Latin Name: Juglans cinerea
Alternate Names: White Walnut, Oilnut, Lemon Walnut
Family: JUGLANDACEAE
Parts Used: Inner bark.
Properties: Alterative, Anthelmintic, Antibacterial, Antiparasitic, Astringent, Cathartic, Cholagogue, Febrifuge, Laxative, Purgative, Rubefacient, Tonic, Vermifuge.
Internal Uses: Arthritis, Cancer, Constipation, Dysentery, Headache, High Cholesterol, Liver Stagnation, Parasites, Rheumatism, Skin Diseases, Worms
Internal Applications: Tea, Tincture, Tablets, Syrup
Butternut bark is a gentle purgative. It has been used as a worm remedy in children and to increase bile secretions. It is a gentle way to treat chronic constipation. It is one of the few safe laxative herbs that can be used during pregnancy.
Culinary uses: Nuts are edible raw or cooked and used in baked goods. Sap can be made into a sweet syrup.
Energetics: Bitter, Cold.
Chemical Constituents: Naphthaquinones (juglone, juglandin, juglandic acid), essential oil, tannins.
Comments: The genus name, Juglans, is from the Latin Jovis glans, or ‘nut of Jupiter’ after the belief that gods lived off walnuts. It was used by the Pioneers to treat fever and arthritis during the Revolutionary War when medicines were scarce.