Another alternative for you is to cut down the offending tree and plant a fruitless sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Rotundiloba’) in its place. The most interesting compound that comes from this tree is shikimic acid which is a main ingredient in the commercial manufacture of the drug, Tamiflu®. But they hate the seeds or sweet gum balls with their spiny projections that form on the tree every year. I made some ornaments out of the sweet gum balls I plan to share on here. Sweet gum is a larval host plant for the beautiful luna moth. Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on November 11, 2019: Hi, Mel. How We Made it Through Without the Flu. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Chinese Herbs 100 Sweetgum Pods, Balls, Witches Burr, Shikimic Acid at the best online prices at eBay! With no link to or description of this practice. However, the search is long overdue; we’ve taken hundreds of walks in our neighborhood and have run into the same patches of ‘spiky balls’ countless times. When cut, it exudes a sticky, resinous gum or balsam. You just take a piece and shred up th end use like any other toothbrush but works best with a combo of salt and baking soda. Leaves are 3-6” in length and width on a petiole roughly the same length, and star-shaped. They’re cute for using in crafts though. Alcohol extracted Sweet Gum balls ; The infertile seeds found in each of the sweet gum’s compound seed capsules are a naturally occurring source of shikimic acid, one of the main ingredients in the manufacture of Tamiflu. Snipper is an injectable product that de-balls a sweetgum. Sweet gum is a deciduous, forest-dwelling tree, growing as high as 150 feet, the tree is covered with rough, gray bark; but the branchlets are reddish-brown and often have corky ridges. December 30, 2017. Read Book The Sweet Gum Tree Katherine Allred Eucalypts for your home garden How KAVA is made in FIJI ! It … Tamiflu is a universally known flu medication that is proven to shorten the duration and severity of flu symptoms. Interesting! Most people want to know how to get rid of the tree, keep it from fruiting, or if you can compost sweetgum balls. Scientists discovered not too long ago that the aborted seeds contain shikimic acid, which is used to make Tamiflu. Propagation of Sweet Gum: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Well, I was very intrigued with the idea of makin’ some sweet gum ball tincture but we don’t have a sweet gum tree. Specifically it is made from the seed pods. Another of the very best bonsai trees for beginners, the Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is a member of the family Altingiaceae.It’s a primary tree, growing to heights of 60-100’. Find out about composting gumballs here. Sweet gum branches make great little tooth brushes. It contains shikimic acid in its infertile seeds; the same ingredient found in the Star Anise tree (which was used to create Tamiflu). That's what we used when I was a kid. It can be used by a homeowner but hiring a certified arborist might be a better solution. The Flu hit our area hard this year. It makes sense to find the Formosa Sweet Gum in the moist regions of Washington and California, as well as Texas and Florida. The internet is full of homegrown techniques to extract this valuable chemical from the tree’s seeds." On our typical route, there are 3 trees that bear these weird little balls. The infertile seeds found in each of the sweet gum’s compound seed capsules are a naturally occurring source of shikimic acid, one of the main ingredients in the manufacture of Tamiflu. If it is Sweet Gum it's the first I've had access to. I have four stunted (on purpose) sweetgum trees on my farm, I harvest the green stickerballs and chop them in halves. Sweet Gum Tree Advice. These woody balls are in fact compound seed capsules. Debbie Galant. My arborist said that the sweet gum tree is one of the best air scrubbers in the Houston, Texas area. It is called sweetgum to distinguish it from the black gum (or sour gum) tree, which is extremely sour and bitter. "Sweetgum tree could help lessen shortage of bird flu drug ATLANTA, March 29 - The sweetgum tree grows widely throughout the country and is known for its mace-like green fruit, which are sometimes called "gumballs." Sweet gum bark and leaves also have some of this acid in them making them a good poultice for skin wounds as well but the highest concentration of the acid is in the seeds.. Bigdtc , … We chewed the gum that comes on the trees and we made ear rings from the balls … ... Tamiflu gets it active ingredient from the seeds of Star Anise tree from China. It kills more gut flora than antibiotics. No need for the scientists to gather the pointy ornaments though. I would love your opinion on a foundation planting tree that I could use in front of a tall and hot front window facing south in Conway. I sort through all of the Harvest the seed capsules at the end of October or November, dry in a warm place and extract the seed by shaking the capsule. It is one source of shikimic acid from which tamiflu is made. Nursing homes were quarantined, schools temporarily