Healing Gardens

Body:

Cascara Sagrada

 

Family Name: Buckthorn (1:66; 4:27-28)

Family Name: Rhamnaceae (1:66)

 

 

Latin Name: Rhamnus purshiana (1:66; 5:90)

 

Common Names: Shittim also spelled Chittim, Wahoo, Sacred bark, Persian bark (1:66-68; 2:304; 3:69; 4:27-28)

 

Native American Names: None found

 

Related Species: Rhamnus californica, R. carthartica, R. frangula, R. pumila (1:66-68)

 

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Body System Affiliations: Digestive system

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Botanical Description:

Habit: Deciduous shrub or small tree/Perennial (1:66-68; 2:304; 3:69; 4:27-28; 5:90)

 

Size: 5-25 Ft. (1:66-68)

 

Leaves: Thin, oval; serrated edges, clearly veined; pointed at tip; underside is covered with fine hairs, alternate (1:66-68; 2:304; 4:27-28; 5:90).

 

Flowers: Little, greenish-yellow; grow in clusters (1:66-68; 4:27-28; 5:90).

 

Fruit: Small, round berries about ½ in. in width; turn from crimson to black when ripe; the flesh contains two or three tiny seeds (1:66-68; 3:69; 4:27-28; 5:90).

 

 

Bark: Reddish-grey; Cascara Sagrada means “sacred bark” in Spanish, the bark is widely used as a laxative (1:66-68; 2:304) Purplish-brown bark (3:69; 4:27-28).

 

Twigs: Harvested for bark (1:66-68; 2:304).

 

Personal Observation and Description: Cascara looks more like a small tree than a shrub. The leaves are oval and seem to hang towards the ground (may have something to do with the season). It is a delicate tree with many branches and a reddish tint to the bark.

 

 

 

Ecology:

Habitat: Cascara is common in heavily timbered forests, canyon walls, and moist, evergreen forests especially above 5000 Ft. (1:66-68; 2:304; 3:69; 4:27-28).

 

Range: Northern California to Alaska, west of the Cascades to the Rockies and central Idaho (1:66-68; 2:304; 4:27-28).

 

Western (European-American) Uses/Relationships:

Food: Cascara extract is used to flavor liqueurs, ice cream, some baked goods, and soft drinks. In California, the flowers are a source of honey (1:66-68). Not edible (4:27-28) Edible (5:90)

 

Materials/Technology: The bark can be used for dying wool shades of yellow, brown, and grey (1:66-68).

 

Medicine:

Part Used: Bark of limbs and trunk that has been aged for at least one year (1:66-68; 2:304; 3:69; 4:27-28).

 

Medicinal Actions: Laxative (bowel stimulant) (1:66-68; 2:304; 3:69; 4:27-28).

 

Indications: Constipation (1:66-68; 2:304).

 

Body System Associations: Digestive system (1:66-68).

 

Constituents: Two types of anthraquinone (a substance). The first, free anthraquinone, causes increased movement in the large intestine. The second type is a sugar derivative and it is absorbed in the digestive tract and travels through the blood stream, eventually reaching the nerve center of the large intestine triggering a laxative effect (1:66-68).

 

Applications: Cold infusion, tincture (2:304).

 

Preparation: Strip the bark in the spring or fall. It needs to age for at least one year. Heat at 180 degrees for 24 hours or in a dehydrator for twelve hours at 140 degrees. Tincture 1:5, 50% alcohol. Tea made by soaking pieces of dried bark overnight in water (1:66-68; 2:304).

 

Pharmacy: For a cold infusion, 2 to 6 fluid ounces taken at night; for a tincture 1 to 2 tablespoons at night. Tea should be drunk in the morning as a tonic (1:66-68; 2:304).

 

Cautions: Bark must be aged for at least one year before it can be used. Premature use of Cascara bark can result in extreme nausea, cramping and vomiting (1:66-68; 4:27-28).

 

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Indigenous and Non-Western Use/Significance/Relationships

 

Food: None found

Materials/Technology: None found

 

Medicine:

Indigenous Group(s): Nuxalk, Quileute, Coast Salish and the Kwakwaka’wakw (5:90)

 

Part Used: Bark (5:90)

 

Medicinal Actions: Laxative (5:90)

 

Indications: None found (5:90)

 

Harvest: The Coast Salish collected and dried the bark in strips during the spring and summer months (5:90)

 

Storage: None found

 

Preparation: The year after the harvest the Coast Salish would pound the bark, steep it in cold water and then boil it (5:90)

 

Applications: None found

 

Pharmacy: None found

 

Cautions: None found

 

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Other Notes of Interest: In Russia Cascara Sagrada is known as Krushina or Joster. It grows in central Russia, Siberia, and Kozahstan (3:69)

 

Cautions: Bark must be aged for at least one year before it can be used (1:66-68; 4:27-28).

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References Cited:

 

1. Kowalchik, Clair, and William H Hylton. Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press Inc., 1998

 

2. Moore, Michael. Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West. Santa Fe, NM: Red Crane Books, Inc., 1993

 

3. Hutchens, Alma. Indian Herbology of North America. Boston, Ma: Shambhala Publishing, 1991.

 

4. Tilford, Gregory. Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West. Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Co., 1997

 

5. Mackinnon, Andy, and Jim Pojar. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Vancouver, British Columbia: Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing, 1994.