Medical Uses: The bark and seeds are a powerful laxative and shouldnever be ingested. In the past physicians have used a bark tea as a laxative, diuretic and expectorant to treat various diseases. Native Americans may have used a root tea for treating stomachaches, painful urination and the vomiting of blood.^{(Foster & Duke)}
Warning: The bark and fruit are considered poisonous and should never be ingested.

Similar Species: Wahoo (E. atropupureus) is a more northern species that extends it's range as far south as Tennessee. It can be a small tree reaching 7 meters in height. It has smooth seed pods.
Spindletree ( E. europaeus) is a native of Europe that has escaped cultivation in the US. It too is a small tree and has smooth seed pods. The seeds are orange.

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One of the best general guides to wildflowers of the North Eastern and North Central United States. Newcomb's key is an excellent, simple method for identifying plants. Newcomb has drawings for almost every plant mentioned that are excellent aids to identifying the species. Though only the more common plants are covered this is often the first book I pick up when trying to identify a wildflower.

Wildflo wers of Tennessee the Ohio Valley and the Southern Appalachians

This is perhaps the best of many field guides covering this region. Featuring 446 excellent color photographs (located with the text) and mentioning as similar to those illustrated are another 800 or so species for a total coverage of over 1,200 species. The start of each family section includes line drawings of some of the species showing important features. The text includes the usual description, bloom season, range, habitat and additionally includes information such as medical uses and lore and how the species was named. This is the official field guide of the Tennessee Native Plant Society.