped bark to alcohol (70% strength), using more alcohol if the roots are dried first.
You can make your own folk medicine out of Tree of Heaven using the fresh or dried inner bark or root bark or you can make a cold tea out of the winged fruit or root bark.
Li's Compendium has 18 recipes that call for the bark. Asian and European chemists have found some justification for its medical use as it contains a long list of active chemicals that include quassin and saponin, while ailanthone, the allelopathic chemical in the tree of heaven, is a known antimalarial agent.
The samaras are also used in modern Chinese medicine under the name feng yan cao, meaning "herbal phoenix eye". They are used as a hemostatic agent, spermatorrhea and for treating patients with blood in their feces or urine. It was clinically shown to be able to treat trichomoniasis, a vaginal infection caused by the protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis.
Ailanthus altissima has potent anti-anaphylactic and anti-inflammatory properties.
Chinese galls are used in Chinese medicine to treat coughs, diarrhea, night sweats, dysentery and to stop intestinal and uterine bleeding.
Rhus chinensis compounds possess strong antiviral, antibacterial, anticancer, hepatoprotective, antidiarrheal and antioxidant activities. The gall of Rhus chinensis, Galla chinensi, has long been considered to possess many medicinal properties.
There is even some evidence that Tree of Heaven can kill tumors, and a derivative of a chemical in the root has been patented for that use.
A study on the website for the National Institute of Health documents antimicrobial effects in the bark and fruits of the plant. A study by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis showed the plant can kill drug-resistant malaria.
The root bark of this plant is a natural antibiotic used around the world to treat malaria and kill parasitic worms.
History
In addition to the tree of heaven's various uses, it has also been a part of Chinese culture for many centuries and has more recently attained a similar status in the west. Within the oldest extant Chinese dictionary, the Erya, written in the 3rd century BC, the tree of heaven is mentioned second among a list of trees. It was mentioned again in a materia medica compiled during the Tang dynasty in 656 AD.
BACKGROUND
Tree-of-heaven was first introduced to America by a gardener in Philadelphia, PA, in 1784, and by 1840 was commonly available from nurseries. The species was also brought into California mainly by the Chinese who came to California during the goldrush in the mid-1800s. Today it is frequently found in abandoned mining sites there. The history of ailanthus in China is as old as the written language of the country.
BIOLOGY & SPREAD
Tree-of-heaven reproduces both sexually (by seeds) and asexually through vegetative sprouting. Flowering occurs late in the spring. Ailanthus is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. The fruits, or samaras, occur in terminal clusters on female plants during the summer, and may persist on the tree through the winter. One study reports that an individual tree can produce as many as 325,000 seeds per year. Established trees also produce numerous suckers from the roots and resprout vigorously from cut stumps and root fragments.
Good for Forestation and Medicine It is drought-hardy.
So these trees are useful fore forestation areas.Survives drought well.
A. altissima is native to northern and central China, Taiwan and northern Korea.In Taiwan it is present as var. takanai. In China it is native to every province except Gansu, Heilongjiang, Hainan, Jilin, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Tibet.
The tree prefers moist and loamy soils, but is adaptable to a very wide range of soil conditions and pH values. It is drought-hardy, but not tolerant of flooding. It also does not tolerate deep shade. In China it is often found in limestone-rich areas.
The tree of heaven is found within a wide range of climatic conditions. In its native range it is found at high altitudes in Taiwan as well as lower ones in mainland China.
In the U.S. it is found in arid regions bordering the Great Plains, very wet regions in the southern Appalachians, cold areas of the lower Rocky Mountains and throughout much of the California Central Valley. Prolonged cold and snow cover cause dieback, though the trees re-sprout from the roots.
The tree of heaven is a very rapidly growing tree, possibly the fastest growing tree in North America.
Grows anywhere, in any soil, with any amount of water and care. Profuse suckers, or water roots. Often found in ruined gardens and on the sites of abandoned towns. Up to 30 feet tall, spreading to 20 feet.
Blog 157 -365
Rhus chinensis, the Chinese sumac or nutgall tree, is a plant species in the genus Rhus. The species is used to produce galls, called Chinese gall,
Other scientific names: Ailanthus glandulosus, Ailanthus peregrina, Toxicodendron altissimum
French names: Ailante glanduleux, paradise-tree, and copal-tree
The
tree of heaven is a rapidly growing deciduous tree with pale gray bark,
light brown twigs and large pinnately compound leaves. It is native to
China and was brought to the United States in the late 1700's as a
horticultural specimen and shade tree. Its ease of establishment, rapid
growth and absence of insect or disease problems made it popular when
planning urban landscaping. - See more at:
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/indiana/journeywithnature/tree-of-heaven-1.xml#sthash.okMp5pBl.dpuf
The
tree of heaven is a rapidly growing deciduous tree with pale gray bark,
light brown twigs and large pinnately compound leaves. It is native to
China and was brought to the United States in the late 1700's as a
horticultural specimen and shade tree. Its ease of establishment, rapid
growth and absence of insect or disease problems made it popular when
planning urban landscaping. - See more at:
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/indiana/journeywithnature/tree-of-heaven-1.xml#sthash.okMp5pBl.dpuf
The
tree of heaven is a rapidly growing deciduous tree with pale gray bark,
light brown twigs and large pinnately compound leaves. It is native to
China and was brought to the United States in the late 1700's as a
horticultural specimen and shade tree. Its ease of establishment, rapid
growth and absence of insect or disease problems made it popular when
planning urban landscaping. - See more at:
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/indiana/journeywithnature/tree-of-heaven-1.xml#sthash.okMp5pBl.dpu
The
tree of heaven is a rapidly growing deciduous tree with pale gray bark,
light brown twigs and large pinnately compound leaves. It is native to
China and was brought to the United States in the late 1700's as a
horticultural specimen and shade tree. Its ease of establishment, rapid
growth and absence of insect or disease problems made it popular when
planning urban landscaping. - See more at:
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/indiana/journeywithnature/tree-of-heaven-1.xml#sthash.okMp5pBl.dpuf
The species is used to produce galls, called Chinese gall. which are rich in gallotannins, a type of hydrolysable tannins. Medicinal Uses
Nearly every part of the tree has some application in Chinese traditional medicine. One of the oldest recipes, recorded in a work from 732 AD, is used for treating mental illness. It involved chopped root material, young boys' urine and douchi. After sitting for a day the liquid was strained out and given to the patient over the course of several days.
Douchi is a type of fermented and salted soybean. In English it is known simply as "black bean", and is also called fermented black soybeans, Chinese fermented black beans.
Another source from 684 AD, during the Tang dynasty and recorded in Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica, states that when the leaves are taken internally, they make one incoherent and sleepy, while when used externally they can be effectively used to treat boils, abscesses and itches.
Yet another recipe recorded by Li uses the leaves to treat baldness. This formula calls for young leaves of ailanthus, catalpa and peach tree to be crushed together and the resulting liquid applied to the scalp to stimulate hair growth.
The dried bark, however, is still an officinal drug and is listed in the modern Chinese materia medica as chun bai pi , meaning "white bark of spring"
It is prepared by felling the tree in fall or spring, stripping the bark and then scraping off the hardest, outermost portion, which is then sun-dried, soaked in water, partially re-dried in a basket and finally cut into strips. The bark is said to have cooling and astringent properties and is primarily used to treat dysentery, intestinal hemorrhage, menorrhagia and spermatorrhea. It is only prescribed in amounts between 4 and 10 grams, so as not to poison the patients.
A tincture of the root-bark has been used successfully in treating cardiac palpitation, asthma and epilepsy. Tincture1:2 ratio of chopped bark to alcohol (70% strength), using more alcohol if the roots are dried first.
