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Aceraceae -
Maple Family |
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Common & Scientific
Name |
Description |
Uses |
|
Striped
Maple
Acer pensylvanicum
|
Slender
tree, to 15ft; bark greenish, with white vertical stripes; leaves
3-lobed, finely double-toothed, up to 8" wide |
Native
Americans used inner-bark tea for colds, coughs, bronchitis, &
kidney infections; leaf & twig tea used both to allay or induce
nausea, & induce vomiting, depending on dosage |
|
Red
Maple
Acer rubrum
 |
Deciduous
tree that grows 20-40ft; bark smooth & gray when young; leaves
3-5 lobed, leaf sinuses v-shaped; twigs & buds reddish; fruit
small, reddish samara |
Commonly
called soft maple & sometimes wood used to make furniture |
|
Silver
Maple
Acer
saccharinum
 |
Deciduous
tree that grows ft; bark rough; leaves 5 lobed, toothed, & have
deep sinuses; fruit samara |
Fast
growing tree that was once used to line city streets, however,
it is very susceptible to breaking, so not used anymore. |
|
Sugar
Maple
Acer saccharum
 |
Deciduous
tree that grows 60-130ft; leaves green on both sides, 5-lobed with
rounded sinuses; buds sharp; fruits samaras |
Maple
syrup made from sap; New Englanders once drank sap as spring tonic;
Native Americans used inner-bark tea for coughs, diarrhea, &
blood purifier |
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Anacardiaceae - Cashew
Family |
|
Common & Scientific Name |
Description
|
Uses
|
Staghorn Sumac
Rhus typhina
 |
Shrub
or small tree, 4-15 ft; hairy twigs & leafstalks; fruits long-hairy,
red |
Berry
tea used for "female disorders" & lung ailments; leaf tea used
for sore throats & tonsillitis |
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Betulaceae - Birch
Family |
|
Common & Scientific Name |
Description
|
Uses
|
Smooth
Alder
Alnus serrulata
|
Shrub
to 15ft; leaves wedge-shaped, or slightly rounded at base, toothed,
wavy-edged; bark dark with few speckles |
Native
Americans used bark tea for diarrhea, coughs, toothaches, Poison
Ivy, & sore mouth |
|
Sweet/
Black Birch
Betula lenta
 |
Tree
to 70 ft.; alternate, simple, oval, toothed leaves; gray to black
bark with horizontal lenticels; bark, leaves & twigs have wintergreen
fragrance when broken |
Native
Americans used bark tea for fevers, stomachaches, lung problems;
Methyl salicylate, essential oil, made from bark & used for rheumatism,
gout, bladder infections; can be used as pain reliever for sore
muscles |
|
|
Ironwood/
Hophornbeam
Ostrya viriginiana
 |
Small
tree to 20ft; leaves narrow to broad ovate, margins sharply serrated,
3-5" long; catkins short, cylindrical, producing flattened oval
seed to 1" across with bristly hairs at base |
Native
Americans used bark decoction as blood builder, to bathe sore muscles,
rheumatism, & treatment for rectal cancer; inner bark used historically
to treat fevers & blood purifier for malaria |
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Caesalpinaceae -
Caesalpinia Family |
|
Common & Scientific Name |
Description
|
Uses
|
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Eastern
Redbud
Cercis canadensis
 |
Small
tree to 40ft; leaves heart-shaped, entire margins, 3-6"; flowers
red-purple, pea-like appearing before leaves; fruit a flat, pod-shaped,
inedible legume |
Inner
bark tea highly astringent; often planted as ornamental |
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Caprifoliaceae - Honeysuckle
Family |
|
Common & Scientific Name |
Description
|
Uses
|
Bush
Honeysuckle
Lonicera sp.
 |
Shrub; opposite,
simple, pubescent leaves |
Fruit is reportedly
cathartic & emetic, but may also be poisonous |
|
Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
 |
Shrub;
3-12ft.; opposite, compound leaves; fragrant white flowers in upright
clusters; purplish-black fruit in Fall. |
Astringent, diuretic,
promotes sweating, laxative. Inner bark used in pain killer. Crushed
leaves act as an insect repellant. |
