No matter what the reason for looking to the great outdoors to find alternative medicine offerings for home remedies, opportunities appear to abound. Using trees and plants for healing is also often referred to as holistic medicine, survival medicine, or wilderness medicine.
Learning how to properly identify trees, being aware of potential poisoning issues, and consulting a doctor before embarking on any natural medicine regime, is highly advised. Making a mistake when identifying a tree or ingesting even natural ingredients which are only safe to use topically, could become a deadly proposition.
Top 5 Medicinal Trees
Oak – heralded as the “tree of life”. Tea brewed from the bark of the white oak tree has been used to treat sore throats, diarrhea, and mucus discharge. Tea made from red and white oak tree leaves have been used in wound washes to help disinfect the area topically.
Pine – The vitamin C content found in pine twigs and needles have made it popular for use in herbal teas created to help treat the flu and the common cold, relief to sore throat sufferers.
Birch – Tea brewed from the leaves of the birch tree have been known to help soothe mouth sores, gout, kidney problems, and bladder issues. Sap from the birch tree is thought by some users to help fight cancer by reducing tumors, thanks to its high content of betulinic acid. Chewing birch twigs may help relieve headaches and moderate pain in general
Cedar – teas brewed from its bark help treat the flu, common chest colds, congestion, fever, and alleviate stiffness from rheumatism.
Poplar – teas and salves of emerging buds, treat scurvy, gout, skin rashes, bladder problems, and headaches.