Dogwoods

The dogwoods belong to the Cornus genus, which contains about 30-60 species of deciduous trees or shrubs. I had intended to write primarily about the Asian dogwood used in TCM, but found so much interesting information on the medicinal uses of dogwoods that I decided to discuss several other species, including the Pacific dogwood, which I’ve used as a flower essence.

Asian Dogwood (Cornus officinalis)

The fruits of Asian dogwood (Shan Zhu Yu) enter the liver and kidney meridians and have a tonifying effect on the kidneys. It aids the kidney qi and helps the body retain jing. In Western terms, Asian dogwood helps when there is weakness in the liver and the kidneys. Symptoms of this include dizziness, light-headedness, vertigo, low back and knee problems, and impotence.

In TCM, the jing is the life essence. It is stored in the kidneys and is what gives us long life. Too much stress burns up jing. One of the symptoms of this is excess sweating, along with coldness and fatigue. Asian dogwood helps to stop the loss of fluids through excess perspiration and night sweats.

In general, the remedy is used to restrain excessive discharge. For example, it can help with urinary incontinence and dribbling after urination as well as excessive uterine bleeding. It may also have a hepatoprotective effect. It has also been used in formulas for premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction.

I’ve only used Asian dogwood as an ingredient in a formula. It is included in several traditional Chinese formulas that I regularly use, including the Chinese Wood-Increasing Formula, which helps overcome blood deficiency, the Chinese Water-Increasing Formula, which aids weak kidney function and also helps with back, leg, and knee pain, and the Chinese Yin-Increasing Formula, which is used for excessive thirst and dryness. In addition to these formulas, I’ve also seen it used in formulas to improve eye health and to support weakened adrenal glands.

There are some contraindications for the remedy. It shouldn’t be used with excessive fire (acute fever and inflammation) or where there is difficult or painful urination.

Dogwood Flower Essence

The Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) flower essence addresses the issue of awkwardness caused by trauma stored within the body. When a person experiences trauma, such as sexual abuse, the body often tenses as part of the freeze reaction to stress.

In my experience, part of the healing process in trauma is the ability to shake off the stress it causes. This takes the form of movements such as trembling, shaking, or otherwise moving the affected body parts to release the tension stored in the muscles. This allows the body to relax.

Unresolved trauma creates stiffness in the body that makes movement awkward and perhaps even painful. What is needed is a restoration of grace. Grace is a free-flowing state. In the soul, it is a soul uninhibited by guilt, shame, and fear. A lack of grace inhibits the soul emotionally and prevents the person from flowing freely with life. In the body, the lack of grace manifests as a lack of flowing, easy movement.

Soul grace and bodily grace are interconnected. Wild animals are free from chronic, negative emotions, and their movements are graceful and easy. Human beings are often burdened with unresolved trauma from the past, and as a result, their movements become stiff and restrained.

Dogwood flower essence addresses this issue. It helps the person release the negative emotions and muscle stiffness caused by the unresolved trauma. This helps the body relax and move more gracefully and with less pain and stress.

Dogwood Bark

The bark of a number of species of dogwoods has been used as a bitter tonic by Native Americans. Matthew Wood mentions Cornus florida in his book, Earthwise Herbal. It was used as an alternative to quinine to treat malaria. Many of the traditional indications for the bark that he mentions have similarities to the indications for the fruit used in TCM. It helps with discharge, such as night sweats, leucorrhea, and general weakness. It may also help with sexual dysfunction. There is one major difference, however: the fruits are warming, while the bark is cooling.

Native American Ethnobotany by Daniel E. Moerman lists a total of 13 species of dogwoods used as medicines by Native Americans (including C. nuttallii and C. florida, already mentioned). These species include C. alternifolia, C. amomum, C. asperifolia, C. drummondii, C. foemia, C. glabrata, C. racemosa, C. rugosa, C. sericea, C. suecica, and C. unalaschkensis. There is an extensive listing for a subspecies of C. sericea, red osier dogwood, which I often see growing near streams here in Utah. So, I think I need to research this plant more and try out some of its traditional uses. You might want to research some of the species that grow in your area as well. As far as I can tell, none of these species growing in North America are being used commercially except for a few tinctures of C. florida.