Two varieties of Dirca have documented use in Herbal Medicine: Dirca occidentalis - Leather
Wood Family: Thymelaeaceae (Mezereum Family), Dirca palustris - Leather Wood Family: Thymelaeaceae (Mezereum Family)
Only Dirca palustris (Eastern Leatherwood) is
native to my region,
Resources of The Southern Fields and Forests tells us:
CANADA LEATHERWOOD; ROPE BARK, {Dirca pahistris, L.) Diffused; grows near Augusta at Colleton's Neck, (Ell.) Bartram found it near Savannah ; N. C. Fl. Feb.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 659; U. S. Disp. 1253; Coxe's Am. Disp. 259; Shec. Flora Carol. 513; Big. Am. Med. Bot. ii, 157 ; Barton's Collec. 32 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 563 ; Raf. Med. Fl. i, 158.
The berries are said to be narcotic and poisonous, and the bark has a nauseous odor and acrid taste, yielding its virtues to alcohol ; eight grains of the powdered bark will produce violent vomiting, followed by purging. When applied to the skin, it blisters like mezereon. The juice has been applied to the nerve of a painful tooth with relief, and in diseases where acrid masticatories are serviceable. Bigelow says the decoction is sudorific and expectorant, and he considers it a good substitute for senega. The bark is also uncommonly tough, and was used by the Indians for cordage ; the wood is very hard and pliant.
Its twigs are remarkable for toughness, are as strong and pliable as those of the lime tree, and are employed in America for the manufacture of various small articles Its bark, also, has a homogeneous character with the twigs, and is used for making ropes and baskets; and both, but especially the twigs, occasion the plant to be popularly called in Canada leatherwood. This plant is an excessive favorite with snails! Wilson's Rural Cyc.
King’s American Dispensatory states:
This shrub is more common to the northern and eastern states, being occasionally met with in the west. It inhabits marshy places, low swampy woods, flowering in April and May. The bark is the part used; it is very tenacious and fibrous, and hard to pulverize. It has a disagreeable odor, and a pungent taste, with considerable acrimony, producing ptyalism, which property it imparts to alcohol, and slightly to boiling water. It has been used for making ropes, thongs and baskets, and might be advantageously employed in the arts, for making paper, etc. The wood is white, soft, and very brittle. It has not been satisfactorily analyzed, though mucilage, in acrid resin, and bitter extractive have been found in it.
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—The bark is acrid, rubefacient, and vesicant when fresh. From 5 to 7 grains of it cause great gastric heat and uneasiness, with emesis and catharsis. In contact with the skin it produces rubefaction, followed by blisters, and the sores it occasions are frequently difficult to heal, forming very indolent and obstinate ulcers. If chewed it causes salivation, with burning pain in the tongue, gums, etc., and has thus proved useful as an irritant in paralysis of the tongue, toothache, facial neuralgia, etc. Bigelow says, that a decoction of the bark may be used as a sudorific and expectorant, in the place of senega. The berries produce vomiting, and are said to be a narcotic poison.
Plants for A Future states:
Medicinal use of Leather Wood: Leatherwood was employed medicinally by a number of native North American Indian tribes who used it to treat a wide variety of ailments. It is little used in modern herbalism and any use should be carried out with caution since even minute doses can cause salivation and burning of the tongue. A tea made from the bark is laxative. Another report says that it is purgative and emetic, and can produce violent vomiting. An infusion of the roots has been used in the treatment of pulmonary problems. A decoction of the branches has been applied as a poultice to swellings on the limbs. The plant is a folk remedy for toothaches, facial neuralgia and paralysis of the tongue, venereal disease, and has also been used to try and induce pregnancy.
Peterson Field Guides Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants tells us:
American Indians used bark tea as a laxative. Minute doses cause burning of tongue and salivation. Folk remedy for toothaches, facial neuralgia and paralysis of tongue. Warning: Poisonous. Causes severe dermatitis with redness, blistering and sores.
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This article is an excerpt from
Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast An Herbalist's Guide
Read about Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast An Herbalist's Guide:
https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/06/medicinal-shrubs-and-woody-vines-of.html
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Look Up: The Medicinal
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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.
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