The Prepper Broadcasting Network - Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Elm

Episode Date: February 7, 2025

Today, I tell you about the medicinal and edible use of Elm.  This tree is one of the essential herbs and survival foods.  It is very easy to identify, and may help you find morels. .The Spring Foraging Cook Book is available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRP63R54Or you can buy the eBook as a .pdf directly from the author (me), for $9.99: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-spring-foraging-cookbook.htmlYou can read about the Medicinal Trees book here https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2021/06/paypal-safer-easier-way-to-pay-online.html or buy it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1005082936PS. New in the woodcraft Shop: Judson Carroll Woodcraft | SubstackRead about my new books:Medicinal Weeds and Grasses of the American Southeast, an Herbalist's Guidehttps://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2023/05/medicinal-weeds-and-grasses-of-american.htmlAvailable in paperback on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47LHTTHandConfirmation, an Autobiography of Faithhttps://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2023/05/confirmation-autobiography-of-faith.htmlAvailable in paperback on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNKVisit my Substack and sign up for my free newsletter: https://judsoncarroll.substack.com/Read about my new other books:Medicinal Ferns and Fern Allies, an Herbalist's Guide https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/11/medicinal-ferns-and-fern-allies.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMSZSJPSThe Omnivore’s Guide to Home Cooking for Preppers, Homesteaders, Permaculture People and Everyone Else: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-omnivores-guide-to-home-cooking-for.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGKX37Q2Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast an Herbalist's Guidehttps://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/06/medicinal-shrubs-and-woody-vines-of.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2T4Y5L6andGrowing Your Survival Herb Garden for Preppers, Homesteaders and Everyone Elsehttps://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/04/growing-your-survival-herb-garden-for.htmlhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X4LYV9RThe Encyclopedia of Medicinal Bitter Herbs: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-encyclopedia-of-bitter-medicina.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5MYJ35RandChristian Medicine, History and Practice: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/01/christian-herbal-medicine-history-and.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B09P7RNCTBHerbal Medicine for Preppers, Homesteaders and Permaculture People: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2021/10/herbal-medicine-for-preppers.htmlAlso available on Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B09HMWXL25Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/southern-appalachian-herbsBlog: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/Free Video Lessons: https://rumble.com/c/c-618325

Hey y'all, welcome to this week's show. Today we've got a big one. You know, we're still working through our series on the medicinal uses of common trees. And today is Elm. And Elm was once, I would say, probably the most popular herbal medicine in America and Western Europe. Elm was like the big thing. Probably competing with that would be Goldenseal and Sassafras. So two of the most popular

herbs in herbal medicine were trees, Elm and Sassafras. Like Goldenseipree Elm in particular has been a little bit over harvested. It's not endangered. You can still find Slipree Elm in the woods, but you should try to use some alternatives to the Slipree Elm. There are a bunch of them that can be used almost identically. Just like Golden Seal. Just like goldenseal. Goldenseal was ever harvested, I think it actually was maybe not on the endangered list but like kind of on the watch list for a while. It's coming back. Always remember you can use barberry, organ grape, coptis. It seems like there's maybe one other

plant you can use as a one-to-one substitute for golden seal. They all contain berberin and that's the active constituent. So there are actually 14 varieties of elm that have been found useful in herbal medicine. I'm not going to name them all, there's just too many, but there are three that are native to my region. Olmos Aulata, winged elm. Very easy to identify. All the elms are super easy to identify. Olmos Americana, that's American elm. Olmos Rubra, slippery elm.

And that's the one people really used to, it's actually, well, it was used for a lot for like bowel complaints. Most of our ancestors died from dysentery. That was the big thing. And slippery animal is very, very good for all kinds of digestive disorders. It's also an edible tree. Believe it or not, you can eat the inner bark of the tree.

It's just incredible. And it saved a lot of our ancestors from starving. There are three that have been naturalized and speaking of edible uses slippery elm. Learn to identify that tree it has a really specific bark. It's a little like shag bark hickory but a lot I don't know shaggy or thicker and rougher and in the springtime well actually like next month start looking around those trees tulip poplars oh there's one other that's on the tip of my tongue and it's not coming to me yeah there's one other tree they're really known for having morels grow around them. The morels really like to... Gosh, that other tree is going to drive me crazy. I can see it. I can see the bark and I can't...

