Cercis Canadensis, Redbud
This is another tree with little recorded herbal use, but it is an extremely valuable part of the landscape. It is a beautiful ornamental, an edible, a nitrogen fixing fertilizer and medicinal. Redbud is usually the first flowering tree to appear in the spring, often a month before the similarly sized Dogwood. Its bright, magenta flowers stand out in stark contrast to both the barren landscape and its own dark trunk. Unlike most other trees and bushes, the flowers are not only born on the ends of twigs and stems, but clusters of flowers appear all over the limbs and even the trunk of the tree!
The flowers are a nutritious edible, tasting much like garden peas. In earlier times, this part of spring was known as “the hunger season.” It was the time when the winter store of food was dwindling, if not exhausted, but the garden was not yet producing. Who knows how many lives the Redbud may have saved? Who knows how many cases of vitamin deficiency it may have prevented? The deer certainly know this, as they will walk upright, on their hind legs, eating as many of the lower flowers as they can reach!
Redbud is one of the few trees in the legume family, as evidenced by the bean like pods that hang dry on its branches all winter. Legumes have a remarkably important characteristic – they take nitrogen from the air and “fix” it in the soil. The tens of thousands of members of the legume family – beans, peas, peanuts, locust and mimosa trees, wisteria, kudzu, etc., are not only “self fertile” in terms of providing their own nutrition, but provide nitrogen for all manner of plant growth. Having Redbuds in your landscape will help fertilize your property, saving you money and effort and giving you food, herbs and flowers. They are trees that require little to no maintenance. If ever there was a “giving tree”, Redbud is one!
Medicinally, the bark is astringent with the inner bark said to be most potent. A tea made from the bark is used for fevers and diarrhea. It has also been used in folk medicine for coughs and congestion.
Beyond that, the bees LOVE it! Legend states that Redbud was the tree on which Judas hanged himself after betraying Christ. I doubt that very much though, as it is not a large tree and the limbs are not very strong. A folk name though is still, “Judas Tree.”
Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests states:
REDBUD; JUDAS TEEE, {Cercis canadensis, Ij.) Swamps vicinity of Charleston ; collected in St. John's; N. C. Fl. March. Shec, Flora Carol. 380. " The wood is of great value for mechanical purposes, as it polishes exceedingly well, and is admirably veined with black and green." Mills, in his Statistics of S. C, states that the blossoms are used as a salad. Pithecolobium ungiiis-cati, Benth. Inga U7iquis-cati, Willd. S. Fla. Chap. Said to be a good remedy in urinary complaints and obstruction of the liver and spleen; a decoction of the bark is very astringent. Macfadyen.
Peterson Field Guides Eastern and Central Medicinal Plants tells us:
Inner bark tea highly astringent. An obscure medicinal agent once used for diarrhea and dysentery; also as a folk cancer remedy for leukemia. Flowers edible.
Chamaecyparis thyoides, Atlantic Whitecedar
We only have one variety of Chamaecyparis in my region. It grows down in the coastal swamps and up into the sandhills. It is not a common tree, but it was one with which I became familiar in Bladen County, NC, where my grandparents, great grandparents (etc) lived and farmed. Interestingly, “Whitecedar” is not really a cedar; it is a cypress. Although it was very likely used medicinally by Native American tribes in the area, I have not found any documentation.
Chamaecyparis has been used medicinally in other regions. Plants for A Future lists Chamaecyparis thyoides, or White Cypress as, “A decoction of the leaves has been used as a herbal steam for treating headaches and backaches. A poultice made from the crushed leaves and bark has been applied to the head to treat headaches.” It also states that a decoction of the sap from the Lawson Cypress is a powerful diuretic. Of the Nootka Cypress: The plant has been used in sweat baths for treating rheumatism and arthritis. An infusion of the branch tips has been used as a wash for sores and swellings. A poultice of the crushed leaves has been applied to sores. The soft bark has been used as a cover for poultices.
This article is an excerpt from The Medicinal Trees of the American South, An Herbalist's Guide: by Judson Carroll
His New book is:
Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast An Herbalist's Guide
Read About Growing Your Survival Herb Garden for Preppers, Homesteaders and Everyone Else: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/06/medicinal-shrubs-and-woody-vines-of.html
Available for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2T4Y5L6
His other works include:
Growing Your Survival Herb Garden for Preppers, Homesteaders and Everyone Else
Read About Growing Your Survival Herb Garden for Preppers, Homesteaders and Everyone Else: http://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/04/growing-your-survival-herb-garden-for.html
Available for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X4LYV9R
The Encyclopedia of Bitter Medicinal Herbs:
southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-encyclopedia-of-bitter-medicina.html
Available for purchase on Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B09V3WCJM5
Christian Medicine, History and Practice:
https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/01/christian-herbal-medicine-history-and.html
Available for purchase on Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B09P7RNCTB
Herbal Medicine for Preppers, Homesteaders and Permaculture People
southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2021/10/herbal-medicine-for-preppers.html
Also available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HMWXL25
Look Up: The Medicinal Trees of the American South, An Herbalist's Guide
http:///www.amazon.com/dp/1005082936
The Herbs and Weeds of Fr. Johannes Künzle:
https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2021/05/announcing-new-book-herbs-and-weeds-of.html
Author: Judson Carroll. Judson Carroll is an Herbalist from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
His weekly articles may be read at judsoncarroll.com
His weekly podcast may be heard at: www.spreaker.com/show/southern-appalachian-herbs
He offers free, weekly herb classes: https://rumble.com/c/c-618325
Disclaimer
The information on this site is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing on this site has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I am not a doctor. The US government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and their is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm just a guy who studies herbs. I am not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write is accurate or true! I can tell you what herbs have "traditionally been used for." I can tell you my own experience and if I believe an herb helped me. I cannot, nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use any herb I, or anyone else, mentions you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, sensitivity or underlying condition that no one else shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to read my blog you agree to be responsible for yourself, do your own research, make your own choices and not to blame me for anything, ever.
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