Sixty-three varieties of Pine have been found useful in Herbal
Medicine!!!!
Pinus
albicaulis - White-Bark Pine, Pinus aristata - Bristle-Cone Pine,
Pinus armandii - Chinese White Pine, Pinus ayacahuite - Mexican White
Pine, Pinus banksiana - Jack Pine, Pinus bungeana - Lace-Bark Pine,
Pinus californiarum, Pinus cembra - Swiss Stone Pine, Pinus cembra
sibirica - Siberian Pine, Pinus cembroides - Mexican Pine Nut, Pinus
cembroides orizabensis - Mexican Pine Nut, Pinus contorta - Beach
Pine, Pinus contorta latifolia - Lodgepole Pine, Pinus coulteri -
Big-Cone Pine, Pinus culminicola - Cerro Potosi Pinyon, Pinus
densiflora - Japanese Red Pine, Pinus discolor, Pinus edulis - Rocky
Mountain Pinon, Pinus echinata - Short-Leaf Pine, Pinus flexilis -
Limber Pine, Pinus gerardiana - Chilghoza Pine, Pinus halepensis -
Aleppo Pine, Pinus henryi Synonym: Pinus tabuliformis henryi, Pinus
jeffreyi - Jeffrey Pine, Pinus johannis, Pinus koraiensis - Korean
Nut Pine, Pinus lambertiana - Sugar Pine, Pinus leiophylla -
Smooth-Leaf Pine, Pinus massoniana - Chinese Red Pine, Pinus
monophylla - Single Leaf Pinon, Pinus montezumae - Montezuma Pine,
Pinus monticola - Western White Pine, Pinus mugo - Dwarf Mountain
Pine, Pinus muricata - Bishop's Pine, Pinus nelsonii, Pinus nigra -
Austrian Pine, Pinus nigra laricio - Corsican Pine, Pinus palustris
– Pitne, Pinus parviflora - Japanese White Pine, Pinus patula -
Mexican Weeping Pine, Pinus pinaster - Maritime Pine, Pinus pinea -
Italian Stone Pine, Pinus ponderosa - Ponderosa Pine, Pinus pumila -
Dwarf Siberian Pine, Pinus pungens - Prickle Pine, Pinus quadrifolia
- Parry Pinon, Pinus radiata - Monterey Pine, Pinus remota -
Paper-Shell Pinon, Pinus resinosa - Red Pine, Pinus rigida - Northern
Pitch Pine, Pinus roxburghii - Chir Pine, Pinus sabiniana - Digger
Pine, Pinus serotina - Pond Pine, Pinus strobiformis - Southwestern
White Pine, Pinus strobus - White Pine, Pinus sylvestris - Scot's
Pine, Pinus tabuliformis - Chinese Red Pine, Pinus taeda - Loblolly
Pine, Pinus teocote - Twisted Leaf Pine, Pinus thunbergii - Japanese
Black Pine, Pinus torreyana - Soledad Pine, Pinus veitchii, Pinus
virginiana - Scrub Pine, Pinus wallichiana - Himalayan Blue Pine
Only
eight Pines are native to my region: Pinus echinata (Shortleaf Pine),
Pinus palustris (Longleaf Pine), Pinus pungens (Table Mountain Pine),
Pinus rigida (Pitch Pine), Pinus serotina (Pond Pine), Pinus strobus
(Eastern White Pine), Pinus taeda (Loblolly Pine), Pinus virginiana
(Virginia Pine). Naturalized Pines include: Pinus clausa (Sand
Pine), Pinus elliottii var. elliottii (Slash Pine), Pinus pinaster
(Maritime Pine), Pinus resinosa (Red Pine), Pinus thunbergiana
(Japanese Black Pine)
The
state of my birth, North Carolina, is known as “The land of the
longleaf pine” although, the loblolly is far more common. It was
the Pine that was the backbone of the early economy of the Carolinas.
The Pine tar industry was essential for ship building and is why
North Carolinians were called “Tar heels”. Pines are strongly
medicinal and are excellent first aid. The virtues of turpentine,
made from Pine are well known and have been in our medicine cabinets
for centuries. I recently taught a class, entitled Four Ways Pines
Can Save Your Life. My points were:
1)
The Pine is among our most edible trees. It has been said that every
part of the pine can be eaten… but, that would take a desperate
effort.
2)
Pine pitch can stop bleeding and disinfect a wound.
3)
Pine needle tea or wine can prevent a sore throat from becoming
life-threateningly severe, can help break a fever and is good against
viruses and other infections.
4)
Inhaling the vapors from immature male pollen cone can lower blood
pressure and heartrate and help stop an asthma attack.
Dioscorides
wrote extensively on the medical uses of Pine, below is a brief
selection out of around 100 mentions:
PITUS,
PEUKE
SUGGESTED:
Pinus rigida, Peuce [Pliny] — Pitch Pine
Pin,
Pinus, Pinus pinea, Pinus sativa — Italian Stone Pine
Pitys
is a well-known tree. There is another similar tree called peuce
which differs in shape. The bark of both of them is astringent.
Pounded into small pieces and a poultice then made of it, it is good
with sediment [of wine] and manna [exudation of trees] for chafing,
dermatitis, superficial ulcers and for burns. Taken with myrica wax
ointment it brings boils to a scar in those with tender skin; and
pounded into small pieces with blacking from a shoemaker it represses
serpentia [snakebite]. It expels the birth and afterbirth out of the
uterus taken asinhalations (smoke, fumes); and taken as a drink it
stops discharges of the intestines and encourages urine. Their leaves
pounded into small pieces and made into a poultice lessen
inflammation and keep wounds from being inflamed. Pounded into small
pieces and boiled in vinegar they lessen toothache when [the teeth
are] washed with the warm liquid. One teaspoon of the leaves (taken
as a drink with water, or honey and water) is good for liver
disorders. The bark from the cones and the split leaves (taken in a
drink) are good for the same purposes. A toeda [a piece of the heart
of the tree] cut in small pieces in a decoction boiled with vinegar
and held in to a tooth that suffers, lessens toothache. A paste is
made from them suitable for preparations for enemas and
suppositories. When they are burning a soot is taken, good to make
writing ink, and good also to be put in medicines for the eyelids. It
is also good for erosions at the corners of the eyes, weeping eyes
and bald eyelids.
PITUIDES
SUGGESTED:
Pinus rigida, Peuce — Pitch Pine
Pinus
mughus, Pinus nigra, Pinus maritima — Pineseeds, Pine
Pityides
are the fruit of the pines [and of the pinus picea] found in the
cones. They are astringent and somewhat warming. They help coughs and
disorders of the chest taken either by themselves or with honey.
STROBILOI
SUGGESTED:
Pinus mughus, Pinus nigra,
Pinus
maritima, Pinus pinea, Pinus rigida — Pine Cones
Fir
cones cleaned and eaten or taken in a drink with passum [raisin wine]
and cucumber seed are diuretic, and dull irritations of the bladder
and kidneys. They also lessen rosiones [gnawing corrosion] of the
stomach. Taken with juice of purslane they strengthen infirmity of
the body, and dull the infection of fluids. Fir cones gathered whole
from the trees, pounded while they are fresh, and boiled in passum
[raisin wine] are good for old coughs and consumptive wasting if
three cups of this liquid is taken every day.
Gerard
wrote of the virtues of the Pine:
A.
The kernels of these nuts do concoct and moderately heat, being in a
mean between cold and hot: it maketh the rough parts smooth; it is a
remedy against an old cough, and long infirmities of the chest, being
taken by itself or with honey, or else with some other licking thing.
B.
It cureth the phthisic, and those that pine and consume away through
the rottenness of their lungs: it recovereth strength; it nourisheth
and is restorative to the body. It yieldeth a thick and good juice,
and nourisheth much, yet is it not altogether easy of digestion, and
therefore it is mixed with preserves, or boiled with sugar.
C.
The same is good for the stone in the kidneys, and against frettings
of the bladder, and scalding of the urine, for it allayeth the
sharpness, mitigateth pain, and gently provoketh urine: moreover, it
increaseth milk and seed, and therefore it also provoketh fleshly
lust.
D.
The whole Cone or Apple being boiled with fresh Horehound, saith
Galen, and afterwards boiled again with a little honey till the
decoction be come to the thickness of honey, maketh an excellent
medicine for the cleansing of the chest and lungs.
E.
The like thing hath Dioscorides; the whole cones, saith he, which are
newly gathered from the trees, broken and boiled in sweet wine are
good for an old cough, and consumption of the lungs, if a good
draught of that liquor be drunk every day.
F.
The scales of the Pine apple, with the bark of the tree, do stop the
lask and the bloody flux, they provoke urine; and the decoction of
the same hath the like property.
Mrs.