It's not coming to my mind. But anyway, yeah, there are like three or four trees that you look for when you're looking for morels. But anyway, the elm is the three elms that have been naturalized in my region. Olmos parva flora, that's Chinese elm, Olmos prokara, that's English elm, and Olmos pomelia or pomila, Siberian elm. But anyway, elm is the most or pomilla Siberian elm. But anyway, elm is the most, um, elm is likely the most commonly known and used tree in herbal medicine and that's mainly due to the popularity of slippery elm about a hundred years ago. The common use of slippery elm as I said is caused to be over harvested in many areas so we're going to try to look for alternatives if we can unless you have a lot of them. Like I said it's not not an endangered species. But other varieties of elm have been used throughout the history of herbal medicine in various parts of Europe and Asia, etc. And in around 1100, St. Hildegard von Bingen wrote of elm,

one who was troubled by the Gitscht. Now what's the Gitscht? Gitscht is old German for anything from arthritis to paralysis, any kind of stiffness you were said to be, for Gitsch to get. So, it's not a specific condition. But she said, one who is troubled by the Gitsch should burn a fire with elmwood only. Soon he should warm himself by the fire and the Gitcht will cease. So just the fire from burning Elmwoods was believed to help with whatever the Gitcht was. I don't know.

But she said one who is for Gitcht to get, apparently that was a little more serious than being just with the Gitcht, anyway one who is for Gitcht to get so that his tongue fails to speak. So this is probably a form of paralysis, maybe something from a stroke actually. Fresh new leaves of this tree should be placed in water, and this should be given to him to drink. The getch in his tongue will cease, and he will recover his speech. One who has frischlich in his body, again old German and we're talking a feverish

condition essentially, should drink the same water tempered with those leaves and the Frischlich will disappear. If you're a German listener, you're hearing this and you want to be give me a little more specific information about the Frischlich, I would appreciate that. I don't speak German. I am not of Germanic descent, except for like one ancestor way back. But I have spent years trying to figure out what the Gitscht and the Frischlich actually are. If someone burns this wood alone and heats water with it and takes a bath with this water, it would take away malignity and bad will and give him benevolence and make his mind happy. Take that for what it is. I

don't know. Boiling water just made with this burnt wood would make your mind happy. I have no idea. The tree has certain prosperity. The tree has a certain prosperity in its nature so that the spirits of the air are unable to move phantasms, wrongs, and illusions through it with their many wrathful confrontations. So obviously something about Elm was believed in middle ages in Germany to basically help with, what would we call it, maybe some bad dreams or some anxiety and there could be something to that. Let's remember St. Hildegard was a very respected herbalist and a doctor of the church and was said to have learned her herbal medicine from angels.

So I'm not going to question it, I just probably don't understand it as well as I should. But I certainly want to avoid wrathful confrontations of spirits of the air. So, yeah, elm grows a lot around me and that's a good thing. Gerard in the 1500s wrote, the leaves and bark of the elm be moderately hot with an evident cleansing The and heal green wounds and sew doth the bark wrapped and swallowed around the wound like a bandage. Very common use. Inner bark of Cyprium especially but of the other arms as well. Basically used by every people on the face of the earth as a bandage and a way to bind up wounds and stop them from bleeding and help encourage healing. The leaves being stamped in vinegar do take away the scurf. That's essentially usually eczema psoriasis.

Dioscortis writeth that an ounce of the weight of the thicker bark drunk with wine or water purges the phlegm, and yes, especially slippery arm. Elm has documented use for congestion and such. The decoction of elm leaves and also the bark or root healeth broken bones very speedily if they be fomented or bathed therein. So take a bath in the water that's been steeped in.

