Cramp Bark

The bark of the guelder rose, a muscle relaxant against cramps and in labor, one of the few remedies that old women of a village may give without risk to their reputations.

Cramp bark

Cramp bark is the bark of the guelder rose, a shrub of low ground, woodland, and hedges, with white flowers and bitter red berries. It is named for its use against cramps, and healers give it as a relaxant for muscles that are tight or in spasm, from the gut to the womb. Midwives and the old women of the village value it for women in labor, to ease the tightness of the early hours and the cramping afterward, and where a birth threatens to come too soon. It is gentle in comparison with the plants about it. It is one of the few treatments that old women of the village may administer without risk to their reputations, for some societies do not like to have witches among their number, and a woman who deals in herbs may be named one.