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Flowering dogwood

Cornus florida

Also calledDogwood · Flowering cornel · Boxwood (19th-century American name) · Kănûsĭ΄tă (Cherokee)

An eastern North American tree whose bitter, astringent bark Cherokee, Houma, Delaware and other nations used for fevers, diarrhoea, worms and wounds. In the 18th and 19th centuries it stood in for imported cinchona bark against malaria, but the lab work done so far found only moderate activity against the malaria parasite.

What it is used for

Malaria
Limited
The Houma took a decoction of the root or bark for malaria. Eclectic physicians and Confederate army supply officers used the bark in place of cinchona or quinine. When Graziose et al. (2012) fractionated the bark, the compounds they isolated were only moderately active against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro (best IC50 about 10 µM). The authors said this does not fully explain the bark's historical reputation. No human trials were found.^1,2,3,4
Fever
Traditional
Cherokee healers used the root bark as a febrifuge, and the Houma drank a decoction of root or bark scrapings for fever. King's American Dispensatory (1898) recommends the dried bark for periodic and typhoid fevers. Nineteenth-century writers also say twigs were chewed to prevent fevers.^1,2,5
Diarrhoea
Traditional
The Cherokee took a compound infusion for diarrhoea, and the Rappahannock drank an infusion of the root bark. The bark contains about 3% tannin, according to 19th-century analyses cited in King's.^1,2
Intestinal worms
Traditional
Cherokee healers gave children an infusion of the bark for worms and also used it as a bath. A compound infusion of bark and root was used for childhood illnesses such as worms and measles.¹
Wounds and cuts
Traditional
The Cherokee used the root bark on wounds, in poultices and as an antiseptic astringent, and put a poultice of the bark's ooze on ulcers. Nineteenth-century writers called the root bark antiseptic for ulcers.^1,5
Headache
Traditional
The Cherokee chewed the bark for headache. King's American Dispensatory lists it for 'headaches from quinine'.^1,2
Sore throat
Traditional
Cherokee healers gave a decoction of the inner bark to loosen phlegm in hoarseness, and an infusion of the inner bark for 'lost voice'.¹
General tonic
Traditional
The Delaware, Cherokee and Rappahannock used the root or root bark as a tonic, and the Rappahannock also used it 'to purify the blood'. King's calls the bark tonic, astringent and slightly stimulant, for use in general exhaustion.^1,2

How it is prepared

powder

Dried bark, preferably root bark, reduced to powder. King's warns that fresh bark tends to upset the stomach.

King's American Dispensatory (1898), historical: 20–60 grains of powdered bark (about 1.3–3.9 g), as often as required.

Fever · Malaria

dry extract / capsule

An extract made by boiling the bark in water and evaporating it down, which King's considered one of the best forms.

King's American Dispensatory (1898), historical: 5–10 grains of the extract.

Fever

infusion

Cherokee and Rappahannock recipes steep the bark, root bark or flowers in water. Some are taken by mouth and some are used as a wash or bath.

Diarrhoea · Intestinal worms

Amounts are as recorded by the named source, not a recommendation.

Safety

Pregnancy: Insufficient data
Breastfeeding: Insufficient data

Side effects

Fresh bark: stomach upset and abdominal pain, according to King's American Dispensatory (1898)
Nineteenth-century sources describe the fresh bark as emetic
King's says that taken internally it raises the strength and rate of the pulse and the body temperature

Toxicity

No modern human safety or toxicity studies were found. The safety information here comes from 19th-century medical texts.

In the healing traditions

Indigenous North American
Kănûsĭ΄tă (Cherokee); flowering dogwood
Cherokee: bark chewed for headache; infusions of bark and root for diarrhoea, worms and childhood illnesses, and as a bath after 'poisons of any kind'; flower infusion 'to sweat off flu' and for colic; root bark used as a febrifuge, a tonic, and on wounds and ulcers; bark infusion taken by women for backache. Houma: decoction for fever and malaria. Delaware: root used as a tonic. Rappahannock: root bark for diarrhoea, as a tonic and as a blood purifier. Iroquois: compound decoction of stems and roots for 'blood chills'.
Hamel & Chiltoskey, Cherokee Plants and Their Uses (1975); Speck, Houma plant curatives (1941); Tantaquidgeon, Delaware folk medicine (1942, 1972); via the Native American Ethnobotany Database
Western herbalism
Cornus (Dogwood bark)
Eclectic physicians used the dried bark as a tonic and antiperiodic and as a substitute for Peruvian (cinchona) bark in intermittent fevers, especially when quinine could not be given. They also used it for headache caused by quinine and for general exhaustion. Country people made the ripe berries into bitters with brandy or whiskey, and the flowers were sometimes used in place of chamomile.
Felter & Lloyd, King's American Dispensatory (1898); Scudder's specific indications

Active compounds

cornin (cornine): bitter iridoid glucoside; Geiger isolated it from the root bark in 1836, and it was re-isolated from the leaves in 2014
betulinic acid and 3β-O-coumaroyl betulinic acids: bark triterpenoids; the coumaroyl esters inhibited P. falciparum in vitro (IC50 10–15 µM)
3-epideoxyflindissol: bark triterpenoid; antileishmanial in vitro (IC50 1.8 µM)
cornusoside A and cornolactones A–D: leaf iridoids; not cytotoxic to the cell lines tested at 100 µM
tannins: about 3% of the bark in 19th-century analyses; these explain its astringency

History

King's American Dispensatory records that dogwood bark was used heavily during the American Revolution as a substitute for Peruvian bark. During the Civil War, quinine was scarce and expensive, so Confederate medical supply officers issued dogwood, willow and tulip-tree preparations in its place; contemporaries thought these useful but less effective than quinine. In 1804 Alexander von Humboldt noted the bark as a tanning agent.

Sources

Reference, not prescription. Nothing here is medical advice. Herbs can interact with medicines and be dangerous in pregnancy; tell your doctor or pharmacist about anything you take.