Medicinal Monday - American Bittersweet

When most of us think about bittersweet, we think of the invasive Oriental Bittersweet that spreads like wildfire, whose vines climb up trees strangling them, and has beautiful red berries that stay red throughout the drab winter months. What many of us don't realize is that in New England you can also find American Bittersweet, a shrub in the same genus as Oriental Bittersweet. In a nutshell, the difference between American and Oriental bittersweet is that Oriental bittersweet has fruit and flowers located in the leaf joints along the stem, and American bittersweet only flowers at the end of the branches in clusters. 

About American Bittersweet

Celastrus scandens, also known as American bittersweet is native to central and eastern North America. This sturdy perennial climbing vine, which can grow up to 30 feet twines its way around trees and shrubs for support. New stems are green and become grey-brown and woody with age. The bark of the vine is lightly textured with scattered grayish pores, and older stems have flaky bark. The oblong leaves are finely serrated around the edges, hairless, and taper to a sharply pointed tip. Like their invasive cousin, Oriental bittersweet, the leaves turn a bright yellow in the fall. 

Tiny scentless white flowers usually bloom in May and June at the tips of the branches. They have 5 petals and 5 green sepals with male and female flowers on separate plants. Male flowers have five stamens with yellow tips. Female flowers have five non-functioning stamens surrounding a lobed stigma at the top. The fruit is initially green, then yellow, and finally turns red in late summer. The fruit splits open in the fall to reveal a bright red fruit inside that can live through the winter. It grows in partly shady areas around woodland edges, in fields and forests, on prairies, along rocky bluffs, and in thickets. American bittersweet spreads both by seeds and root suckers that tend to form large colonies in the wild. 

Medicinal Uses

The roots of American bittersweet were used by Native Americans to induce vomiting and to treat symptoms of tuberculosis. This sturdy shrub was also used in many other ways. The Cherokee made a strong compound infusion of the roots and red raspberry leaves to help ease the pain of childbirth. They would chew the roots to treat coughs and would boil the roots to treat cancer. An infusion of the bark was taken to settle stomach aches and to treat other gastrointestinal problems. 

The Chippewa and Delaware boiled the roots and used it as an ointment to treat sores, and a decoction of the stalk was applied to skin problems. The Delaware also made an infusion of the roots and used it to treat colds and coughs and to clear up liver spots. The Iroquois made an infusion of the leaves and stems and gave this mixture to women to help regulate menstruation and to soothe the soreness from pregnancy. They also mixed an infusion of the root bark with wine and drank it to cure anemia, and an infusion of the leaves and stems was used as a diuretic. Children were given a decoction of the roots which was used to relieve the pain of teething. The Meskwaki made a compound from the root and gave it to women to help relieve the pain of labor. The Ojibwa used the berries to treat stomach trouble.

Culinary Uses

The inner bark was cooked in times when food was scarce. The Ojibwa made a  thick soup when other food was not obtainable in the winter. The Ojibwe name of bittersweet is manidobima kwit which means spirit twisted and refers to the twisted intestines of Winabojo, their cultural hero. The Potawatomi and Menominee, among other tribes, also cooked and ate the inner bark when food was scarce. 

Did You Know...

Other common names for American bittersweet are false bittersweet, climbing orange root, fever twig, staff vine, and Jacob's ladder.

All parts of American bittersweet are poisonous, however, some songbirds, ruffed grouse, pheasant, fox, and squirrels eat the fruit of this shrub.

It was given the name bittersweet by colonists in the 18th century because they thought the fruit of this plant looked like the fruit of common nightshade.

Oriental and American bittersweet have been known to hybridize with their offspring being more aggressive and the berries not as hardy.

The berry produced by bittersweet is technically called an aril. The berry usually contains two seeds that are often widely distributed by birds that feed on the berries.

Native Americans also used American bittersweet in decorations, and even today it is commonly used in dry flower arrangements and for winter decor.