Cherry Bark
Description
Cherries are members of the botanical genus Prunus, which is a member of the Rosaceae (or rose) family. Cherries can be a shrub or a tree, and are believed to have originated in the Caucasus mountain region between Europe and Asia.
Cherries are divided into two broad groups: sweet (Prunus avium) and sour (Prunus cerasus). Varieties of the cherry are widely distributed throughout temperate regions of the world and have been cultivated for thousands of years. Roman historian Pliny reported that sour cherries were introduced to ancient Rome as part of a victory celebration after the defeat of the Parthians at a place called Cerasus.
From the simple division of sweet and sour cherries, classification of the various cherry types has grown increasingly complex through the years. Today, there are literally hundreds of varieties due to their long record of cultivation and crossbreeding.
Cherry trees have been used widely for their fruit, eaten fresh and also used in cooking. Both the fermented fruit and the crushed pits are used in making the European liqueur kirsch. The tree is also a source of wood used in making high-quality furniture. The stalks from some of these cherry varieties have been used medicinally as an astringent. However, it's most widely accepted that the cherry tree whose bark is utilized in herbal medicine is the wild cherry (listed now as Prunus serotina, but in nineteenth century herbal books is listed as Prunus virginianus).
The wild cherry is a native of North America. It is found in central and northern parts of the United States, as well as in cooler, nondesert parts of the Southwest. Wild cherry trees characteristically grow to a height of 50-80 ft (15.2-24.4 m), with a trunk width of 2-4 ft (0.6-1.2 m). The leaf of the wild cherry is oval, with a minutely serrated edge, and is more pointed toward the tip. Its leaves are approximately 3 in (7.6 cm) in length, dark green and shiny on top, and paler and fuzzy on the underside. Small, white, petaled flowers appear along the stems before the leaves in early spring. Pea-sized, purplish black fruits that are bitter develop and ripen by late summer.
The outer bark of the wild cherry tree is dark gray to black, very rough to the touch, and breaks away easily from the trunk. Even though the bark from the roots, trunk, and branches has medicinal properties, it is the root bark that is the most beneficial. Beneath a cherry root's dark outer covering, the interior is a dusky reddish color. It has an almond-like aroma that evaporates when dried, but re-emerges when the bark is crushed or dissolved. Its tastes astringent and bitter. Its chemical constituents include cyanogenic glycosides, starch, resin, tannin, gallic acid, fatty matter, lignin, red coloring material, as well as calcium, potassium, and iron salts.
