Showing posts with label diarrhea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diarrhea. Show all posts

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Eastern Hemlock Tree Medicinal Uses

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 243-365

Scientific Name Tsuga canadensis
Favoured: Moist-Wet soil,sand, loam, partial shade to full shade,
Maximum Height: 30 m
Provides food & shelter for wildlife
The eastern hemlock can live for up to 800 years.










Eastern hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis)are shade tolerant and thrive in acidic soils in moist, cool environments (Rooney et al, 2000). They can be found in certain areas across the United States including northern Michigan, New England, New York, and Eastern Canada including most of the maritime provinces and Quebec (Godman & Lancaster, n.d.). Its presence has been noted as diminished in the Great lakes, St-Lawrence and Acadian regions (Fuller 1998). This species has an extremely slow growth rate and individual trees are long-lived. 
Eastern hemlock grows from sea level to about 730 m (2,400 ft) in elevation in the northeastern and northern portions of the range. Most commonly it is found on benches, flats, and swamp borders, provided the peat and muck soils are shallow (Aquic Haplorthods or Aerie Haplaquods). On the Allegheny
Plateau, especially in New York and Pennsylvania, most of the hemlock grows between 300 and 910 m (1,000 and 3,000 ft) (35). In the southern Appalachians the most frequent occurrences are at elevations of 610 to 1520 m (2,000 to 5,000 ft) and often are restricted to north and east slopes, coves, or cool, moist valleys (35). Outliers tend to be severely restricted by a combination of edaphic and climatic factors.

Medicinal Uses
First Nations people also harvested parts of eastern hemlock for traditional medicine. The inner bark was used to make poultice for wounds and the vitamin C rich leaves were used for tea (Nesom, 2012).

Leaves
Twigs with many needles used in tea to treat kidney ailments. Steam from tea used to treat rheumatism, colds, and coughs.

BarkUsed in tea to treat colds, fevers, diarrhea, coughs, and scurvy. Also has astringent properties. Bark poultice used for treating bleeding wounds.

NotesTannins in the twigs and leaves are believed to be responsible for all medicinal effects. Hemlock leaves contain some vitamin C. Bark may also be useful for tanning leather.
Ecological Significance of Eastern Hemlock
The Eastern Hemlock is an important component of the eastern deciduous and mixed forests. Individual trees are long-lived and have impacts on the structure, function and composition of a forest (Fuller 1998). It has effects on the hydrological process within a forest as it has year-round transpiration rates that are highest during the spring (Ford & Vose 2007). This affects the water flow through a forest ecosystem. In the winter months, the canopy of the tree shields the ground below from the snow, and provides a habitat for ruffed grouse, wild turkey and larger browsing fauna such as white-tailed deer.
Seedling Development
Despite the high frequency of cone crops and the long duration of cone production by individual trees, the viability of eastern hemlock seed is usually low. Germinative capacity commonly is less than 25 percent (36). In one locality only 2.1 viable seeds were produced per cone, 2.2 were destroyed by insects, and the remaining 8.0 seeds were empty (29)
Official State Tree of Pennsylvania
The hemlock (Tsunga canadensis) was designated official state tree of Pennsylvania in 1931.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

White Willow Bark and Leaves - Natural Pain Relief

by Liliana Usvat
Blog 212 -365

History


The use of willow bark dates back thousands of years, to the time of Hippocrates (400 BC) when patients were advised to chew on the bark to reduce fever and inflammation.

Willow bark has been used throughout the centuries in China and Europe, and continues to be used today for the treatment of pain (particularly low back pain and osteoarthritis), headache, and inflammatory conditions, such as bursitis and tendinitis.

Hippocrates, Galen, Pliny the Elder and others knew willow bark could ease aches and pains and reduce fevers. It has long been used in Europe and China for the treatment of these conditions.This remedy is also mentioned in texts from ancient Egypt, Sumer, and Assyria.
 
