The Prepper Broadcasting Network - Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Rose of Sharon and Japanese Raisin Tree

Episode Date: June 20, 2024

Today, I tell you about the medicinal and edible uses of Rose of SHaron and the Japanese Raisin Tree..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. I think today's medicinal tree is going to be very appropriate to follow last week's. Last week, we talked about witch hazel. And of course, when I think about witch hazel, I think about my grandparents, my great-grandparents. But another plant, another shrub, actually, it's actually a small tree that I, well, I'm going to call it a shrub. Okay, we're going to call it a shrub. It's not a small tree. It's a big bush. Let's just go with that. It's in the mallow family. And that's why I hesitated because I don't know that the mallows, any of them actually qualifies trees, obviously. You know, you've got marshmallow and you've got different ones. So I'm going to call this a shrub. And I think that would be accurate. Whereas the witch hazel is actually a small tree, even though they grow about the same size.

So it can get a little confusing with what you call your taxonomy, your way of classifying things. of me your way of classifying things, but this is a shrub, and I don't think anybody's grandmother in the South did not have this tree on her property. I mean, I'm sorry, this shrub, I did again, this shrub on her property, it is Rose of Sharon. When I think of Rose of Sharon, I think about grandmothers and great-grandmothers. I mean, this is like ubiquitous. Every older lady had a rose of Sharon Bush in her yard. And they're beautiful. There were many in my grandmother's yard, many in my great-grandmother's yard, on both sides of the family. That smell, you know, I'd play under them as a kid.

Just the sight of the flowers, they're sort of you know a soft like pastel color usually either pink or lavender I've seen some variations of so I think there may be a white one there may be a bluish tinge one actually the the scent immediately brings back memories of being like you know four or five years old playing under the bushes side of the house at my grandparents because that's where there were you know seven or eight rows of sharon bushes and a brick wall that my grandfather was a brick mason and he did a brick wall all around the backyard. It was an alternating pattern, so you had spaces, like a brick space, brick space, so you could see through it. And these brick columns, beautiful brick columns, he did historic preservation for the state. So this was very colonial.

the state so this was very colonial and with concrete flower pots on top that would be full of you know pansies or you know various flowers could be morning glories just you know usually just any kind of old-fashioned kind of trailing trailing kind of flower in there. And that scent just immediately brings me back. There was a plum tree. There was a crab apple tree and a quince. And so those were, you know, the fruits I ate as a child too. Climbing around those bushes, climbing those trees, sour, sour crab apples, trying to get used to that flavor. You know, it's basically impossible. They're wonderful for cider, though. Absolutely fantastic for cider.

Quince has a unique, it's in the apple family as well. These are actually in the rose family. But it has a unique flavor, and I'll never forget that. And, you know, the plums, these were the sand plums, you know, in the eastern part of the state. And I think it was a persimmon as well. But those plums, you know, when they started dropping off the tree is when they were sweet. And the wasps and bees and yellow jackets would be all over them. But I'd climb on that wall and I'd walk over to the trees and I'd pick them and get up out of the stinging insects.

And yeah, then I'd actually climb on the roof and I'd eat my little stash of fruit. And this was totally forbidden. I was not supposed to climb on the wall, climb on the trees, climb on the roof because, you know, I was a little kid. They were afraid I was going to get hurt. And my grandfather had a big black man who worked for him. He was somewhat mentally retarded and had a speech impediment. And he decided that his job was to make sure I didn't get hurt. So I'd have to sneak around and get away from Doug. and get away from Doug. You know, he would rather keep up with me than actually do manual labor, you know. So he took that on as his role.

And his family has worked for my family for generations. So really my grandfather employing him was more like a charitable act than any actually getting much work out of him, and that's for sure. So I'd have to sneak out there, and I'd get up on the wall. I'd be barefoot, you know, and I'd get up on the wall i'd be barefoot you know and i'd get up there i'd get my fruit and i'd climb up on the um it was the old tiled roof you know i'd climb up there it was real slick it was hot hot very hot in the summer so i'd only do this like in the in the early morning or the uh late evening and sometimes it would be really hot you know in the uh the uh late afternoon and and try to hide from doug so he wouldn't come jerk me down because he was huge you know he was like if you ever saw the green afternoon and try to hide from Doug so he wouldn't

come jerk me down because he was huge you know he was like if you ever saw the Green Mile I mean he was like built like that you know and I mean he could just reach up on the roof grab me with one hand and pull me down and then carry me and say your boy got up on that roof again I told him not to do it you know and he'd be stuttering and stammering and tongue-tied. And I loved him like a brother, actually. But he annoyed the crap out of me, I got to tell you. Oh, my gosh. But, yeah, those are my memories of Rose of Sharon.

And that scent to this day will bring back those memories like that, you know. But let's get into the medicinal use of rose of Sharon, which, like I said, is a bush or a shrub, sometimes classified as a tree, but I'm going to call it a shrub because it is in the mallow family, which is also the hibiscus family. Yeah, these are all related, whether it's a marshmallow or any members of the mallow, like cheeses is common, meadow mallow. Hibiscus, you might have hibiscus tea before.

You may have seen those beautiful, like, dinner plate-sized flowers. Same family. And rose of Sharon is the bush form. They're all fairly interchangeable. Rose of Sharon does have, it's not quite as, like, mucilaginous as the Mallows, obviously. And it doesn't have that like fresh, bright, well, not quite as fresh and bright, like almost citrusy taste of hibiscus if you've had hibiscus tea. Just actually one of the few like herbal teas I like. Hibiscus is quite refreshing.

It's very good. teas I like. Hibiscus is quite refreshing. It's very good. Actually, hibiscus tea, if you're not a tea drinker, and I'm not, I'm a coffee drinker. I know it sounds weird for an herbalist, but I don't really drink a lot of herbal teas. I do occasionally like a cocktail. Now, I'm not a big cocktail drinker. I mean, I'm a straight bourbon or wine or beer guy, you know, but when it comes to a cocktail, I want a dry martini. What do I mean by dry martini? I mean, gin, dry vermouth, maybe an olive. That's it. I don't want anything crab claws or apple syrup or anything weird. You know, I'm not a fruity cocktail guy, but I can tell you on a hot summer day, You know, I'm not a fruity cocktail guy, but I can tell you on a hot summer day,

hibiscus tea mixed with either a little soda water and some vodka and a little citrus, or if you want to do like a more mild version, you know, if you want to make a pitcher of them, sip on them for a while, hibiscus tea mixed with dry sherry is actually quite good quite good served over ice a little twist of lemon good hot weather drink uh you know if you tipple as they say um but anyway medicinal use of rose of sharon according to plants for future the leaves are diuretic and it's interesting that we use the leaves in this one because all these plants are known for their flowers. You know, and the flowers actually have, you know, when you make hibiscus tea, you're using the hibiscus flower. But a lot of the more medicinal herbal uses, we're actually using the leaves. So the leaves are diuretic, expectorant, and stomatic.

So that means removes excess fluid, gets congestion out of your lungs, and helps settle the stomach or actually stimulate appetite sometimes. A decoction of the flowers is diuretic, ophthalmic, and stomatic. So almost the same, except that the flowers have a little bit of an astringent property that can help reduce swelling in the eyes. It is also used in the treatment of itch and other skin diseases, dizziness, and bloody stools accompanied by much gas. So this is one you might want to have on hand for emergencies. The bark contains several medicinally active constituents, including mucilage, as do all the mallows. And I mean, that's from hibiscus to marshmallow to this is that mucilaginous quality is like the go-to reason you have this. It soothes the skin.

It soothes the digestive tract. It's good for wound healing. malose in many of his formulas for wounds for animals because it's so soothing and but also for digestive issues i mean it works for man and beast in other words contains carotenoids sesquiterpenes and anthocyanins a decoction of the root bark is antiphlogistic, demulsant, emollient, febrifuge, hemostatic, and vermifuge. Gosh, so many properties there. Softening, lowers fever, can help get rid of intestinal parasites, etc. Can lower fever. Febrifuge, you know, means it can help lower fever it is used in the treatment of diarrhea dysentery abdominal pain

leukorrhea dysmenorrhea and dermophytosis leukorrhea and dysmenorrhea are menstrual conditions we can i think we have time for one more and this is another one that oddly enough i think my grandfather had on the property. I know he had the Chinese lantern tree. He loved to find exotic plants and incorporate them into the landscape. He was a very big, I mean, he was a permaculture guy before there was permaculture. And there's one, a neighbor of my mother has this tree on their property, just like maybe a block away from her house. Really pretty tree, really pretty tree. Very limited medicinal use. I would not go out of my way to plant this

