Botanical Names
- Family Rosaceae
- Prunus serotina
- Prunus virginiana
Common Names
- Wild Cherry, Virginian Prune, Black Choke, Chokecherry, Chokeberry, Rum Cherry
Cautions
- The bark is highly toxic in excessive doses as it can cause difficulty in breathing, spasms, and twitching since it contains a cyanidelike chemical called hydrocyanic acid.
Description
Native to North America, the black cherry is a deciduous tree, growing to 100 feet having elliptical to oblong leaves, spikes of white flowers, and purple-black fruits. It is cultivated in central Europe for its lumber. The inner portion of the bark is a reddish colour and has an odour of bitter almonds. It is collected in late summer and early autumn. The berries are collected as food about the same time.
History
European settlers learned of the bark's medicinal properties and made it a popular remedy in the 19th century.
The twigs, roots, and fruits of this plant have long been used by Native Americans to treat diarrhea, lung congestion, coughs, and colds. The Okanagan-Colville made a general tonic from the wild cherry branches and for many tribes. The cherries were a key ingredient in pemmican, a dried mixture of fruit, meat, and fat used during the winter months. The Blackfeet drank chokecherry juice for diarrhea and sore throat. They also made a tea from the inner bark and used it as a purge. Nursing mothers drank the tea to pass the medicinal effects onto their infants. Crows used the bark to cleanse sores and burns, but only certain tribal members had the authority to perform the medicinal applications — not too different from today's societal concepts. The Sioux chewed the dried roots and placed them on wounds to stop bleeding. The Mesquakies used a root bark tea as a sedative for stomach problems and as a rectal treatment for hemorrhoids. Many tribes chewed the bark to prevent scurvy. Cherokee women traditionally took the bark to ease labour pains. Other tribes used it to treat coughs and colds, hemorrhoids, and diarrhea.
In 1785, a Reverend Cutler reported that an infusion of the black cherry bark was successfully used to treat jaundice.
In an 1830 publication entitled Medical Flora or Manual of Medical Botany of the United States, Constantine Rafinesque stated in volume two that both the chokecherry and the wild black cherry were medicinally active. Both were listed in the US Pharmacopoeia from 1820 to 1970. Although they are distinct species, they were listed as synonymous in some editions. It is still currently listed as a pharmaceutical aid, a flavouring agent.
Key Actions
- antitussive
- astringent
- mildly sedating
Key Components
- prunasin (a cyanogenic glycoside that yields hydrocyanic acid — which is responsible for reducing the cough reflex)
- benzaldehyde
- eudesmic acid
- coumarins
- tannins
Medicinal Parts
- Inner bark
- One of the constituents of the berry barks is the cyanogenic glucoside, amygdalin. With the addition of water, it chemically breaks down to form prunasin and then hydrocyanic acid, which is highly toxic and can be lethal even to livestock and humans that eat the leaves of the chokecherry or wild black berry bushes.
Traditional Uses
Official pharmacopoeias stated that black cherry bark was effective in treating dry and irritable coughs; and, when combined with coltsfoot, it was an effective treatment for asthma and whooping cough.
It is also used to ease indigestion and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, especially when they occur from a nervous origin.
There are a number of cough remedies on the market today that contain wild cherry bark, including cough syrups and lozenges.
Tea can be made from the inner bark to treat sore throats, sores, burns, wounds, and conjunctivitis.