The liquor that is found in the blisters doth beautify the faiths and scowarth away all spots, freckles, pimples pimples spreading tedders and such like being applied thereto. It healeth green wounds and cureth ruptures newly made being laid on with spleenwort and the truss closely set unto it." So with spleenwort, which is an herb, it can be bound tightly over wounds or hernias. And he said it would help. So Culpepper, about 100 years later, says, the leaves thereof bruised and applied heal

green wounds, being bound thereon with its own bark. The leaves or the bark used with vinegar cure the scurf and leprosy very effectually. So we're talking skin issues. The cox of the leaves bark and root being bathed heals broken bones. Again, so and Culpepper was a professional pharmacist essentially. He was an apothecist. So be worth looking into. The water that is found in the bladders of the leaves while is fresh is very effectual cleanse the skin. So these are actually little

pockets in the leaves not the bark. It makes them fair and if clothes be wet therein and applied to the rupture of children it helps them. That was actually cloths not clothes so used to sort of like a a pulp just if they be well bound up with the truss so again like bound on tight the said water put into a glass and set into the ground or else in dung for 25 days closely stopped up so it wasn't getting contaminated and the bottom set upon a lay of ordinary salt so that the so it may suddenly and become clear. Okay, so salt would pull, help settle the solids in there.

Is a singular and sovereign balm for green wounds. Now, why would you put something manure? Well, it made it hot. Actually, our ancestors used a lot of horse manure and cow manure and such, chicken manure, et cetera, to do hot boxes and compost. So it was not uncommon. I know it sounds kind of strange, but if you were in 1600s England and you had a big pile of horse manure, you could actually cook in it, believe it or not. You can take a box that is airtight,

that no contamination can get into it, stick it in the middle of a pile of rotting manure, and it will heat up over 100 degrees. You can actually cook in there. So they actually did a lot of things in manure in the 1600s, as odd as that may sound to us today. The decoction of the bark and the root foamed and molyfied hard tumors, that means softens, andinketh the sinews.

The roots of the arrow being boiled a long time in water, placed on an area that has grown bald where the hair has fallen away, it will quickly restore them again. I don't know. The said bark with brine of a pickle, formed into a poultice, laid on the place pained with gout, giveth great ease. Remember St. Hilgarde talking about the verget to get? Well, gout is also a form of the gitcht. And those two words are probably from the same root. Both of them probably come from the same old German Both of them probably come from the same old German. Gout, which we know is an inflammatory condition of the joints, and the Gitsch, which can be arthritic or another form of stiffness or paralysis. The decoction of the bark and water is excellent to bathe such

places that have been burnt with fire. And yes, elm is a very traditional remedy for burns. Ms. Grieve, now we're getting up to 1930, so this will get a lot easier, she talked about both common elm and slippery elm. She said of medicinal actions in use, it was tonic demulcin, demulcin means softening essentially, astringent and diuretic, was formerly employed in the preparation of an anti-scorbutic decoction. That means it would help with scurvy it has vitamin c for cutaneous diseases of a leprous character and ringworm it was applied both

externally and internally under the title of ulmus the dried inner bark was a fish when the british pharmacopeia or pharmacopeia some people say it from 1864 to 1870 1867 actually using the decoction and she says medicinal tea was made from the flowers in Persia Italy and south of France the gauze that's where you know like a basically a hornet or some other insect makes a nest in the bark and it forms a gall. Sometimes the size of a fist are frequently produced on the leaves, so the galls actually form on the leaves. On some elms I have seen blisters

on the bark, but apparently we're talking about the galls on the leaves, which you may have seen before. I have. It's like a big brown blister, essentially. I've never seen one the size of a fist. I have to admit that. More like the size of a pea, actually. They contain a clear water which is sweet and fiscid and has been recommended to wash wounds, contusions, and sore eyes.

Let's see. Toward autumn, they dry, the galls dry, the insects die in them and there is found a blackish balsam or resin which has been recommended for disease of the chest so it has expectorant property. Of Slippery Elm specifically she says it's demulcant, emollient, demulcant, emollient, essentially softening and moistening. We'll just go with that. Expectorant, diuretic, and nutritive.

In other words, you can eat it. It's actually really good for you. The bark of the American elm, though, let's see, is an official drug in the United States, considered one of the most valuable remedies of herbal practice. So 1930s, slippery elm was still considered one of the most valuable herbs in official medicine.

