Slippery elm, Ulmus rubra (syn. Ulmus fulva), is also known as American elm (though the true American elm is Ulmus americana), gray elm, Indian elm, moose elm, red elm, rock elm, soft elm, sweet elm and winged elm. It’s native to central and southern North America, although it may be found in other parts of the world by naturalization. Unfortunately, it’s not immune to Dutch elm disease, so numbers are much reduced.
This stunning picture shows the craggy bark from the most likely viewpoint unless you’re lucky enough to find one standing alone somewhere that hasn’t been hit by the Nederlandische beetles. A tree is a tree unless you can see the leaves, flowers, bark and so on, so take a look at the picture below where you can see the slightly furry twigs, a leafbud and a flower. Disappearing off to the right is a bud which has not yet opened, looking a bit like an unkempt tribble. The leaves are slightly lopsided, fairly typical elm leaves.
Obviously, unless you have a really big garden and are planning for your grandchildren, you can’t grow slippery elm for medicinal use from scratch (especially since gathering the bark is almost certain to kill the tree). If you do decide to invest for the future, it requires moist soil, but is otherwise not fussy at all so long as it’s not in full shade. However, powdered slippery elm bark is available for sale in most herbalists (probably not Chinese herbalists) and health stores. This is the inner bark, not the craggy outer bark visible in the picture above.
The main reason that slippery elm is included here is that it is the fourth and last major ingredient of the anti-cancer mixture, essiac. (The others are sheep’s sorrel, great burdock and Chinese rhubarb.) I have no opinion as to the value of this mixture, as there have been no double-blind tests, so far as I am aware.
Slippery elm is an old folk remedy which has been used for many purposes over the years, so let’s look at the various uses to which it was put before the tree was in danger of extinction.
Slippery elm food, a commercial mixture, was recommended as a first solid food for babies who had difficulties with milk. It makes up to a gruel which you can make as thick as you like, is much more easily digested than baby rice, and less likely to cause digestive problems than products based on wheat like baby rusks (babies under 6 months should never be introduced to wheat or any other gluten-containing grain, in any case, because it can cause long term problems if introduced too young). Having looked it up, I would not recommend slippery elm food for young babies, unless it comes in a plain version, as the type I’ve found is flavored by the addition of barley malt, another grain which may cause difficulties in the very young. It can be used as a food for the elderly, invalids and convalescents (so long as they are not celiac/gluten intolerant), however. And there’s nothing to stop you making a very similar food from natural slippery elm (get the coarser variety if you have a choice), which you can flavor as you wish.
To make a cold infusion, mix 30g (1 ounce) of slippery elm bark with 480 ml (2 US cups, 16 fl oz) of cold water and allow to stand for at least an hour. The dose is 1 tsp, which can be repeated every 30 minutes as required.
A poultice (made by mixing 1 tsp with enough hot water to make a thick paste applied on a bandage) can be used to treat boils, wounds and scalds, soothe irritated skin and to “grease” splinters to make them easier to remove. A cold infusion can be used internally to treat heartburn, gastritis, peptic ulcers, sore throat, indigestion, diarrhea and dysentery.
Trees prefer organic cultivation, which is also important for any plant being grown for medicinal purposes. To find out more about growing organic herbs visit the Gardenzone.
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