The Reverend Edmund Stone, a vicar from Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, England, noted in 1763 that willow bark was effective in reducing a fever. The bark is often macerated in ethanol to produce a tincture.

In an article published in 1652, Nicholas Culpeper had suggested that physicians use the burnt residues of the white willow bark blended with vinegar to remove warts, corns as well as unnecessary flesh from the body.

How to Use
 
White Willow Bark: A Natural Alternative to Aspirin for Pain Relief

WHITE WILLOW tea- Natural Pain Relief 15-20 cups White Willow bark has been used for many many years as a pain reliever. Willow contains glucoside.
 
White willow bark contains salicylic acid that is also found in aspirin. It is recommended that one drink 3 to 4 cups of this tea to benefit from its use. Although the tea may be slower acting than aspirin, it has longer lasting effects.

Start by adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of white willow bark to 8 ounces of water.
 

Allow this to boil for about 5 to 10 minutes. Once it has boiled, turn off the heat and allow it to steep between 20 and 30 minutes. You will notice the herbs drop down to the bottom of the pan and the tea is taking on a beautiful red color.
 
Add cinnamon and honey to your steeped white willow bark for a better tasting tea.

Once the bark is done steeping, strain the bark out and compost it. 

Common Name
White Willow

Other Known Names
Cartkins Willow, European Willow, Pussywillow, Willow, Withe Withy
Botanical Name
Salix alba

Whats it look like
Willows range in size from the statuesque weeping willow tree to plants barely 2 inches high. The many varieties of willow—close to 500—are now considered interchangeable for medicinal use. Its bark has a spicy scent and a bitter flavor.

What part of the plant is used
Bark, leaves
Properties
  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Expectorant
  • Antiseptic
  • Analgesic
  • Astringent
Uses

  • Bronchitis
  • Coughs
  • Headaches
  • Fevers
  • Rheumatism
  • Gout
  • Diarrhea
  • Dysentery
  • Neuralgia
  • Gastrointestinal distress
  • Pain
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Menstrual cramps
  • Flu
  • Tendonitis
  • Bursitis
Cautions-Adverse Reactions-Side Effects
Do not take if you have a bleeding disorder


Headache
Willow bark has been shown to relieve headaches. There is some evidence that it is less likely to cause gastrointestinal side effects than other pain relievers, such as ibuprofen (Advil) and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, do.

Low back pain
Willow bark appears to be effective for back pain. People who received higher doses of willow bark (240 mg salicin) had more significant pain relief than those who received low doses (120 mg salicin).

Hot Flashes and sweating

White willow is also useful for women as the herb helps in lowering night sweating and hot flashes through menopause period.

Dosage and Administration Adult

General dosing guidelines for willow bark are as follows:
  • Dried herb (used to make tea): boil 1 - 2 tsp of dried bark in 8 oz of water and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes; let steep for ½ hour; drink 3 - 4 cups daily.
  • Powdered herb or liquid: 60 - 240 mg of standardized salicin per day;
  • Tincture (1:5, 30% alcohol): 4 - 6 mL 3 times per day. 
Leaves
INFUSION - infusions prepared from white willow leaves can be consumed following meals with a view to cure digestive problems as well as enhance the digestive process.

Chase-away-your-pain aperitif

  • 3 cups (750 ml) Sweet white wine (Alsatian Muscat, Muscadet)
  • 3 T (50 g) Willow bark, dried and crushed
Macerate month. Strain. Drink 2 T (30 ml) during attacks.

Habitat and cultivation

Basically indigenous to European countries, white willow is now found abundantly in North America as well as in Asia.

The tree best thrives in humid areas like riverbanks and can be grown from partially matured cuttings during the summer or from hard wood cuttings during the winter.

 Normally, the white willow trees are often pollarded and the bark of the tree is shredded during spring from branches of trees that are two to five years old.





Friday, May 23, 2014

Medicinal Trees Quassia (Quassia amara ) expel parasites and reduce fever

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 189-365

The wood of this tree from Mexico and Central and South America has been an item of commerce since the mid-1700s. The wood’s bitter extractive, which has been relied on to expel parasites and reduce fever, is water soluble. Thus in the 1800s it frequently was turned into popular “bitter cups.” The substance also has uses as an insecticide.


The genus was named by Carolus Linnaeus who named it after the first botanist to describe it: the Surinamese freedman Graman Quassi. Q. amara is used as insecticide, in traditional medicine and as additive in the food industry.

Common Names
 
  • Bitter wood , 
  • picrasma , 
  • Jamaican quassia ( P. excelsa ), 
  • Surinam quassia ( Q. amara ), 
  • Amara species , 
  • Amargo , 
  • Surinam wood , 
  • ruda 

Origin

Q. amara is native to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Brasil, Peru, Venezuela, Suriname, Colombia, Argentina, French Guiana and Guyana. Q. amara is widely planted outside its native range.

Parts Used
 
Wood, leaves

Typical Preparations
 
Usually taken in the form of an infusion, in capsules, or tincture.

Medicinal Uses
  • treatment for measles, 
  • diarrhea, 
  • fever, and 
  • lice. 
  • Quassia has antibacterial, 
  • antifungal, 
  • antifertility, 
  • antitumor, 
  • antileukemic, and 
  • insecticidal actions as well
Traditionally Q. amara is used as a digestive, treat fever, against hair parasites (lice, fleas), and Mosquito larvae in ponds (and do not harm the fishes).
The component Simalikalactone D was identified as an antimalarial. The preparation of a tea out of young leafs is used traditionally in French Guyana.

In small doses Quassia increases the appetite large doses act as an irritant and cause vomiting;

A decoction used as an injection will move ascarides; for an enema for this purpose, 3 parts Quassia to 1 part mandrake root are used, and to each ounce of the mixture, 1 fluid drachm of asafoetida or diluted carbolic acid is added; for a child up to three years, 2 fluid ounces are injected into the rectum twice daily. 

Cups made of the wood and filled with liquid will in a few hours become thoroughly impregnated and this drink makes a powerful tonic.
 
The infusion is made by macerating in cold water for twelve hours 3 drachmsof the rasped Quassia to 1 pint of cold water, 2 OZ. of the infusion alone, or with ginger tea, taken three times a day, proves very useful for feeble emaciated people with impaired digestive organs.

The extract can be made by evaporating the decoction to a pilular consistence, and taken in 1 grain doses, three or four times daily, this will be found less obnoxious to the stomach than the infusion or decoction. Quassia with sulphuric acid acts as a cure for drunkenness, by destroying the appetite for alcoholics.

Dosing

Quassia wood has been used as a bitter tonic, with a typical oral dose of 500 mg.

Forestation
 
  • Seeds and cuttings can be used for propagation of Q. amara
  • Frost is not tolerated, but the plant is partially drought tolerant.
  • A large amount of indirect light is recommended.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Medicinal Trees Dogwood (Cornus ) bark is used for ever, pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, hemoroids, colic, ringworms

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 188-365


Dogwood (Cornus )

A medicine made from the bark of this tree native to the eastern United States often has been substituted for quinine.


Fruits

Cornus mas is commonly cultivated in Southeastern Europe for its edible berries, which can be eaten raw after slight bletting, turned into jams, and fermented into a wine.

Useful Parts of the Plant:
  • Leaves
  • Bark
  • Ripe fruit
 
  • Flowers
  • Peel

Medicinal Uses
  • Astringent, 
  • febrifuge, 
  • stimulant, 
  • tonic
Cornus florida has been proven to prevent the spread of malaria. Their bark is rich in tannin and has been used as a substitute for quinine. During the civil war confederate soldiers would make a tea from the bark to treat pain and fevers, and dogwood leaves in a poultice to cover wounds


Dogwood bark is best used as an
  • ointment for ague - A tincture can be made out of either the leaves or the bark of the plant and can be used to treat various ailments such as eczema, skin infections, intestinal parasites, veal skin, and gout and so on. 
The tincture should be prepared in the following: mix 50 g of the ground plant in 250 ml of alimentary alcohol. Filter this mixture for 15 days. It is advisable to consume about 10-15 drops of this tincture (after diluting in water) about three times a day.
  • Cornus is also useful in treating colic.
  • Making a tea out of dogwood has been found beneficial in bringing down high temperatures, and relieving body chills as well.
  • Dogwood teas are also effective in inducing vomiting as well as bringing about relaxation in sick persons.  
  • The bark of the dogwood can also be used to treat external hemorrhoids. All you need to do is to boil about 4 tablespoons of the bark in about 1 liter of water for about half an hour. Filter this mixture and then apply on the affected areas for relief. 
  • The leaves of the cornus plant are also effective in treating ringworm. A decoction should be made by boiling cornus leaves along with hag berry leaves. Consume this decoction in order to treat ringworm. 
  • malaria (substitute for quinine), 
  • fever, pneumonia, 
  • colds, and similar complaints. 
  • Used for diarrhea.  The fruits were widely used to treat dysentery and diarrhea. The method for doing this is as follows. About 9 cornus fruits were mixed with some pears and nutshells and a tea was made from these. This remedy was found to be effective for diarrhea.
Externally, poulticed onto external ulcers and sores.

  • Jamaican dogwood is a fairly potent sedative well known as a specific for migraine headaches, neuralgia, and for treatment of insomnia caused by pain , nervous tension, and stress. The bark is anti-inflamatory and antispasmodic and can be used in cases of dysmenorrhea (painful periods). Jamaican dogwood is a strong analgesic that can be used along with other herbs to treat the musculoskeletal pain of arthritis and rheumatism. Preparation Methods & Dosage :Most often as a decoction, also taken in tincture and caps.

Formulas or Dosages

Use only dried dogwood bark. Fresh bark upsets the stomach and bowels.
Infusion: steep 1 tbsp. bark in 1 pint water for 30 minutes and strain. Take 1/2 cup every 2-3 hours.
Tincture: take 20-40 drops in water, as needed.

Folklore
 
This tropical shrub grows wild in Central America and the northern parts of South America. The bark of the root works similarly to aspirin pain relievers by blocking an enzyme that produces inflammatory and pain causing chemicals called prostaglandins. It gained its nickname "fish poison tree" from the West Indian practice of using it to stupify fish to make them easier to catch. 

Other Uses

The flowers of the plant can either be eaten raw or used in the making of syrups, brandy or marmalade.

Twigs used as chewing sticks, forerunners of the toothpick. It was sometimes used as a substitute when Peruvian bark could not be obtained. 

Biochemical Information

Tannic and gallic acids, resin, gum, oil, wax, lignin, lime potash and iron
Forestation
 
Dogwood can be propagated without much difficulty by its seeds. The seeds of dogwood are sown in the fall into organized rows of sand or sawdust and the seedling usually emerge in the ensuing spring. If you are using clean seeds the germination rate is excellent, almost 100 per cent. In fact, the dormancy of the seeds is prevailed over by means of cold stratification treatments for about 90 to 120 days (three to four months) at around 4°C (39°F).

Alternately, dogwood may also be propagated by softwood cuttings taken from new growth in the later part of spring or early part of summer and rooted.

While the success of rooting can be as high as 50 per cent to 85 per cent, this method is not generally used by commercial cultivators.  Selected cultivable varieties are usually propagated by a method called T-budding in the later part of summer or by means of another method known as whip grafting in the greenhouse during winter months onto seedling rootstock.

Name
 
Cornus is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods.
Other Names of Cornus:
  • Common dogwood (Cornus sanguinea)
  • Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)
  • Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii)
  • Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
  • Canadian Dwarf Cornel (Cornus Canadensis)
  • Eurasian Dwarf Cornel (Cornus suecica)
  • Cornelian Cherry (Cornus Mas)
  • Golden Dogwood (Cornus Alba)
  • Dogwood (Cornus Contoversa)
  • Flaviramea (Cornus Stolonifera)

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Medicinal Trees -Calabash Tree good treatment for menstrual cramps

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 181-365

 
If you want an eye-grabbing, evergreen ornamental plant for your landscape, the calabash tree (Crescentia cujete), known in Hawai'i as the la'amia, is your "lock" of the season

With its continually emerging flowers and subsequent fruit, the gourds that hang like Christmas ornaments, la'amia creates a focal point in the garden or as a riveting specimen near a deck or patio.

Rediscovering  Traditional Medicine


Before modern medicine developed laboratory drugs, our ancestors, the world over used herbs and weeds for health. Using a combination of medicinal plants and prayers, shamans and healers treated both the physical and spiritual ailments of their communities.

Today the knowledge is all but lost; however, scientific communities from the western world have shown a new interest in the medicinal properties of tropical plants. For example, the National Cancer Institute started the Belize Ethnobotany Project, which has sent of 2,000 species back to the NCI to be studied for cancer fighting properties.

Calabash Tree
 
Calabash Tree can grow up to twenty five feet in height. The tree produces green coloured spherical fruits about twelve inches to sixteen inches in diameter. It has a woody shell and a pulpy inside. When dry it turns brownish and can be hollowed out to make receptacles, cups, bowls and ladles. Its pulp is believed to contain medicinal properties.


Native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and northern South America, la'amia probably have been cultivated for more than 600 years.
 
Relatively fast-growing, la'amia have a short, straight trunk with an open crown of contorted, horizontal or rising branches. They will grow at sea level, up to an altitude of about 2,300 feet. The four- to six-inch-long elliptical leaves are bright green and create a moderate shade cover.


Medicinal Uses

There are abundant traditional and historical medicinal applications of the fruit juice. 
In Haiti and St. Lucia, it is used to treat inflammation, trauma and diarrhea. It's a purgative in Costa Rica. In Venezuela, it is used to treat tumors and hematomas.

It is said that the fruit of the Calabash Tree when roasted is a good treatment for menstrual cramps or to induced childbirth and that the leaf can be used in tea to treat colds, diarrhea, dysentery and headaches. 
 
In Suriname's traditional medicine, the fruit pulp is used for respiratory problems such as asthma. 

Medical Researchers have found out that the seed has been effective as an abortive and the fruit pulp can be used to force menses, birth and afterbirth. Scientists also recommend that it is best not to use this plant while pregnant.

Other Uses
 
 The shells are often used as bowls, musical instruments or carved by artisans into interesting artifacts.


Carib Indians of Dominica would carve intricate designs into the woody gourds during the fruit's softer green phase. When dry, the la'amia gourds were permanently etched with these ornate motifs.

The Taino also turned the gourds into two rhythm instruments — maracas and the guiro. Maracas were fashioned from small oval gourds with pebbles or hard seeds such as rosary peas inside. In Hawai'i, the body of the modern 'uli'uli is customized from the la'amia gourd. Seeds of the introduced yellow or red flowered canna lily, ali'ipoe, are used to produce the rattling sound.
 



History
 
The calabash was one of the first cultivated plants in the world, grown not for food, but as containers.
The calabash or bottle gourds are a type of vegetable that grows on a tree or vine introduced to the Bahamas by its first settlers.

These people originally of Asiatic descent, known as "Lucayans" in the Bahamas, spooned out the soft flesh from the inside of this vegetable, which left behind the hard rind. This rind became their water bottles during hunting and canoeing trips and bowls for food. Amerindians, Africans and Asians have used bottle gourds not only for food and utilitarian purposes, but also as medicine bottles, drums, flutes, stringed instruments and pipes.

Precisely because of its wide diversity globally and being local to the Bahamas, the name Calabash now represents the diversity in our Eco Adventures such as biking, snorkeling, diving, kayaking, birding and hiking.

Good for Reforestation and Parks Design

La'amia have a deep root system and are resistant to drought. No pests or major diseases are of major concern, but Chinese rose beetles and a leaf-webbing caterpillar occasionally will be bothersome.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Annato (Bixa orellana L.) insect repellant plant used for diarrhea and dysentery.

By Liliana Usvat
175-365

Native to the Amazon forests of Peru and Brazil, annatto is a shrub or small tree with heart-shaped leaves, lovely pinkish-lavender flowers.

This pink flowering shrub is cultivated for the red/orange dye that comes from it's dried seeds. The seeds are used in cooking to color food such as rice, margarine and soup.

Commonly known as annatto seed in the States, the correct term for the seeds of an annatto tree is achiote seeds. Native to South America, they have been used to color food and cosmetics. These seeds have a peppermint scent and a slightly peppery taste with just a hint of bitterness.
 

Medicinal Uses

Annatto is a plant. The seed and leaf are used to make medicine.

People take annatto for diabetes, diarrhea, fevers, fluid retention, heartburn, malaria, and hepatitis. They also use it as an antioxidant and bowel cleanser.

Annatto is sometimes put directly on the affected area to treat burns and vaginal infections and to repel insects.

Water in which young leaves have been crushed and then strained, has been taken for diarrhea and dysentery.

An ethyl alcohol extract of dried Annatto fruit was shown to have in vitro activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and an ethyl alcohol extract of dried leaves showed the same. Annatto leaves containe favonoids and the seeds contain carotenoids.

Other Uses

Annatto, sometimes called roucou or achiote, is derived from the seeds of the achiote trees of tropical and subtropical regions around the world. The seeds are sourced to produce a carotenoid-based yellow to orange food coloring and flavor. Its scent is described as "slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg" and flavor as "slightly nutty, sweet and peppery"

They were used by the Caribs and Central American Indians for body paint and insect repellant. Ants that feed off the nectar at the flower base and on the main stem help to protect the plant from harmful creatures.

It is used in industrialized nations as a food coloring replacement for red dye #2, which was determined to be a carcinogenic.

The seeds can be ground and added to soups and stews or made into a paste to be spread on fish or pork before grilling.

History

The original Aztec drinking chocolate is reported to have contained annatto seeds as well; given their high fat content, this is entirely plausible, even more since the crimson red colour bears associations with blood and thus had religious connotations in Aztec society. Using annatto to deepen the colour of chocolate was common in Europe until the 17.th century; today, the spice has little if any significance and is used occasionally to give butter and cheese a deep yellow colour.

Around the World

In the Carib­bean, the seeds are usually fried in (animal or vegetable) fat; after dis­carding the seeds, the then golden-​yellow fat is used to fry vege­tables or meat. By this pro­cedure, a golden yellow to golden brown colour is achieved. Mexican cooks often use a paste (achiote) of annatto seeds with some preser­vatives (acetic acid) that dis­solves completely in hot fat; it is easy to use and can also be added to mari­nades and sauces to improve the colour. Similar use is found in South America, namely, PerĂº and Bolivia.

In South MĂ©xico (YucatĂ¡n), meat is often marinated with a spice mixture called recado that derives its vibrantly yellow colour from liberal addition of annatto.

The annatto seeds may be used ground (often after soaking in hot water to soften them) or in form of annatto oil. Recado is made from annatto, dried oregano, ground spices (black pepper, allspice and cumin), garlic and fiery Yucatecan chiles.



They key flavour is the juice of bitter oranges (also known as sour oranges or Seville oranges) which adds a distinct, acidic fruitiness.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Tree of Heaven

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 157 -365




Rhus chinensis, the Chinese sumac or nutgall tree, is a plant species in the genus Rhus. The species is used to produce galls, called Chinese gall,

Other scientific names: Ailanthus glandulosus, Ailanthus peregrina, Toxicodendron altissimum
French names: Ailante glanduleux, paradise-tree, and copal-tree

The tree of heaven is a rapidly growing deciduous tree with pale gray bark, light brown twigs and large pinnately compound leaves. It is native to China and was brought to the United States in the late 1700's as a horticultural specimen and shade tree. Its ease of establishment, rapid growth and absence of insect or disease problems made it popular when planning urban landscaping. - See more at: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/indiana/journeywithnature/tree-of-heaven-1.xml#sthash.okMp5pBl.dpuf
The tree of heaven is a rapidly growing deciduous tree with pale gray bark, light brown twigs and large pinnately compound leaves. It is native to China and was brought to the United States in the late 1700's as a horticultural specimen and shade tree. Its ease of establishment, rapid growth and absence of insect or disease problems made it popular when planning urban landscaping. - See more at: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/indiana/journeywithnature/tree-of-heaven-1.xml#sthash.okMp5pBl.dpuf
The tree of heaven is a rapidly growing deciduous tree with pale gray bark, light brown twigs and large pinnately compound leaves. It is native to China and was brought to the United States in the late 1700's as a horticultural specimen and shade tree. Its ease of establishment, rapid growth and absence of insect or disease problems made it popular when planning urban landscaping. - See more at: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/indiana/journeywithnature/tree-of-heaven-1.xml#sthash.okMp5pBl.dpu
The tree of heaven is a rapidly growing deciduous tree with pale gray bark, light brown twigs and large pinnately compound leaves. It is native to China and was brought to the United States in the late 1700's as a horticultural specimen and shade tree. Its ease of establishment, rapid growth and absence of insect or disease problems made it popular when planning urban landscaping. - See more at: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/indiana/journeywithnature/tree-of-heaven-1.xml#sthash.okMp5pBl.dpuf
The species is used to produce galls, called Chinese gall. which are rich in gallotannins, a type of hydrolysable tannins.

Medicinal Uses

Nearly every part of the tree has some application in Chinese traditional medicine. One of the oldest recipes, recorded in a work from 732 AD, is used for treating mental illness. It involved chopped root material, young boys' urine and douchi. After sitting for a day the liquid was strained out and given to the patient over the course of several days.

Douchi  is a type of fermented and salted soybean. In English it is known simply as "black bean", and is also called fermented black soybeans, Chinese fermented black beans.

Another source from 684 AD, during the Tang dynasty and recorded in Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica, states that when the leaves are taken internally, they make one incoherent and sleepy, while when used externally they can be effectively used to treat boils, abscesses and itches. 

Yet another recipe recorded by Li uses the leaves to treat baldness. This formula calls for young leaves of ailanthus, catalpa and peach tree to be crushed together and the resulting liquid applied to the scalp to stimulate hair growth. 

The dried bark, however, is still an officinal drug and is listed in the modern Chinese materia medica as chun bai pi , meaning "white bark of spring" 
 
It is prepared by felling the tree in fall or spring, stripping the bark and then scraping off the hardest, outermost portion, which is then sun-dried, soaked in water, partially re-dried in a basket and finally cut into strips. The bark is said to have cooling and astringent properties and is primarily used to treat dysentery, intestinal hemorrhage, menorrhagia and spermatorrhea. It is only prescribed in amounts between 4 and 10 grams, so as not to poison the patients. 

A tincture of the root-bark has been used successfully in treating cardiac palpitation, asthma and epilepsy.  Tincture1:2 ratio of chopped bark to alcohol (70% strength), using more alcohol if the roots are dried first.

You can make your own folk medicine out of Tree of Heaven using the fresh or dried inner bark or root bark or you can make a cold tea out of the winged fruit or root bark.

Li's Compendium has 18 recipes that call for the bark. Asian and European chemists have found some justification for its medical use as it contains a long list of active chemicals that include quassin and saponin, while ailanthone, the allelopathic chemical in the tree of heaven, is a known antimalarial agent. 

The samaras are also used in modern Chinese medicine under the name feng yan cao, meaning "herbal phoenix eye". They are used as a hemostatic agent, spermatorrhea and for treating patients with blood in their feces or urine. It was clinically shown to be able to treat trichomoniasis, a vaginal infection caused by the protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis

Ailanthus altissima has potent anti-anaphylactic and anti-inflammatory properties. 
 
 Chinese galls are used in Chinese medicine to treat coughs, diarrhea, night sweats, dysentery and to stop intestinal and uterine bleeding.

Rhus chinensis compounds possess strong antiviral, antibacterial, anticancer, hepatoprotective, antidiarrheal and antioxidant activities. The gall of Rhus chinensis, Galla chinensi, has long been considered to possess many medicinal properties.

There is even some evidence that Tree of Heaven can kill tumors, and a derivative of a chemical in the root has been patented for that use.

A study on the website for the National Institute of Health documents antimicrobial effects in the bark and fruits of the plant. A study by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis showed the plant can kill drug-resistant malaria.

The root bark of this plant is a natural antibiotic used around the world to treat malaria and kill parasitic worms. 

History

In addition to the tree of heaven's various uses, it has also been a part of Chinese culture for many centuries and has more recently attained a similar status in the west. Within the oldest extant Chinese dictionary, the Erya, written in the 3rd century BC, the tree of heaven is mentioned second among a list of trees. It was mentioned again in a materia medica compiled during the Tang dynasty in 656 AD. 

BACKGROUND
Tree-of-heaven was first introduced to America by a gardener in Philadelphia, PA, in 1784, and by 1840 was commonly available from nurseries. The species was also brought into California mainly by the Chinese who came to California during the goldrush in the mid-1800s. Today it is frequently found in abandoned mining sites there. The history of ailanthus in China is as old as the written language of the country.

BIOLOGY & SPREAD
Tree-of-heaven reproduces both sexually (by seeds) and asexually through vegetative sprouting. Flowering occurs late in the spring. Ailanthus is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. The fruits, or samaras, occur in terminal clusters on female plants during the summer, and may persist on the tree through the winter. One study reports that an individual tree can produce as many as 325,000 seeds per year. Established trees also produce numerous suckers from the roots and resprout vigorously from cut stumps and root fragments.
 
Good for Forestation and Medicine It is drought-hardy.

So these trees are useful fore forestation areas.Survives drought well.
A. altissima is native to northern and central China, Taiwan and northern Korea.In Taiwan it is present as var. takanai. In China it is native to every province except Gansu, Heilongjiang, Hainan, Jilin, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Tibet.


The tree prefers moist and loamy soils, but is adaptable to a very wide range of soil conditions and pH values. It is drought-hardy, but not tolerant of flooding. It also does not tolerate deep shade. In China it is often found in limestone-rich areas.

The tree of heaven is found within a wide range of climatic conditions. In its native range it is found at high altitudes in Taiwan as well as lower ones in mainland China.

 In the U.S. it is found in arid regions bordering the Great Plains, very wet regions in the southern Appalachians, cold areas of the lower Rocky Mountains and throughout much of the California Central Valley. Prolonged cold and snow cover cause dieback, though the trees re-sprout from the roots.

The tree of heaven is a very rapidly growing tree, possibly the fastest growing tree in North America.
Grows anywhere, in any soil, with any amount of water and care. Profuse suckers, or water roots. Often found in ruined gardens and on the sites of abandoned towns. Up to 30 feet tall, spreading to 20 feet.