This is the stuff your doctor would give you, not for herbalists, but this was actually in the pharmacy. And it was said to have wonderfully strengthening and healing qualities. It has a most soothing and healing action on all the parts that comes in contact with, but in addition possesses much nutrition as much as is contained in oatmeal when made into a gruel. See this was really essential food in early America. That's why slippery elm really was somewhat over harvested. Said elm is excellent, gives excellent results in gastritis, gastric cataract, mucus, colitis, enteritis.

Good for the stomach, good for bronchitis, good for bleeding of the lungs and consumption. Yes, it was very popular when tuberculosis was a bad problem. Sues the cough and prevents wasting or basically losing weight because you have tuberculosis. Slippery elmound is excellent for coughs. It's in typhoid fever. The slippery elm is drunk as prepared for coughs and it would cleanse, heal, and strengthen. The bark is an ingredient in various lung medicines. Yeah, it was in like every cough syrup. It really was. In pleurisy, the following is recommended. Take two ounces each of pleurisy root, now that's in the milkweed family, asclepias, marshmallow,

licorice root, and slippery elm bark. This is very, very common. This would have been one of the most common patent medicines. Like you would have gone in your general store and you'd have seen this on the shelf. It would have been Dr. So-and-so's cough syrup. And it was a pleurisy root, which is asclepias, it's an excellent expectorant. It's also called what, butterflyweed. It's one of the prettiest of the milkweeds, bright orange. Marshmallow, licorice root, and of course,

mashed marshmallows, actually the plant. We're not talking, you know, stay puffed here, we're talking marshmallow root from the mallow plant. Licorice root and slippery elm bark. Boiled in three points, pints of water until it's reduced by about, really about two-thirds in this case. You just take a half teaspoonful every hour. That was one of the most common medicines up until probably, really,

it maintained well until about 1950. I mean the Pure Foods and Drug Act pretty much put herbal medicine out of business around 1916-1920 but this was so effective pharmacists were still prescribing it. It says slippery alem bark possesses a great influence upon diseases of the female organs, so usually menstrual disorders. Good for dysentery, disease of the bowel, cystitis, irritation of the urinary tract. Also, yeah, cystitis and bladder infections. Slippery elm was the go-to. I mean, really, just one of the most popular medicines really until very recently I mean really very recently she said Indians have used the viscous inner bark to prepare a healing salve is slippery arm is almost powder is considered one

of the best possible poultices for wounds, boils, ulcers, and all inflamed surfaces soothing, healing, and reducing pain and inflammation. Good for old gangrenous wounds. It's an antiseptic poultice. It's just, you know, really, gosh, it could save your life in more ways than one. I mean, from infected wounds to just being able to eat it. I mean, literally the inner bark of a slippery elm can just be eaten raw. Or you can cook it a little bit like oak red has a mucilaginous quality. Like oatmeal, as they said.

It's pretty amazing, actually. In the Irish tradition, they weren't using the slippery elm. They were using what they call the common elm. Irish herbal says the leaves and inner bark kill and consolidate wounds, bruises, and fractured bones. The liquid that is found in the leaves removes freckles, pimples, and spreading eruptions. The bark is frequently used in gargles for sore mouths and throats. The inner bark being scraped off and steeped in water for 24 hours is exceedingly good

applied to burns and scalds. Again, it has that almost mucilage quality like aloe. So it really is good for burns and scalds. Going back to slippery alum, we'll go to resources of the Southern Fields and Forest written in the 1860s. A decoction of the bark was much used by the Indians as a cure for leprosy. It is an excellent demulcid employed as an emollient application and internally is especially recommended for suppression of urine. So it has some diuretic properties. Inflammation of the bladder, dysentery and diarrhea.

A decoction made of this combined with the root of sassafras is esteemed a valuable drink to increase cutaneous perspiration. I think you mean sweat. It would help you sweat and improve the tone of digestive organs. Dr. Griffin considers a good substitute for acacia and he has witnessed its beneficial effects externally applied in obstinate cases of herpetic and syphilidic eruptions. It was good for venereal diseases as well. The skin, the blistering properties. It forms a good vehicle for, uh, oh yeah, it was using enemas. Um, good for the sinuses and the urethra, any soft tissue.

Um, just like, uh, Malo, uh, Supriya was very soothing. Just like mallow, slippery elm was very soothing. He said that Dr. Wright of Cincinnati had found that slippery elm bark has the property of preserving fatty substances from rancidity. So it could also be used to preserve food. He says that the Indians in his area combined bears fat with slippery elm and used it as a food preservative. That's pretty interesting actually. I had not heard that one before. The Thomsonians certainly used slippery elm. They probably popularized it more than anybody else. He says the inner bark of

the tree is an article of much value and may be used to advantage in many different ways. There are several species of elm that grow commonly in this country and there are two kinds of slippery elm. In one the bark is rather hard and tough and the other the bark is rather brittle. The latter is best for medicinal uses. Look it up. Once you see slippery elm bark You will recognize it. It's very distinctive. If used internally, put a teaspoonful of this powder in a teacup with much sugar and mix them together and add a little cold water until mixed perfectly. Then put hot water to it and stir it until it forms a thick jelly. It has that mucilaginous quality.

It should be thick enough to eat with a spoon. A teaspoonful may be taken at a time. It is an excellent medicine to heal soreness in the throat, the stomach, and bowels. Soreness caused by canker or more hot water may be added to it to make a drink and taken for the same purpose. I have made much use of this part for poultices and have in all cases found it most excellent for that purpose. Mixed and pounded with cracker crumbs and ginger." That's an interesting bit with the Hal-I-Hardtack back then. So yeah, mixed and pounded with cracker and ginger. It makes the best poultice I have ever found for burns, scalds, felons, and old sores. Felons were essentially sores on the fingers. Yeah.

It was really common when you were, apparently, from what I understand, when people used to have, you know, carriages and somebody would drive them and the rains would kind of rub blisters into their fingers and it was like the cuticle area of the finger that would get irritated to the point it became infected and those were called felons. Now that's the best I understand it. It could have been more of a bacterial thing but that's how it was described. But anyway, it says it would ease the pain of them and heal them in a short time. With labelia, it forms an excellent poultice for abscesses and boils. In constipation, dysentery, diarrhea, and cholera, and phantom, used both internal and per rectal injection, or enema, it soothes and relieves the intestinal irritation. It is a nutritious demulcant soothing the

mucous membranes wherever needed and quieting the nervous system. In diphtheria after the throat has been ridded of the decay, but it's still quite raw, it is soothing and healing. It was also used for measles and antyphoid fever. It says slippery elm is a very important agent. 1898 King's Medical Dispensatory says, Elm bark is nutritive, again nutritious, you can eat it. Expectorant, diuretic, demulcant, and emollient is very valuable remedial agent. In mucus

inflammations of the lungs, bowels, stomach, bladder, kidneys, used freely in the form of a mucilaginous drink, it is highly beneficial as well as in diarrhea, dysentery, coughs, pleurisy, stranguary, and sore throat. Stranguary is a suppressed urination. A sore throat in which it tends powerfully to allay inflammation. Some physicians consider the constant use of it during the seventh month of gestation as advantageous in facilitating and causing an easy delivery. I don't know. I don't make any recommendations for herbs for pregnant women, but apparently in 1898 it was popular. The bark has likewise been successfully employed externally in cutaneous or skin diseases, especially in obstinate cases of herpetic and syphilitic eruptions.

As an emollient poultice, bark is found very serviceable when applied to inflamed parts, separating tumors, fresh wounds, burns, scalds, bruises, and ulcers, and for pains of the testes and mumps and gosh there's a lot more. So yeah I think we're seeing that you know really by around 1900 slippery elm was essentially a considered a cure-all it was like you know in the top five herbs let's see they said it was also used for diarrhea dysentery, tenesimus, hemorrhoids, gonorrhea, and gleat. The powdered bark was good for chafings and wounds, itching, erycipelous. You know, yeah, you can understand why like everybody in America knew what a slippery elm tree was and gathered it for themselves.

I mean, literally, your grandparents knew this tree and they used it. Getting up to like the 1960s now, Yule Givens, remember Yule Givens, the Grape Nuts guy, said, Medicinal books list the properties of slippery elements to molson, emollient, expectorant, diuretic, soothing, and laxative. Early settlers learned from the Indians how to use slippery elements to molest and emollient expectorant diuretic soothing and laxative early settlers learned from the indians how to use slippery element it became one of the most important home remedies early america is very good for coughs colds influence of pleurisy quinzy dysentery and painful menstruation and now getting up to modern use let's see what i've got here i tell you i'm running out of steam. This is a long one.

Okay, so Plants for a Future says of American Elm, an infusion made from the bark has been used for the treatment of bleeding from the lungs, ruptures, coughs, colds, influences, dysentery, eye infection, cramp, and diarrhea. An infusion of the bark has been taken by pregnant women to secure stability of children. That means a successful delivery. Infusion of the bark has been taken by pregnant women to secure stability of children. That means a successful delivery. That's all they mean. They mean stability of the children.

It's an odd way to put it. If your kid's nuts, it's probably not because you did or didn't take Slippery Elm. A decoction of the bark has been used as a wash for wounds. A decoction of the inner bark has been taken to treat severe coughs, colds, menstrual cramps. And this is a common American elm. This is Olmos americana. An infusion of the inner bark has been drunk and used as a bath. In the treatment of appendicitis, I always say if you have appendicitis, go to a doctor. But you know, there are home remedies for it essentially. But you can die. So that's when you want to run to the emergency room as quickly as you can go And infusion of the bark has been used the treatment of coughs colds and excessive menstruation

And a cox has been used in the eye wash as an eye wash the treatment of sore eyes Also a very common use of elm the inner bark has been used as an emollient on tumors Now Plants for future set of slippery elm bark is widely used as an herbal remedy and is considered one of the most valuable remedies in herbal practice. I would say it is still true to this day even though it is not used anywhere near as much as it used to be used. In particular it is a gentle and effective remedy for irritated states of the mucous membranes in the chest, urinary troubles, stomach and intestines. The bark contains large quantities of a sticky slime, a mucilaginous, they call it a slime, that can be dried in

the powder and made into liquid. And, you know, it is slimy. I mean, if you remember Jerry Clower talking about oak ray, he called it slick, slimy, boiled okra. Oh He was hilarious with his stories about okra in particular. I remember one I had a dog like this. Okay. I had a Weimar on her that had an appetite that was like ceaseless I mean she once ate 30 pounds of chicken laying mash ceaseless. I mean she once ate 30 pounds of chicken laying mash. After polishing off about 20 pounds of chicken feed before that, the dog was a bottomless pit. If I was gonna skip a rock across a pond she would grab the rock out of my hand and eat it. I mean she she went dumpster diving a few times and came out looking

like a pregnant greasy goat. I mean this was a nasty dog that she was sweet as could be. A beautiful whiner on her but stupid and never stopped eating. She would throw up five times eat the vomit and throw up at ten more times eating it and puking it out. I mean just disgusting. I mean literally and Jerry Clower told this story about one time when he had his hunting dogs you know know, and there was one of them just like that. And he didn't have any food for them, so he had some leftover slick, slimy, boiled okra, you know. And he cooked it with bacon fat, so he thought maybe the dogs will eat this.

So he slops down a pot of boiled okra into the dog's dish, and the one that was just like my old dog runs over there and just eats it up in one you know one big gulp and just you know it's slimy just slid right down the throat ate it so fast she didn't even know she'd eaten anything and then jumped on another dog and caused a fight because she thought he sold her food and that is exactly exactly the way that dog of mine would do my word she was a mess That dog she got into so many fights. The only dog I've ever had that actually I had to go to court over. And that there is a long story. I almost got arrested for attempted murder believe it or not as a I guess I was 16.

My dog got into a fight and I got her out of it. I had a pistol and I was shooting and the neighbor claimed I was shooting at his kids because it was his dog and he didn't want to take responsibility for it and yeah I had to go to court over that, believe it or not. So a stupid, you know, totally innocent, obviously, a stupid dog can get you into a lot of trouble, a lot of trouble, but anyway. So where were we?

