Effect:
pain-relieving
Areas of application:
Diarrhea, soothes stomach muscles, relieves indigestion, fever, pain, headaches, arthritis pain, insect bites, poison oak rash, eczema, rashes, skin irritations, bites, swelling, lice, scabies, mites, tuberculosis, lymph node problems, syphilis
Plant parts used:
dried bark, leaves
Collection time:
leaves in summer
bark in spring
To find:
In western North America, on rivers and swamp forests.
Ingredients:
Salicin
Miscellaneous:
The red alder is a deciduous, deciduous tree that grows between 20 and 35 meters high. Trees that grow in the forest have a band-shaped trunk that extends to a narrow and rounded crown, while trees that grow outdoors have a broad, conical crown and can be bushy. The broad, alternate leaves are grayish on the underside and light green on the upper side. They have an oval shape and pointed tips. The coarsely toothed edges curl downwards and are a distinctive feature. The veins form a ladder-like pattern. The flowers develop as female or male clusters. The female flowers sit on woody, brown cones, while the male flowers are long, drooping, reddish catkins. The egg-shaped female cones are almost 2.5 cm long and contain 50 to 100 seeds that look like narrow, winged nuts. The red alder blooms in February and March.
🛑 Fresh bark can cause vomiting and upset stomach.
In the kitchen, the kittens can be eaten raw or fresh, they are rich in proteins and nutrients.
The bark of the red alder contains a painkiller that works like aspirin.
Boiling the bark produced a reddish-yellow dye that was used by indigenous populations to dye fishing nets so that they were less visible in the water.