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European Cranberrybush
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Guelder Rose
Where To Found It: The 'Gaitre-Beries' of
which Chaucer makes mention among the plants that 'shal be for your
hele' to 'picke hem right as they grow and ete hem in,' are the deep
red clusters of berries of the Wild Guelder Rose (Viburnum Opulus,
Linn.), a shrub growing 5 to 10 feet high, belonging to the same family
as the Elder, found in copses and hedgerows throughout England, though
rare in Scotland, and also indigenous to North America, where it is
to be found in low grounds in the eastern United States.
It resembles the Common Elder in habits of growth, hence
in some districts we find it called Red Elder or Rose Elder. The
conspicuous, large, nearly flattopped heads of snow-white flowers
are 3 to 5 inches across, the inner ones very small, but with an
outer ring of large, showy, sterile blossoms, containing undeveloped
stamens with no pollen and an ovary without ovules. Only the inner,
complete flowers provide the nectar for the attraction of insects
who are to fertilize them. The resulting fruits, which ripen very
quickly, form a drooping cluster of bright red berries, shining
and translucent, perhaps the most ornamental of our wild fruits,
the tree presenting a very beautiful appearance in August, when
they are ripe, especially as the leaves assume a rich purple hue
before falling. But although edible, the berries, in spite of Chaucer's
recommendation, are too bitter to be palatable eaten fresh off the
trees, and when crushed, smell somewhat disagreeable, though birds
appreciate them and in Siberia the berries used to be, and probably
still are, fermented with flour and a spirit distilled from them.
They have been used in Norway and Sweden to flavour a paste of honey
and flour.
In Canada, they are employed to a considerable extent as a substitute
for Cranberries and are much used for making. a piquant jelly, their
sourness gaining for them there the name of High Bush Cranberry,
though the tree is, of course, quite unrelated to the true Cranberry.
The name Guelder comes from Gueldersland, a Dutch province, where
the tree was first cultivated. It was introduced into England under
the name of 'Gueldres Rose.' The garden variety, Viburnum sterile,
with snowball flowers, does not produce the showy fruit of the wild
species.
The berries have anti-scorbutic properties. They turn black in
drying and have been used for making ink.
The wood, like that of the Spindle Tree and Dogwood, is used for
making skewers.
Modern Uses: The bark, known as Cramp
Bark, is employed in herbal medicine. It used formerly to be included
in the United States Pharmacopoeia, but is now omitted though it
has been introduced into the National Formulary in the form of a
Fluid Extract, Compound Tincture and Compound Elixir, for use as
a nerve sedative and anti-spasmodic in asthma and hysteria.
In herbal practice in this country, its administration in decoction
and infusion, as well as the fluid extract and compound tincture
is recommended. It has been employed with benefit in all nervous
complaints and debility and used with success in cramps and spasms
of all kinds, in convulsions, fits and lockjaw, and also in palpitation,
heart disease and rheumatism.
The decoction (1/2 oz. to a pint of water) is given in tablespoon
doses.
The bark is collected chiefly in northern Europe and appears in
commerce in thin strips, sometimes in quills, 1/20 to 1/12 inch
thick, greyish-brown externally, with scattered brownish warts,
faintly cracked longitudinally. It has a strong, characteristic
odour and its taste is mildly astringent and decidedly bitter.
The active principle of Cramp Bark is the bitter glucoside Viburnine;
it also contains tannin, resin and valerianic acid.
Other Names: Cramp Bark. Snowball Tree.
King's Crown. High Cranberry. Red Elder. Rose Elder. Water Elder.
May Rose. Whitsun Rose. Dog Rowan Tree. Silver Bells. Whitsun Bosses.
Gaitre Berries. Black Haw.
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