closed, and everywhere we went people were sick. On May 6, 2017 May 7, 2017 By FortHaven Farm In Herbal Medicine, Natural Remedies Leave a comment. The sweet gum bonsai is a new one on me! You can read more about the specifics in Green… Keep the tree producing the balls! Sweet Gum DIY Tamiflu Analog Sweet Gum Tree Ironing Paper, Really? The sweetgum is a member of the witch-hazel family, and has a history of much medicinal use by Indians, settlers and Civil War soldiers. Seed Germination -- Scarification, The internet is full of homegrown techniques to extract this valuable chemical from the trees seeds. The brown seed pods also have a bit of shikimic acid, but nowhere near as much as the green ones do. Chemically, it’s known as oseltamivir phosphate, and is made from the seed pods of the Chinese Star Anise tree… which happens to be a close relative of Sweetgum. Here’s how its done: Pick enough green sweet gum balls to fill at least a clean, sterilized glass jar that has a tight fitting lid. Sweet Gum Balls. It is a widely held belief within many Southeastern herbal communities that the infertile seeds of Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) can be tinctured in alcohol to make an at-home Tamiflu® substitute [1].. I include goldenseal, poke root, cayenne, rue, sweet clover, and wormwood in this category. For an instantly elegant Christmas decoration, arrange a small string of white Christmas lights in a large glass vase filled with sweet gum balls. This listing is for 24 high quality Sweet Gum Balls You will receive hand selected, high quality sweet gum balls from the many native Sweet Gum trees on our property, Each seed pod is naturally dried and then gathered and collected by me at our home in southwest Louisiana. They found a way to make it in a lab. Sweet Gum is becoming well loved in the herbal community because it is known as an amazing ingredient in cold and flu formulas. Currently there is a low growing Japanese maple but I would love some shade and relief from the sun.The tree would actually be in the front flower bed, but the bed is deep so there is room for a medium sized tree. Bust open each green gum ball either using a hammer or a hatchet. ... which is used as an antiviral both in herbal medicine and in commercial drugs like Tamiflu. They are a source of shikimic acid, which is the active ingredient in pharmaceuticals like Tamiflu®. These balls are what we are interested in! Pandemic Diaries. Another benefit was to help lower blood pressure. That’s right, these green sweet gum balls can be made into a tincture that can help get rid of viruses in your body. But maybe this year will be different. Be sure you pick the green balls, the brown ones are finished for the year and won’t make a tincture. Tamiflu, or chemically said, oseltamivir phosphate, is made from the star anise tree, Illicium verum, a native of China. The sticky or gummy sap of sweet gums serves a purpose for the tree. In this article I will tell you all the key facts about what a Sweet Gum Tree is, from basic growth characteristics to whether Sweet Gum is a good choice for landscaping your yard. Reply; charles March 15, 2015, 5:14 pm. So, there's much to be said for research into modern medicinal uses of this tree. The Sweet Gum’s spiky “gum balls” hang conspicuously from the tree’s smaller branches, sometimes all winter. The sweetgum produces a resin that can harden and be used for chewing gum as well as medicinal purposes. I ordered option #2. plan to make tinctures from green sweet gum balls, worth a try for flu season! A Use for Sweet Gum Balls Sickly Sweet Gum Gum trees are great to grow - Page 1/4. Tag: homemade tamiflu. Yet another was as an anti-inflammato ry. There are hundreds of tiny seeds inside a sweetgum ball. Sweetgum balls are anything but sweet but the prickly fruit of sweetgum trees. Free shipping for many products! The last category is potentially poisonous herbs, ones we only in extreme situations, to ward off death. I must admit that I'm surprised by the placement of two sweet gum trees in my neighbourhood. Yeah, I giggled a little inside at the search terms. Sweet gum seeds are eaten by many species of birds, including goldfinch, purple finch, sparrows, mourning doves, wild turkey, northern bobwhite, and wood duck, as well as by squirrels and chipmunks. Stored seed requires 1 - 3 months stratification and sometimes takes 2 years to germinate. Sweet Gum trees are large (60-75′) deciduous trees native to North America that are commonly used in landscaping or street trees. The Sweet Gum grows very well in moist clay soil, specifically. Goldenseal is a broad spectrum antibacterial. One of those benefits is as a kind of “tamiflu” anti-viral tincture. I make sweetgum tincture with the unripe fruits like my ancestors did. The infertile seeds found in the sweetgum’s compound seed capsules are a source of shikimic acid, also known as oseltamivir phosphate, which is one of the main ingredients in the over-the-counter drug, Tamiflu… I have a few sweet gum trees nearby. Sweetgum. They even rolled the sap into balls and placed it in their dog's noses as a treatment for distemper.