Trees Are Stripped for Medicinal Bark (KY)

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2006/aug/09/080909022.html

DANIEL BOONE NATIONAL FOREST, Ky. (AP) - The 20-foot tree stands half naked, much of the bark stripped from its trunk. It has only months to live.

"It doesn't know it's dead," says U.S. Forest Service botanist David Taylor, pointing to the healthy leaves overhead.

This slippery elm has fallen victim to thieves who tore off its bark for profit in the lucrative and burgeoning herbal-remedy market.

The gummy lining of the bark has long been used in North America, and especially Appalachia, as a soothing agent for coughs, gastrointestinal ailments and skin irritations. But now, slippery elm and other herbal products that were once used seasonally by locals are in demand by millions.

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[Cessna Invesco Palin]

1. Goddamn hippies! n/t

[mainegreen]

2. same thing happened to echinacea.

Never, EVER buy herbal products unless you know their sustainably harvested!

Otherwise your just buying the Hummer equivalent of herbal medicine.

[OzarkDem]

3. Also ginseng

I recall reading about destructive practices of harvesting ginseng for supplements that is damaging parks and national forests.