Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines: Corylus, Hazelnut
Seventeen varieties of Hazel have documented use in Herbal Medicine: Corylus americana - American Hazel, Corylus avellana, Corylus avellana pontica, Corylus colurna - Turkish Hazel, Corylus cornuta - Beaked Hazel, Corylus cornuta californica - California Hazel, Corylus fargesii, Corylus ferox - Himalayan Hazel, Corylus heterophylla - Siberian Filbert, Corylus chinensis - Chinese Hazel, Corylus jacquemontii - Indian Tree Hazel, Corylus maxima, Corylus sieboldiana - Japanese Hazel, Corylus sieboldiana mandschurica, Corylus tibetica, Corylus x colurnoides - Trazel, Corylus x vilmorinii - Chinese Trazel
Two varieties are native to my region: Corylus americana (American Hazelnut), Corylus cornuta var. cornuta (Beaked Hazelnut).
Dioscorides wrote:
Carya Pontica (also called leptocarya [small carya]) are worthless for the stomach, yet pounded into small pieces and taken as a drink with honey and water they cure old coughs. Roasted and eaten with a little pepper they digest dripping fluids; and burnt whole, pounded into small pieces with goose grease or bear grease, and rubbed on they restore hair that has fallen out from alopecia [baldness]. Some say that the shells burnt and pounded into small pieces together with oil make the pupils of gray-eyed children black if the forepart of the head is moistened with it.
Gerard wrote of Hazelnut:
A. Hazelnuts newly gathered, and not as yet dry, contain in them a certain superfluous moisture, by reason whereof they are windy: not only the new gathered nuts, but the dry also, be very hard of digestion; for they are of an earthy and cold essence, and of an hard and sound substance, for which cause also they very slowly pass through the belly, therefore they are troublesome and clogging to the stomach, cause headache, especially when they be eaten in too great a quantity.
B. The kernels of nuts made into milk like almonds do mightily bind the belly, and are good for the lask and the bloody flux.[Thus our author, but see E below]
C. The same doth cool exceedingly in hot fevers and burning agues.
D. The catkins are cold and dry, and likewise binding: they also stay the lask.
E. The kernels of nuts rather cause than cure the bloody flux and lasks, wherefore they are not to be used in such diseases. [added by Johnson]
An Irish Herbal states:
A decoction in mead cures an old cough. If roasted and taken with a little pepper, they are beneficial for catarrh and runny nose or eyes. If burnt and applied with hg’s lard, they cure a scald.
Brother Aloysius wrote of Hazel Catkins:
These are the male flowers of the hazel tree. They are long, full, hanging catkins which grow in groups of three or more on young branches. They have a medicinal use. They are gathered in the flowering period, dried and stored in a dry place. This is an excellent remedy for pneumonia; in particular, it causes sweating. It is also highly recommended for influenza. A princess once wrote me as follows, “My six children were cured from influenza in a few days by tea from hazel catkins. The sweat broke out after one cup.”
Botany in A Day tells us:
Medicinally the oil from the nut is said to be a gentle remedy for pinworms and threadworm infections in babies and small children. The leaves and bark are astringent.
Plants for A Future states:
Medicinal use of American Hazel: A tea made from the bark is astringent. It was used in the treatment of hives and fevers. A poultice made from the bark is used to close cuts and wounds, treat tumours, old sores etc.
Medicinal use of Beaked Hazel: An infusion of the branches and leaves has been used in the treatment of heart complaints and intestinal disorders. A decoction of the bark has been given to children to alleviate teething pain.
Peterson Field Guides Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants tells us:
American Indians drank bark tea for hives, fevers, astringent. Bark poultice used to close cuts and wounds, treat tumors, old sores and skin cancers. Twig hairs were used by American Indians and historically by physicians to expel worms.
PS. New in my Woodcraft Shop:
Eating Spoon #3
This article is an excerpt from
Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast An Herbalist's Guide
Read about Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast An Herbalist's Guide: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/06/medicinal-shrubs-and-woody-vines-of.html
Available for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2T4Y5L6: by Judson Carroll
His New book is:
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Ferns and Fern Allies, an Herbalist's Guide
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The Encyclopedia of Bitter Medicinal Herbs:
southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-encyclopedia-of-bitter-medicina.html
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Christian Medicine, History and Practice:
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Herbal Medicine for Preppers, Homesteaders and Permaculture People
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Look Up: The Medicinal Trees of the American South, An Herbalist's Guide
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The Herbs and Weeds of Fr. Johannes Künzle:
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Author: Judson Carroll. Judson Carroll is an Herbalist from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
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Disclaimer
The information on this site is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing on this site has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I am not a doctor. The US government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and their is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm just a guy who studies herbs. I am not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write is accurate or true! I can tell you what herbs have "traditionally been used for." I can tell you my own experience and if I believe an herb helped me. I cannot, nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use any herb I, or anyone else, mentions you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, sensitivity or underlying condition that no one else shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to read my blog you agree to be responsible for yourself, do your own research, make your own choices and not to blame me for anything, ever.