- Region
- North America
- Origin
- Wet woods and swamps of northeastern North America, from Newfoundland to Manitoba and Virginia
- Traditions
- Haudenosaunee medicine
North America · Herb · № 933
Fraxinus nigra
Herb · North America
Black ash
Fraxinus nigra
An ash of wet ground. The wood has hardly any fibre between the growth rings, so after pounding it splits into thin strips. Medicinal effects have not been studied.
Safety notes
Since 2002 the emerald ash borer, introduced from Asia, has been killing almost all ashes in North America; the IUCN lists black ash as critically endangered. Haudenosaunee and other basket makers collect seed to preserve the species.
Cautions by tradition (1)
- Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine: The tree is critically endangered: do not harvest bark.
Preparation
No preparation: the tree is critically endangered.
Use in traditions
One of its Haudenosaunee names means 'they pound the wood': basket makers pound the trunk until the growth rings come apart and weave baskets from them, which gave many families an income. According to the notes in Herrick, healers used the bark for painful urination and, as a foot bath, for rheumatism.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine
Attributed effects
For painful urination and rheumatism; known above all as basket wood.
Preparation and amount
Historically: the bark as a decoction or foot bath. The wood is pounded and split into strips for baskets.
Caution: The tree is critically endangered: do not harvest bark.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- DecoctionSteam and bath