Yes, we were talking about the mucilaginous quality, but it can be dried and powdered and rehydrated with liquid. The inner bark is harvested in the spring from the main trunk and from larger branches. The dried powdered bark is used as required. 10 year old bark is said to be best. And it does, you know, the best does come from older trees. It's one of the reasons it's almost kind of, you know,

harvested out of existence. The plant, let's see, it's also part of the North American Indian formula called or Native American formula whatever you want to call it called Essiac which is sort of a cure-all or a folk remedy for cancer which I'm not gonna say whether it works or not. Check in to ESSIAC if you're interested. A lot of people say it does help with cancer, A lot of people say it doesn't. I don't know. See they talk about other herbs and ESEAC. Interbark is stemocent, diuretic, emollient, expectorant, and nutritive. Soothing and healing effect on all parts of the body that comes into contact with. And he's using the treatment of sore throat, indigestion, digestive irritation,

stomach ulcers, etc. used to be used frequently as a food that was nutritive and tonic for the old young convalescence. Yes, very popular as a food. Peterson Field Guide says, supriam, three tablespoons of the inner bark and a cup of hot water makes a thick mucilaginous tea traditionally used for sore throat, upset stomach, indigestion, digestive irritation, stomach ulcers, coughs, pleurisy. Said to help diarrhea and dysentery, inner bark considered edible, often used as a nutrient broth for children and the elderly and convalescent patients who had difficulty consuming or digesting food. Externally, a thick tea made from the powder near a bark

was used for fresh wounds, ulcers, burns, scalds. Science confirms the tea is soothing to mucous membranes and softens hardened tissue. Bark once used as an antioxidant to prevent rancidity of fat. So again, the preservative properties. And let's see, botany a day says that the leaves are edible raw and cooked. I never tried that.

I have seen that in several of my foraging books. I need to give that a try sometime. So we're talking the young leaves, probably in the spring. The bark may be dried and ground to a flower. It's used in times of scarcity. The green fruits are also edible. And again, I've never tried the green fruit, only the bark. I need to give that a shot. The slippery elm, Olmos fulva, is widely popular

as a medicinal plant. The inner bark is highly mucilaginous and somewhat astringent. Other species may be more astringent and less mucilaginous. The elm is used especially as a soothing remedy, externally as an emollient for burns, or internally as a demulcant for sore throats or other inflammations, including diarrhea. It is a kind of remedy that can be used for just about anything. A friend once gave me some tea to reduce a fever on an expedition and I recall it was very effective. And finally, the physician's desk reference for herbal medicine tells us that Elm Bark in general has diuretic and astringent properties. Internally the drug is used for digestive disorders and severe cases of diarrhea. Externally it is used to treat

open wounds. No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction with proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages. So y'all the elm trees are just like crazy useful. Slippery Elm, a native to America, is probably the best of them all. Do learn this one for no other reason in case you get lost in the woods and you need something to eat because because it's a very edible tree, and you might be able to find morels around it, say between March and May. Really, I'm still blanking. Oh, ash, ash, yes. Ash is the other tree.

So slippery elm, tuip poplar, ash, and shag bark, well, eddie hickory, especially shag bark hickory well any hickory especially shag bark and they actually the barks are kind of similar on those depending on their stage of growth and everything but anyway that's where you look for morels especially anywhere there's been a burn a forest fire and anywhere you find those trees you're more likely to find morels there than elsewhere. However morels are tricky they may pop up in any unexpected place so they're hard to see they're delicious they're easy to identify you really need to get out in the woods and train your eyes next month to find morels especially if you live in lower mountain ranges. Apparently they grow in lower elevations.

I haven't really seen them. Where I live is a little too high for them usually. So I go really between like say 1000 and 4000 feet. And that's where I'm looking for morels. But you know, in your area, if you're further north, you may not need any elevation. And if you're further south, you may need more elevation. I have no idea.

I know there's a guy online who does some great foraging videos. I believe he goes by Feral Forager or something. I have to get you a link for his stuff. He's pretty darn good actually. And he has some morels in Alabama. Finds a ton of them. And yeah, I mean that is the tail end of the Appalachian Mountains but still I mean I never found any morels in Georgia probably wasn't looking the right spot maybe if I had gone over to Dillonaga or you know Raven Gap or something I would have had a lot more luck but in the mountains here in North Carolina they're pretty I won't say common but they tend to grow more profusely than I found them elsewhere so anyway y'all have a great week and I'll