medicinal herbs
Acer caesium

Herb latin name: Acer caesium

Family: Aceraceae (Maple Family)

Medicinal use of Acer caesium:

The juice of the bark is used externally in Nepal to treat muscular swellings, boils and pimples.

Description of the plant:

Plant:

Deciduous
Tree

Height:

15 m
(49 feet)

Flowering:

April

Habitat of the herb:

Generally found in open places such as grazing grounds. Isolated trees are found in coniferous forests at 2400 - 3800 metres in Kashmir.

Other uses of Acer caesium:

The leaves are packed around apples, rootcrops etc to help preserve them. Wood - close grained, soft to moderately hard. Occasionally used for carving, bowls, cups etc.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, it usually germinates in the following spring. Pre-soak stored seed for 24 hours and then stratify for 2 - 4 months at 1 - 8°C. It can be slow to germinate. The seed can be harvested "green" (when it has fully developed but before it has dried and produced any germination inhibitors) and sown immediately. It should germinate in late winter. If the seed is harvested too soon it will produce very weak plants or no plants at all. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on until they are 20cm or more tall before planting them out in their permanent positions. Layering, which takes about 12 months, is successful with most species in this genus. Cuttings of young shoots in June or July. The cuttings should have 2 - 3 pairs of leaves, plus one pair of buds at the base. Remove a very thin slice of bark at the base of the cutting, rooting is improved if a rooting hormone is used. The rooted cuttings must show new growth during the summer before being potted up otherwise they are unlikely to survive the winter.

Cultivation of Acer caesium: