More Medicinal Uses of Trees

Herbalists have used horse chestnut leaves as a treatment for fevers and whooping cough. The leaves are also believed to reduce pain and inflammation.

Historically, Native Americans used Aspen leaves to treat burns, swollen joints and headache, as well as bark for stomach and urinary infections.

Hornbeam leaves and bark are known for being astringent, a property that helps with tightening tissues and reducing bleeding. Historically, leaves were sometimes harvested in autumn, dried, and ground into a powder to be applied to wounds. The bark can be boiled and bathed in to treat sore muscles.

Hornbeam can be taken as a liquid essence to remediate mental fatigue and exhaustion, when one finds it difficult to take on the tasks for the day. It is one of the 38 original Bach Flower Remedies developed in the 1930s.

Neanderthals used Poplars to relieve toothache. Fossils of jaws and loose teeth have been found packed with material from the tree. They also twisted the fibres to make strings.

In traditional medicine across Southern Asia, the flowers of the Indian Cork Tree have a strong, pleasant scent and are made into a tonic to treat pulmonary issues.