Grieves preferred the White pine for medicinal value, as doI:
“Medicinal Action and Uses---Expectorant, demulcent, diuretic, a
useful remedy in coughs and colds, having a beneficial effect on the
bladder and kidneys.” I would caution though, that pine can
irritate the kidneys with prolonged use or in large amounts.
An
Irish Herbal states:
The
bark, eaves and cones are of a dry, astringent nature. They stop
diarrhea and dysentery and provoke urine. Boiled in vinegar, the
leaves alleviate toothache. The kernels of the pine apples are
beneficial for the lungs, kidneys, liver and spleen. They loosen
phlegm and are good for consumptive cough.
Fr.
Kneipp recommended a bath of Pine:
The
pine-sprig bath. It is prepared as follow : The sprigs (the fresher
the better), small branches, even very resinous pine-cones, all cut
in pieces, are thrown into hot water and boiled for half an hour ,
the rest as above said. This bath, too, is of good effect against
diseases of the kidneys and bladder, but not so strong as the bath of
oat-straw. Its chief effect is on the skin, which is brought to
activity by it, and on the interior vessels which it strengthens.
This fragrant and strengthening bath, is the proper bath for more
aged people.
Brother
Aloysius wrote of Larch Pine:
A
fungus, called larch fungus, grows all over the trunk of old larch
trees. The white, loose substance within the fungus, is very useful
in curbing excessive perspiration of consumptives if given every
evening in a dose of ½ to 1 gram. A dose of 2 to 4 grams has a
purgative action.
Resources
of the Southern Fields and Forests states:
This
tree shoots up into a straight shaft, devoid of branches sometimes
for fifty or sixty feet; the heart is very durable, and the wood is
employed for almost every purpose. It is, indeed, one of the great
gifts of God to man, for it furnishes to every one an abundant
material for fuel, fire, warmth and light. The forests of pine are
not only useful but beautiful. The characteristic moan of the winds
through their branches, their funereal aspect, almost limitless
extent, and the health-giving influences which attend their presence,
all contribute to make the pine an object of peculiar interest to the
people of the Southern States. The terebinthinate odor of the tree,
somaelectrical influence of its long, spear-like leaves, a certain
modification of " ozone," (an allotropic condition of
oxygen, according to Faraday,) are severally esteemed to modify the
atmosphere and diminish the effects of malaria. They also create a
mechanical barrier to the ingress of malaria, and hence the pine land
residences, though condemned for their sterile aspect, have proved a
blessing to the Southern planters in affording a comparatively safe
refuge from the unhealthy emanations of the neighboring plantations.
I need not describe the processes for making Tar. It is a very
compound substance, (see Rural Cyc.,) and contains modified resin,
oil of turpentine, empyreumatic oil, acetic acid, charcoal and water,
and when inspissated by boiling is converted into pitch. It is
extensively used in the cordage, caulking and sheathing of ships, to
preserve them from the weather. It is of great service in many of the
arts and medicinal usages connected with agriculture. I will add what
Wilson states of its economical employment, as it may be made of
great service on our plantations and in veterinary medicine. It
serves well as a paint to coarse kinds of boarding and paling but is
improved in its use by the addition of tallow or other coarse fat. It
is applied as a covering to cuts on animals, and to parts affected by
the fly. It serves, either alone or in combination with some fatty
substance, to defend the sore or diseased feet of cattle from being
further injured by wet or abrasion ; when spread upon coarse cloth it
is a prime covering for broken horns, and makes an excellent
application to various kinds of wounds and punctures in cattle. It is
given internally to horses as a remedy for cough; also as a detergent
and local remedy for scaly and eruptive diseases. Rural Cyc. It is
used to cover the lower surface of posts to prevent their rotting,
and grain soaked in it is not eaten by birds. Tar water was formerly
much used in medicine, but at present wood naphtha and pyroligneous
acid, etc., are commonly employed. The buds of the pine or the inside
barks steeped in water is a favorite domestic remedy on our
plantations for colds and coughs. Bits of fat pine steeped, in gin
are also used. A decoction of the inside bark is given daily as a
remedy in chronic diarrhea. Pills of resin are often employed as a
simple diuretic. Resin also enters into the composition of
strengthening plasters. Wilson, in his Rural Cyc, articles "Fuel"
and "Charcoal," gives the best mode of preparation,
including the quality and yield of several trees. See Salix, in this
volume, for manufacture of charcoal. The chief consumption of
charcoal is as fuel. It is also employed as a tooth powder and to
purify tainted meat. No mode of preparation for the first of these
objects is at all necessary, and for the two last it must merely be
reduced to a fine powder. It forms a part of all reducing fluxes. It
is the basis of most black paints and varnishes. It is used to polish
brass and copper, and is an excellent clarifier. It is used in
farriery, in combination with linseed meal, as an anti-septic
cataplasm for foul and fetid ulcers. Powdered charcoal must be heated
to redness in a covered crucible, with an opening in the middle of
the cover, and kept in that state till no flame issues out; it must
then be withdrawn, allowed to cool, and then put into close vessels.
