EBP/Cooperative/Sorbus americana

Sorbus americana

• Common names: American mountain ash, American ash, Mountain ash, Rowan, Witch-wood, Dogberry, Small-fruited mountain ash, Roundwood, Missey-mossey,
• Names used by indigenous peoples:
• Wikipedia: Sorbus americana

Medicinal uses

Bark

• As anti-malarial agent: The bark was used by early American pioneers as an anti-malarial agent due to its resemblance to the cinchona tree, the source of quinine.
• For boils: The bark was burned and used in a poultice for boils by the Maliseet people. It was also used in this way (though it is unclear whether the bark was burned) by the Mi'kmaq.
• For colds: Inner bark used by the Algonquian peoples of Quebec in an infusion for colds. Sometimes the terminal buds were also brewed for this purpose.
• For depression: Inner bark fibers were boiled and used as a treatment for depression by the Algonquian peoples of Quebec. This mixture was usually made with the buds of the tree.
• For pain after childbirth: An infusion was used by the Maliseet people to treat pain after childbirth. It was also used in this way by the Mi'kmaq tribe.
• As tonic: Inner bark was brewed in a general tonic by the Algonquian peoples of Quebec.
  • As blood tonic: Inner bark was brewed into a decoction and taken to clean and purify the blood and also to stimulate the appetite. It was used in this way by the Innu people.

Buds

• For colds: Buds brewed with the inner bark as a treatment for colds by the Algonquian peoples of Quebec.
• For depression: Used by the Algonquian peoples of Quebec, boiled with the inner bark fibers for depression.

Fruit

• As a digestive aid: Fruit used in an unspecified way as a digestive aid by the Iroquois.

Roots

• For gonorrhea: Root bark used by the Anishinabe in an infusion to treat gonorrhea.

Unspecified

• For pleurisy: Unspecified parts of the plant used by the Tlingit in a treatment for pleurisy.
• To induce vomiting (as emetic): Unspecified parts of the plant were used as an emetic by the Mi'kmaq people. It was also used in this way by the Penobscot tribe.

Food uses

Fruit

• As fresh fruit: Fruit boiled and used as a food source by the Algonquian peoples, the Innu and the Anishinabe tribes.
• As alcoholic beverage: The Celts of Wales reportedly brewed an ale from the berries, though the secret of this has now been lost.
• For flour: Various northern European cultures apparently dried the fruits for a sort of flour.

Other

• As canoe material: Ribs for Anishinabe canoes made from the wood of this tree.
• As snowshoe material: The Anishinabe tribe used the wood of this plant to make snowshoe frames.
• For lacrosse clubs: The wood of this tree was used by the Anishinabe tribe to make lacrosse clubs.

Chemical actions and constituents

• List of chemical constituents: from Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
• List of chemical actions: from Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases