Donald Peattie, a famous 20th-century naturalist once said, “If oak is the king of trees, as tradition has it, then the white oak, throughout its range, is the king of kings.” Perhaps this is why it is the state tree of Connecticut. In addition to acorns that provided a consistent source of sustenance for Native Americans, the oak tree was also used for ceremony, medicine, and building. In many Native American traditions, the oak tree is considered a sacred tree and was used in a multitude of ways medicinally by many Native American tribes in North America.
The Houma would crush the root of the white oak and mix it with whiskey and use it as a liniment on rheumatic limbs. The Mohegans made an infusion of the bark and used it as a liniment on sore muscles; they also made an infusion of the inner bark that was used for muscle pain on horses and humans. The Shinnecock also made an infusion of the bark and used it as a liniment to treat muscle pain. The Iroquois made a decoction of the bark and served it as a drink to treat loneliness. They also brewed a decoction of white oak bark as "witchcraft medicine" to remedy, "when your woman goes off and won't come back."
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| White Oak Tree, West Hartford, CT |
About the White Oak Tree
Native to Eastern and Central North America, the white oak tree is a large stately tree that can grow up to 100 feet tall and can be as wide as 50 inches in diameter. The leaves grow to be around five inches and are silvery pink and covered with a soft down like substance in the spring. They turn a glossy green in the summer and red or brown in the autumn depending on the climate and the genetics of the tree. The bark of the white oak tree is whitish or light grey with a bark that ranges from scaly to ridged or furrowed. The deciduous white oak tree is usually found in dyer woodland areas and can live for centuries.
Medicinal Uses for the White Oak Tree
Today we know that tannins provide many of the healing properties of the white oak tree. Tannins strengthen tissues and blood vessels, reduce skin inflammation and irritation. The Cherokee, Meskwaki, Ojibwa used the bark of the white oak as an antidiarrheal medicine. One of the most common uses was for respiratory and throat ailments, an infusion of bark was taken for serious coughs and sore throats by the Cherokee, Delaware, Delaware, Oklahoma, Delaware Ontario, Meskwaki, and Mohegans.The Houma would crush the root of the white oak and mix it with whiskey and use it as a liniment on rheumatic limbs. The Mohegans made an infusion of the bark and used it as a liniment on sore muscles; they also made an infusion of the inner bark that was used for muscle pain on horses and humans. The Shinnecock also made an infusion of the bark and used it as a liniment to treat muscle pain. The Iroquois made a decoction of the bark and served it as a drink to treat loneliness. They also brewed a decoction of white oak bark as "witchcraft medicine" to remedy, "when your woman goes off and won't come back."
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| Dewy White Oak Tree, Granby, CT |
Ancient Celtics considered the white oak tree a storehouse of wisdom because of its towering strength, massive growth, and wide expanse. They took this as a sign that the white oak was to be honored for its endurance and noble presence.
Some specimens have been documented to be over 450 years old.
The white oak does not produce large crops of acorns until it is around 50 years old.
Modern scientific research confirms that oak possesses the following healing properties: astringent, fever reducing, tonic, antiseptic, antiviral, anti-tumor, and anti-inflammatory actions.
The white oak forever earned its place in history books when it was combined with other oak lumber to build the famous USS Constitution (also known as “Old Ironsides”).
It was (and still is) the preferred wood for those beautiful wooden barrels found in wineries and whiskey distilleries across the United States because of the durability of the wood and its ability to seal in the flavor due to microscopic tissues called tyloses that plug the vascular cells of the wood.
Some specimens have been documented to be over 450 years old.
The white oak does not produce large crops of acorns until it is around 50 years old.
Modern scientific research confirms that oak possesses the following healing properties: astringent, fever reducing, tonic, antiseptic, antiviral, anti-tumor, and anti-inflammatory actions.
The white oak forever earned its place in history books when it was combined with other oak lumber to build the famous USS Constitution (also known as “Old Ironsides”).
It was (and still is) the preferred wood for those beautiful wooden barrels found in wineries and whiskey distilleries across the United States because of the durability of the wood and its ability to seal in the flavor due to microscopic tissues called tyloses that plug the vascular cells of the wood.
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