What Is Wild Cherry Bark?

Wild cherry is a tree that is native to North America. The bark of the wild cherry tree is used in herbal medicine to relieve coughing and excess mucus. Despite its alternative name ‘black cherry’, wild cherry is more closely related to chokecherry than to the sweet cultivated cherries available at most supermarkets.

How to Use Wild Cherry Bark (Common Uses)

Wild cherry bark can be taken internally as a tea, decoction, powder, capsules, or extract. Wild cherry bark can also be made into a syrup. It works well both on its own and when combined with other herbs. In the appropriate dosages, wild cherry bark is safe to be given to children and adults

Medicinal Uses and Benefits of Wild Cherry Bark

Wild cherry bark is good for coughs that are irritating, continuous, and produce large amounts of mucus. It is extremely effective at calming the cough reflex, and is also astringent. Often combined with elderberries and honey to make a cough syrup, wild cherry bark is also a key ingredient in both our Cough and Cold Tea and our Lung Revitalizing Tea. When brewed as a tea, wild cherry bark has a mildly bitter, astringent, fruity, and slightly floral taste.

The benefits of wild cherry bark are not limited to the respiratory system, as it helps to soothe gastric tissue as well. When used as a bitter digestive stimulant, wild cherry bark can shine as an ingredient in herbal bitters and after-dinner digestion support blends.

Active Constituents in Wild Cherry Bark

Prunasin, benzaldehyde, eudesmic acid, p-coumaric acid, scopoletin, tannins, sugars.

Notable Facts About Wild Cherry Bark

In mythology, cherries represent the uterus and virginity, education, and concealment.

Energetically, wild cherry bark is considered to be drying, however, there is some debate amongst herbalists as to whether it is warming or cooling.

Wild cherry bark is also a popular wood for furniture making, as it is quite attractive.

The longest living wild cherry tree that has been recorded was 258 years old.

The fresh wood of wild cherry bark can smell faintly of fresh almonds, due to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides.