What are black haws?

What are black haws?

Black haw is a shrub that is native to the woodlands of central and southern North America. People use the root bark and its extracts to make medicine. Black haw is used for increasing urine (as a diuretic) to relieve fluid retention; and for treating diarrhea, spasms, and asthma. It is also used as a tonic.

Can you eat black haw?

Also called nannybush, black haw berries are edible and may be eaten of the bush or made into jams or preserves. The root bark is collected in autumn; the stem bark in spring and summer.

Is black haw viburnum invasive?

Most of our local shrubs are non-native and are invasive. However, there is one shrub (or small tree) species that is native to this area. That species is the Black Haw (Viburnum prunifolium L.). It is a fast-growing and a short-lived shrub.

Is black haw toxic?

When taken by mouth: Black haw stem bark is LIKELY SAFE for most people when taken in food amounts. Black haw root bark is POSSIBLY SAFE for most people when taken as a medicine.

What does black haw look like?

The Blackhaw viburnum tree’s leaves are dark green, finely toothed and glossy. They are attractive all summer long. In May or June, the trees offer showy white flowers in flat-topped cymes. The flowers are followed by blue-black, berry-like drupes.

What is Viburnum Prunifolium used for?

As a folk remedy, black haw has been used to treat menstrual pain, and morning sickness. Due to its antispasmodic properties, the plant may also be of use in treating cramps of the digestive tract or the bile ducts. Black haw’s primary use was to prevent miscarriages.

Is black haw a tree?

Smooth blackhaw is a sturdy, shapely shrub or small tree, 12-15 ft. Shrub or small tree with short trunk, spreading, rounded or irregular crown, many showy, small, white flowers, and small, blue-black fruit. The fruit is consumed by songbirds, gamebirds, and mammals and can be made into preserves.

Does blackhaw have thorns?

The common name for Viburnum prunifolium is blackhaw or blackhaw viburnum. The term black derives from the color of the oldest bark on the tree. Unlike hawthorn, Viburnum prunifolium lacks thorns, which is a boon to any landscape it graces.

Is viburnum an evergreen?

Native to North America or to Asia, Viburnum shrubs include deciduous and evergreen shrubs with multi-season interest: sweetly fragrant flowers, colorful berries, stunning fall colors ranging from glossy red to scarlet or purple.

What does Black Haw look like?

How tall does a viburnum grow?

Viburnums range from 3-foot-tall shrubs to 15-foot-tall trees.

Is Haw toxic to dogs?

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) Hawthorn berries are quite safe for your dog to eat and are used in herbal medicine as a tonic for the heart and was traditionally used to help with a number of heart problems.

What kind of Medicine is black haw used for?

Black haw is a shrub that is native to the woodlands of central and southern North America. People use the root bark and its extracts to make medicine. Black haw is used for increasing urine (as a diuretic) to relieve fluid retention; and for treating diarrhea, spasms, and asthma.

How tall does a black haw tree get?

Viburnum prunifolium, commonly called black haw, is usually grown as a large, upright, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub with an irregular crown, but it also may be grown as a small, single trunk tree. As a shrub, it typically grows 12-15′ tall with a spread of 6-12′, but as a tree may reach a height of 30′.

What kind of flowers does black haw viburnum have?

The black haw viburnum is a species of viburnum shrub that can also be trained to grow like a small tree. It features abundant clusters of snowy white flowers called “cymes” that bloom in the spring. After the flowers are fertilized and fade away, black fruits, known as “drupes,” form and ripen by fall.

What can black haw root bark be used for?

People use the root bark and its extracts to make medicine. Black haw is used for menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhea), asthma, diarrhea, labor pain, and other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses. How does it work? Black haw contains a chemical that might relax the uterus.