A shrub up to 8 meters high. Young twigs soft and pithy, but the wood is quite hard. The stems may have a rank odor if bruised. Leaves large, opposite, compound with five to nine leaflets. Flowers creamy white in pyramidal heads. Fruits round, berrylike drupes with two to four seeds; usually bright red.

Diuretic and purgative (barks and leaves); diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, laxative (plant)

Plants For A Future

Betulin and betulinic acid (bark)

The blossoms have been used in the treatment of measles. A hot infusion of plant facilitates childbirth and expels placenta. The plant is also indicated in treating abscesses, arthrosis, boils, bruises, colds, constipation, cough, cramps, cystosis, dermatosis, diarrhea, dysentery, dyspnea, erysipelas, fever, foot aches, gastrosis, myalgia, nephrosis, rheumatism, sores, stomachache, swellings, toothache, tuberculosis, water retention and wounds.

James A Duke and Maryl Fulton. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs - 2nd Edition, P: 655-656, CRC Press July 2002.