tree, but if someone had already planted it for landscaping, definitely. It's got some medicinal use. It's also got some edible use. It's Hovinia dulcis or the japanese raisin tree it's actually been naturalized in the american southeast i can't speak for other parts of the country really popular landscaping trees say in the 19 1900 to 1930 you know a lot of these asian trees were coming in and they were all the fad. I mean, it was just a rage to have all kinds of Japanese and Chinese plants and Korean plants in your landscape, you know, and because we have a hot human conditions in the South, we're very conducive to growing Southeast Asian plants. Unfortunately, in the mountains of North Carolina our climate

is more like the cooler areas of Japan and China and North Korea and such as that so we get a lot of the very rare like expensive Chinese and Japanese herbs and shiitake mushrooms and ginseng and all kinds of stuff like that so that's one reason I really like North Carolina is I can drive a couple hours in any direction and be like in a completely different climate with completely different plants so it's cool for you know a plant guy a plant geek an herbalist there's very little that doesn't grow here, honestly. So Japanese raisin tree, medicinal use, it's antispasmodic, febrifuge, and laxative. So it helps with muscle cramping or spasms. It helps with fevers and is a laxative. The fruit is antispasmodic, febrifuge, laxative,

and diuretic. The seeds are diuretic and used in the treatment of alcohol overdose. The seeds are diuretic and used in the treatment of alcohol overdose. Very interesting. It says the seeds relieve intoxication. So if someone has had too much wine or anything else, or that hibiscus cocktail I told you about earlier, the seeds can actually help the body process the alcohol and reduce the intoxication, which makes it pretty good actually in a first aid type of situation.

You know, I mean, if you've got teenagers, at some point, they're going to get into some alcohol somewhere, and they're going to come in, you know, throwing up, and sicker than they've ever been in their entire lives. And, you know, that's how you learn your lesson, and you learn not to drink that much. But if you're worried that they may die, which, you know, you should be, actually, that has happened to many people, just think Bon Scott with ACDC, right? I mean, he had a few drinks.

Well, he actually froze to death, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, I mean, there have been so many musicians that, you know, died of alcohol poisoning. I immediately think that. But I think he actually sat down, like passed out in the backseat of a car, and the temperature went below a certain level, and he froze to death. But anyway, say you need to get these people sobered up for their own good, so they don't choke on their own vomit or, you know, actually have alcohol poisoning. The seeds are good for that.

And the stem of the bark is actually used in the treatment of certain rectal diseases. Not sure how. Doesn't tell me how. We'll have to look more into that. But edibly, the fruit, raw or cooked, is edible. But dried, it's like raisins. And that's why it's called the Japanese raisin tree. So it would be a good one to kind of put into your landscaping.

The fruit, it's sweet, and it actually has more of like a pear-type flavor and scent. It's not very acidic, but it's good. And anyway, you can also also according to my notes here make an extract of the like the limbs the twigs the young leaves and use it as a substitute for honey amazingly enough the plant itself actually has that much sugar in it and the seeds also contain protein and fat so it actually would not be a very bad idea to incorporate that tree into your landscaping for survival purposes so I think I'm going to wrap this one up here and it's because the next one is gonna be a long one if I start in on it's it's Holly it's it's it's ill X or Holly

another plant we have tons of in North Carolina most people think of it as poisonous but actually it has medicinal value one of them is actually a very our only native caffeinated tea so we'll get if I started on this one now we'd go another 30 minutes and you know I try to keep these around you know 20 to 30 minutes so this was probably gonna be a bit shorter than normal but I gave you two plants and that are actually quite useful, especially the Rose of Sharon. So anyway, y'all, I will get into Holly next week. Have a great week.

Enjoy this blazing hot weather. And I'll talk to you next time. The information in this podcast is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing I say or write has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I'm not a doctor. The U.S. government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine, and there is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm really just a guy who studies herbs. I'm not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write or say is accurate or true. I can tell you what herbs have been traditionally used for. I can tell you my own experience and if I believe an herb has helped me.

I cannot nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use an herb anyone recommends, 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, a sensitivity, an underlying condition that no one else even shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to listen to my podcast or 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.