You can make your own folk medicine out of Tree of Heaven using the fresh or dried inner bark or root bark or you can make a cold tea out of the winged fruit or root bark.
Li's Compendium has 18 recipes that call for the bark. Asian and European chemists have found some justification for its medical use as it contains a long list of active chemicals that include quassin and saponin, while ailanthone, the allelopathic chemical in the tree of heaven, is a known antimalarial agent.
The samaras are also used in modern Chinese medicine under the name feng yan cao, meaning "herbal phoenix eye". They are used as a hemostatic agent, spermatorrhea and for treating patients with blood in their feces or urine. It was clinically shown to be able to treat trichomoniasis, a vaginal infection caused by the protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis.
Ailanthus altissima has potent anti-anaphylactic and anti-inflammatory properties.
Chinese galls are used in Chinese medicine to treat coughs, diarrhea, night sweats, dysentery and to stop intestinal and uterine bleeding.Rhus chinensis compounds possess strong antiviral, antibacterial, anticancer, hepatoprotective, antidiarrheal and antioxidant activities. The gall of Rhus chinensis, Galla chinensi, has long been considered to possess many medicinal properties.
There is even some evidence that Tree of Heaven can kill tumors, and a derivative of a chemical in the root has been patented for that use.
A study on the website for the National Institute of Health documents antimicrobial effects in the bark and fruits of the plant. A study by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis showed the plant can kill drug-resistant malaria.
The root bark of this plant is a natural antibiotic used around the world to treat malaria and kill parasitic worms.
History
In addition to the tree of heaven's various uses, it has also been a part of Chinese culture for many centuries and has more recently attained a similar status in the west. Within the oldest extant Chinese dictionary, the Erya, written in the 3rd century BC, the tree of heaven is mentioned second among a list of trees. It was mentioned again in a materia medica compiled during the Tang dynasty in 656 AD.
BACKGROUND
Tree-of-heaven was first introduced to America by a gardener in Philadelphia, PA, in 1784, and by 1840 was commonly available from nurseries. The species was also brought into California mainly by the Chinese who came to California during the goldrush in the mid-1800s. Today it is frequently found in abandoned mining sites there. The history of ailanthus in China is as old as the written language of the country.
BIOLOGY & SPREAD
Tree-of-heaven reproduces both sexually (by seeds) and asexually through vegetative sprouting. Flowering occurs late in the spring. Ailanthus is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. The fruits, or samaras, occur in terminal clusters on female plants during the summer, and may persist on the tree through the winter. One study reports that an individual tree can produce as many as 325,000 seeds per year. Established trees also produce numerous suckers from the roots and resprout vigorously from cut stumps and root fragments.
Good for Forestation and Medicine It is drought-hardy.
So these trees are useful fore forestation areas.Survives drought well.
A. altissima is native to northern and central China, Taiwan and northern Korea.In Taiwan it is present as var. takanai. In China it is native to every province except Gansu, Heilongjiang, Hainan, Jilin, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Tibet.
The tree prefers moist and loamy soils, but is adaptable to a very wide range of soil conditions and pH values. It is drought-hardy, but not tolerant of flooding. It also does not tolerate deep shade. In China it is often found in limestone-rich areas.
The tree of heaven is found within a wide range of climatic conditions. In its native range it is found at high altitudes in Taiwan as well as lower ones in mainland China.
In the U.S. it is found in arid regions bordering the Great Plains, very wet regions in the southern Appalachians, cold areas of the lower Rocky Mountains and throughout much of the California Central Valley. Prolonged cold and snow cover cause dieback, though the trees re-sprout from the roots.
The tree of heaven is a very rapidly growing tree, possibly the fastest growing tree in North America.
Grows anywhere, in any soil, with any amount of water and care. Profuse suckers, or water roots. Often found in ruined gardens and on the sites of abandoned towns. Up to 30 feet tall, spreading to 20 feet.
