Health Benefits of Bitter Berry

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5 years ago

Bitter Berry is a native perennial, woody, deciduous and thicket forming large erect shrub or small tree. It reaches to the height of over 30 feet. The tree has irregular crown which measures 10 to 20 feet wide when mature. Stems are slender and numerous. The outside bark is blackish and rugged. The young branches are smooth, red or purplish; flowers appear after the leaves in May and June, followed by the delicious Cherry in August. Individual flowers are 1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter with 5 white petals. Leaves are glossy and dark green, alternate, glabrous, simple, oval to broadly elliptic about 1 to 4 inches long and 3/4 to 2 inches wide. Margins are toothed with sharp teeth pointing outward forming a serrated edge. The bark has a distinct aromatic odour, resembling bitter almond when macerated in water; the taste is astringent and agreeably bitter. The young, thin bark is the best; very large or small branches should be rejected. Stem bark is collected in the autumn and carefully dried; slouching dead tissue, if present, should be removed. Fruits are globose and 1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter.

Facts About Bitter Berry

Bitter Berry Quick Facts
Name:	Bitter Berry
Scientific Name:	Prunus virginiana
Origin	Native to North America and is found in Canada, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Louisiana, Texas.
Colors	Dark red fruit
Shapes	Spherical drupes, globose, 1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter
Taste	Bitter and astringent
Calories	249 Kcal./cup
Major nutrients	Total dietary Fiber (81.05%) Carbohydrate (39.83%) Copper (31.83%) Manganese (27.92%) Vitamin K (27.08%)

Name	Bitter Berry
Scientific Name	Prunus virginiana
Native	Native to North America and is found in Canada, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Louisiana, Texas.
Common/English Name	Wild Black Cherry Bark, Choke Cherry, Common chokecherry, Black chokecherry, Red chokecherry, Virginia chokecherry, California chokecherry, Eastern chokecherry, Western chokecherry, Rum chokecherry, Wild blackcherry, Whiskey chokecherry, Wild cherry, Bird cherry Chokeberry, Jamcherry, Cabinet cherry, Chuckleyplum, Bitter-berry, Sloe tree, Caupulin
Plant Growth Habit	Suckering hardy tree or large shrub
Plant Size	1 to 6 m tall
Bark	Blackish and rugged
Branches	Smooth, red or purplish
Leaf	Elliptic to ovate, and 3 to 10 cm long
Medicinal part	The young thin bark
Flowering Season	Summer
Flower	Creamy-white
Fruit shape & size	Spherical drupes, globose, 1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter
Fruit color	Dark red fruit
Flavor/aroma	Strong
Fruit Taste	Bitter and astringent

Leaf

Leaves are alternate, simple, oblong to nearly oval and 2 to 4 inches long. It has finely serrated margin, dark green above and paler below, minute glands on petiole.

Flower

Flower is white, in a loose 3 to 6 inches long terminal raceme, appearing after leaves.

Fruit

Flowers are then dark red to purple drupe and 1/3 diameter and matures in late summer.

Twig

Twigs are slender, black cherry and light brown to gray.

Bark

Bark is smooth, gray-brown, conspicuous lenticels that develop into shallow fissures; young stems have shallowly peeling, curling layers.

Bitter Berry Image Gallery

Bitter-berry

Bitter-Berry-bark

Bitter-Berry-flowers

Bitter-Berry-leaves

Bitter-Berry-tree

Close-view-of-Bitter-Berry-flower

Flower-buds-of-Bitter-berry

Unripe-Bitter-Berry

Medicinal uses

Bark and roots act as blood tonic, pectoral, astringent, tonic, sedative and appetite stimulant.
Root bark infusion is used to treat coughs, fevers and colds.
Use the root bark as a wash for old sores, burns and ulcers.
Use the inner bark for treating wounds.
Dried and powdered fruits are used for stimulating appetite, bloody discharges of bowels and treat diarrhea.
Unriped fruit is used for treating diarrhea.

Culinary uses

Fruits are used to make jams and jellies, syrups, pie filings and wines.
Fruits can be sundried.
Bark is used to brew tea.
Fruits are used to flavor soups and stews or as a thickening agent.
It is used for making cakes and pies.

Side Effects

It can cause mild headache and ulcers.
Excessive intake causes constipation and other abdominal problems.
It also increases toxicity in stomach.

Dose

15 drops in water. Cherry bark will dissolve stones but should be combined with other herbs and administered carefully and over a period of several months, as when taken too fast will expel the stones abruptly without being softened.

Homoeopathic Clinical

Cold infusion or tincture of inner bark; solution of concentrated resinous extract, Prunin—Acidity, Anorexia, Dyspepsia, Heart (weakness of, hypertrophy of. irritable), Pyrosis.

References:

https://web.uri.edu/rhodeislandwoods/files/Prunus-virginiana.pdf

https://practicalplants.org/wiki/Prunus_virginiana

http://foodsportal.com/chokecherry/

https://www.onlyfoods.net/chokecherry.html

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