Whenever either wine, vinegar, or other fluid is to be clarified it
is simply to be mixed with the liquor; a froth appears at the
surface, and after filtration it is pure and colorless. Charcoal is
also used as a valuable manure, fully described in Wilson's Eural
Cyc. Charcoal and sand placed in the bottom of a barrel or hogshead
will purify water passed through it. (See Salix.) It is generally
believed that it will prevent contagion, yellow fever, etc., if taken
during the prevalence of an epidemic. It is also used as a mild
mechanical laxative in dyspepsia with foul stomach. See medical
authors. Its power of absorbing gases and vapors is well known.
Euell
Gibbons tells us:
Dried
white pine bark is still a valuable ingredient in cough remedies. It
is an official drug in the US Pharmacopoeia, The National Formulary
and the US Dispensatory. Its medicinal properties are expectorant
and diuretic. It is most often prescribed in the title role of
Compound White Pine Syrup, or, as a doctor would write it on your
prescription, Syrupus Pini Albae Compositus. This is a real herbal
mixture and a good illustration of the fact that modern medicine does
not disdain remedies if they are effective. This compound contains,
not only white pine bark, but wild cherry, spikenard, poplar buds,
bloodroot, sassafras root bark and Amaranth.
Unfortunately,
while Gibbons’ statement was true when he wrote Stalking The
Healthful Herbs in 1966, such is no longer the case. Pharmacists
rarely compound medicines these days, as the pharmaceutical industry
has become far more powerful and influential. Chemicals have
replaced herbs or “crude drugs” as they were called then… and,
extremely flawed, even fraudulent, studies prohibit the sale of
sassafras.
Plants
for A Future States of our native Pines:
Medicinal
use of Loblolly Pine, Pitch Pine, Prickle Pine, Pond Pine, Loblolly
Pine, Scrub Pine and Short Leaf Pine: The turpentine obtained from
the resin of all pine trees is antiseptic, diuretic, rubefacient and
vermifuge. It is a valuable remedy used internally in the treatment
of kidney and bladder complaints and is used both internally and as a
rub and steam bath in the treatment of rheumatic affections. It is
also very beneficial to the respiratory system and so is useful in
treating diseases of the mucous membranes and respiratory complaints
such as coughs, colds, influenza and TB. Externally it is a very
beneficial treatment for a variety of skin complaints, wounds, sores,
burns, boils etc and is used in the form of liniment plasters,
poultices, herbal steam baths and inhalers.
Medicinal
use of White Pine: White pine was employed medicinally by several
native North American Indian tribes who valued it especially for its
antiseptic and vulnerary qualities, using it extensively in the
treatment of skin complaints, wounds, burns, boils etc. It is also
very beneficial to the respiratory system and so was used in treating
coughs, colds, influenza and so on. The turpentine obtained from the
resin of all pine trees is antiseptic, diuretic, rubefacient and
vermifuge. It is a valuable remedy used internally in the treatment
of kidney and bladder complaints and is used both internally and as a
rub and steam bath in the treatment of rheumatic affections. It is
also very beneficial to the respiratory system and so is useful in
treating diseases of the mucous membranes and respiratory complaints
such as coughs, colds, influenza and TB. Externally it is a very
beneficial treatment for a variety of skin complaints, wounds, sores,
burns, boils etc and is used in the form of liniment plasters,
poultices, herbal steam baths and inhalers. A poultice of pitch has
been used to draw out toxins from boils and reduce the pain. The
dried inner bark is demulcent, diuretic and expectorant. An infusion
was used as a treatment for colds and it is still used as an
ingredient in commercial cough syrups, where it serves to promote the
expulsion of phlegm. A poultice made from the pounded inner bark is
used to treat cuts, sores and wounds. The wetted inner bark can be
used as a poultice on the chest in treating strong colds. The dried
inner bark contains 10% tannin, some mucilage, an oleoresin, a
glycoside and a volatile oil. A tea made from the young needles is
used to treat sore throats. It is a good source of vitamin C and so
is effective against scurvy. An infusion of the young twigs has been
used in the treatment of kidney disorders and pulmonary complaints.
The powdered wood has been used as a dressing on babies chaffed skin,
sores and improperly healed navels.
Sacred
and Healing Herbal Beers tells us:
Pine
needles are strongly antiscorbutic and impart a pleasing taste to
tea. They also posses expectorant, diuretic and antiseptic activity
as well. The resin is the most strongly expectorant element of the
plant, for this purpose and amount about the size of a raisin is
chewed and swallowed. Pine helps soften bronchial mucous and move it
out of the system through expectoration. In any condition where the
lungs are congested without fruitful expectoration, it is useful. As
a diuretic and antiseptic, it is useful for urinary tract infections.
Pine is strong, and as a result, it is easy to take too much, which
can aggravate active kidney and urethral inflammation. The bark is
fairly high in tannins and mucilaginous constituents. These,
combines with its antibacterial activity make it a highly useful herb
for external wound poultices, as it will help stop bleeding, help
damaged tissue bind together, soothe inflamed tissues and help
prevent infection. These same actions make it useful in stomach
ulceration and especially in cough syrups for upper respiratory
infections…. In traditional medicinal herbalism, pine bark or resin
has been used as a stimulant, laxative, expectorant, diuretic,
pectoral, vermifuge, detergent, balsamic and vulnerary. Indigenous
practice has used it frequently for colds and flus, sore throats,
stubborn wounds, sores or ulcers, inflammations and rheumatism. It
was one of the most important herbal medicines for the Menominee
Indians of North America.
Peterson
Field Guides Eastern and Central Medicinal Plants tells us pine
Shortleaf
Pine: American Indians used the inner bark end tea to induce
vomiting called tea of buds once used as a worm experiment pitched he
used as a laxative for tuberculosis also for kidney elements causing
backaches.
Longleaf
pine: turpentine derived from sap formally used for colic’ chronic
diarrhea, worms, to arrest bleeding from tooth sockets. Rubefacient.
Folk remedy from abdominal tumors.
White
pine: used extensively by American Indians. Pitch poultice to draw
out boils abscesses also for rheumatism broken bones cuts bruises
sores felons and inflammations. Twig tea usd for kidney an lung
ailments; emetic. Bark and or leaf tea used for colds coughs gripe
sore throats lung ailments, poultice for headaches backaches, etc.
Inner bark formerly used in cough syrups.
Botany
In a Day states:
Medicinally,
the Pines are quite resinous and aromatic; the tea is useful as an
expectorant but can irritate the kidneys. It is reported that the
needles of some Pines cause abortion in cattle, so caution is advised
here. Externally, the resin has a disinfectant quality, like Pinesol.
The bark of some species contains powerful antioxidants.
The
Physicians’ Desk Reference for Herbal Medicine tells us:
Pine
shoots indications in usage, approved by Commission E: blood pressure
problems, common cold, cough/bronchitis, fevers and colds,
inflammation of the mouth and pharynx, neuralgia's, tendency to
infection. Pine shoots are used internally for catarrh, conditions of
the upper and lower respiratory tract. Externally it is used for
mild muscular pain and neuralgia, coughs, an acute bronchial diseases
and topically for nasal congestion hoarseness. Pine oil, approved by
Commission E: common cold, coughs/bronchitis, fevers and colds,
inflammation of the mouth and pharynx, neuralgias, rheumatism,
tendency to infection. The essential oil is used internally and
externally for congestive diseases of the upper lower respiratory
tract. Externally it is used for rheumatic and neuralgic ailments.
Turpentine oil purified, approved by Commission E: cough bronchitis,
inflammation the mouth and pharynx, rheumatism. Purified turpentine
oil is used internally and externally for chronic diseases of the
bronchi with profuse secretions it is used externally for rheumatic
and neuralgic ailments. Unproven uses: folk medicine use includes
bladder catarrh, gallstones, and phosphorus poisoning.
This article is an excerpt from The Medicinal Trees of the American South, An Herbalist's Guide: by Judson Carroll
His New book is:
Read About:
Medicinal Ferns and Fern Allies, an Herbalist's Guide
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Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast An Herbalist's Guide
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The Herbs and Weeds of Fr. Johannes Künzle:
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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
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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.
