Garrya wrightii (Silk tassel)
- Aunt Plantsy
- Apr 1, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 11
This native evergreen shrub is called Garrya wrightii. Common names include Wright’s silktassel, grayleaf dogwood, and silk tassel.
The habitat is desert scrub, chaparral, oak woodlands and dry slopes in pine-oak forests with elevations of 3,000 to 8,000 feet.
Look for thick, oval leaf blades on short stalks that are arranged opposite of each other and are sparsely hairy or smooth below. They have greenish-gray (younger bark) to reddish brown (older) bark. They have male and female flowers on separate plants that hang down in elongated clusters, which produce pea-sized dark purple to black berries in the fall and overwinter well.
Leaves are best gathered in spring or autumn, once ample rains have arrived. Stem bark preparations can be prepared from autumn or winter harvests of the smooth-barked branches.
This is a medicinal plant with these uses: Smooth-muscle relaxant, pain reliever and antispasmodic for diarrhea, dysentery, gallbladder attacks, and menstrual cramps; also used for flatulence, stomach cramps, stimulating digestion, astringent for the digestive tract, may drop blood sugars, can induce hunger; for liver tension it may bring relaxation and induce sleep; leaf tea is used for colds, stomachaches and as a laxative, lung spasms associated with asthma attacks, preventing or treating giardiasis, and food poisoning.
Contraindications are: Prescription medicine and over-the-counter drugs should be avoided when using silk tassel. Do not use during pregnancy or for children. If you get short of breath and cold-clammy, you have taken too much (which is hard to do).
References: Medical Plants of the Desert and Canyon West by Michael Moore Southwest Medicinal Plants by John Slattery https://www.voyagebotanica.net/blogs/yerba-mansa-anemopsis-californica/silk-tassel-a-very-important-plant-medicine-for-your-first-aid-kit https://cals.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetail.php?genus=Garrya&species=wrightii Preparation can be tea or tincture. Tincture it at a 1:5 ratio with 50% alcohol. Dosage is ½ teaspoon of leaf tincture 5x/day OR 10-15 drops of the root tincture 5x/day. You can also nibble a fresh leaf for diarrhea. Please visit me online at www.peasbeewithewe.com
You can also view the following:
Comments