If you want to learn about the health benefits of black locust flowers, how to harvest and use black locust flowers in remedies and what they can be used for, continue reading this article.
Black locust flowers or false acacia flowers are one of the most beautifully scented May flowers, but in addition to their mesmerizing scent, there are many health benefits of black locust flowers most people are not aware of. Hence, since the black locusts are in full bloom at the time being, we’re going to share with you the most important health benefits of black locust flowers, how to harvest black locust flowers, and how to use them in home remedies for various ailments. Let’s get to it.
In This Article You Will Find:
How to Harvest Black Locust Flowers
Black locust flowers are in bloom starting in early May and continue blooming until June in mountainous areas. Harvest only the flowers of the young branches, where they are easier to reach. The black locust flowers are harvested, along with the bunches on which they are arranged, but without leaves, which are harvested and dried separately for other uses.
Only white black locust flowers (Robinia pseudoacacia L) are used in natural remedies, the colored black locust flowers may be poisonous and we do not recommend using them without being properly informed.
Health Benefits of Black Locust Flowers
Black locust flowers (Robinia pseudoacacia L) have anti-acid and gastric calming effects. The reason is that they contain small amounts of robinin, and acaciin – a glycoside, flavonoids, essential oils, tannins, caffeic and chlorogenic acids, and carbohydrates.
Due to their mild alkaline reaction, black locust flowers are recommended as a neutralizer of gastric acidity, as they buffer excess stomach acidity but also as a medicinal tea to relieve cough. Another one of the less-known health benefits of black locust flowers is their soothing effects on the nervous system, making them a great remedy for anger, or impulsiveness. They reduce nervous excitability, being very useful in headaches and nausea that worsen with sound and auditory stimuli. The most important health benefits of black locust flowers are:
- gastritis
- high stomach acid
- cough and bronchitis
- anticancer
- migraines and headaches
- stress and irritability
- insomnia
- menstrual cramps
- yeast infection
- leucorrhea
- oral thrush
- oral health
“Robinia pseudacacia is prescribed for hyperacidity and related gastrointestinal disorders, such as acid dyspepsia, heartburn, gastritis, acid, bitter acid reflux, as well as stomach bleeding and gastric caused headache.”
Gerhard Madaus, Textbook of Biological Healing Methods, 1938
3 Ways to Use Black Locust Flowers as Medicine
1. How to Make Black Locust Flowers Powder
Grinde the dried black locust flowers as finely as possible with an electric coffee grinder. The powder is stored in sealed glass jars, in a dark and cold place, for a maximum of 2 weeks (because the volatile substances evaporate quickly). Usually, it is administered one leveled teaspoon 4 times a day, on an empty stomach.
2. How to Make Black Locust Flowers Infusion
Put a teaspoon of dried black locust flowers in a cup of boiling water, then cover and steep for 10-15 minutes. Strain and drink the tea as hot as possible. Optionally, sweeten with locust honey. The therapeutic effects of the flowers are greatly diminished when making the hot infusion, following the scalding of the plant (some active principles are destroyed). But due to the thermal effect, the antispasmodic, bronchodilator, or sweating properties are amplified. However, in most cases, the combined infusion is preferred, which has extensive therapeutic effects.
3. Black Locust Flowers Combined Infusion Recipe
To make the combined infusion put 3-4 tablespoons of the chopped dried flowers to soak in half a liter of water for 12 hours, then strain. The resulting cold macerate is set aside, and the plant left after filtration is boiled in another half liter of water for five minutes. Leave to cool off and strain. Mix the two together and you have approximately one liter of combined black locust flowers infusion. You can have 1-2 cups per day, or use it externally, in the form of compresses and baths.
Are Black Locust Flowers Edible?
Yes, they are and can be used raw in salads, but also pan-fried in a flour batter to make a delicious side dish. You can also use them to prepare a simple locust flower cordial, similar to the elderflower cordial recipe. So delicious! Only white black locust flowers (Robinia pseudoacacia L) are edible, the colored black locust flowers may be poisonous and we do not recommend using them without being properly informed.
10 Black Locust Flowers Remedies & How to Use
1. Gastritis
Ongoing studies indicate that black locust flowers also act on the central nervous system, reducing the body’s response to mental stress, which would better explain the beneficial effects of this plant in gastritis that occurs in people who are mentally overworked or who are emotionally unbalanced.
For gastritis, you can use dried black locust powder (1 tsp 4-6 times/day on empty stomach for at least a month; pause and resume if needed) or prepare a cold macerate with black locust flowers by steeping 3 tbsp of dried locust flowers in 1 l of cold water for 12 h. Strain and have a cup before every meal. Or, you can also make the hot infusion and have 2 cups a day, before meals.
2. Stomach Acid
If you suffer from high stomach acidity, we recommend black locust flowers tea as prepared above. Concomitantly, you can have a cold macerate calamus root and have 6 tablespoons of this macerate a day. You can continue drinking both these teas until your stomach acidity is back to normal. If you also suffer from acid reflux, you can have one tablespoon of equal parts of black locust flower powder and raspberry leaves powder, 10-15 minutes after each meal. Both these plants have anti-acid and antispasmodic effects, helping to control and reduce acid reflux.
3. Migraines
In this case, prepare 1 liter of combined infusion (recipe above) and sweeten with locust honey. If you suffer from headaches and related phenomena due to mental fatigue, you can follow a 4-week course of treatment, in which you use equal parts of black locust and linden flowers to prepare the combined infusion. During the cure, it is ideal to reserve more time for sleep, as this combination of flowers helps the nervous system to recover through rest and relaxation.
4. Cough
You can drink a warm infusion of black locust flowers, as prepared above. In cases of chronic cough, consume daily a liter of honey-sweetened black locust flowers infusion. This simple remedy is also an excellent adjuvant in case of bronchitis or asthma, due to its emollient, anti-irritant, and expectorant properties.
5. Yeast Infection and Oral Thrush
Prepare a concentrated combined infusion (3 tablespoons per cup of water) with black locust flowers and leaves. Use this preparation to do vaginal irrigations every morning, by holding the infusion in the vagina for at least 7 minutes, before elimination. It is an excellent treatment for this condition, because, in addition to having strong antifungal effects, black locust infusion does not destroy the good bacterial flora, and can be used daily for long periods of time.
This same remedy can also be used internally for oral thrush. In this case, prepare the same concentration combined infusion and drink throughout the day. It has antifungal effects and helps to regulate the body’s acidity over time (an important element in keeping yeast infection under control).
6. Vaginal Discharge
The most effective natural treatment for vaginal discharge (leukorrhea) is black locust flower infusion. Prepare the infusion following the abovementioned recipe. Have three cups a day for ten days straight. You can also perform vaginal douches with black locust flowers infusion. Healing is 100% guaranteed if you also reduce or cut out sugar, sweets, and artificial sweeteners with fresh, ripe fruit.
7. Menopause Symptoms
When forced, menopause can lead to a myriad of symptoms, from irritability, anxiety, and depression to feelings of dizziness or fainting, night sweats, and hypersensitivity, which can affect our relationships and self-confidence. The following is an amazing remedy for all these menopause symptoms when accompanied by other non-intrusive therapies, such as reflexology.
Make a blend with 20 g black locust flowers, 20 g elderflowers, 10 g wormwood, 20 g licorice root, 20 g wood avens root (Geum urbanum), and 10 g juniper berries. Soak a tablespoon of the herbal blend in a cup of room temperature water for 3 hours. Then bring everything to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Leave to steep for another 10 minutes and strain the infusion. Drink 2-3 cups a day. You can prepare up to 1 liter of infusion daily, which can be stored in the refrigerator. Each time, the infusion is sweetened and drunk at a temperature of 40°C/104°F.
8. Varicose Veins
Pour 500 ml of vodka over 100 g of dried black locust flowers in a glass jar. Seal and leave to soak in a place away from light and heat for two weeks. Shake periodically. Strain and use the black locust flowers tincture to massage the areas affected by varicose veins every night, for 2 weeks. Pause for 1-2 days and resume.
9. Constipation
This is a season remedy when the black locusts are ai bloom. Have 3 tablespoons of fresh black locust flowers chopped and mixed with locust honey daily in the morning. This is a mild seasonal treatment for constipation, but with strong effects, and is recommended especially for women and children.
10. Rheumatic Pain
Another one of the least known health benefits of black locust flowers is in alleviating rheumatic pains. For this remedy fill a glass bottle with these flowers and pour lamp gas over them until you cover all the flowers. Close tightly and bury the bottle in the ground for a month. Anoint the painful areas with this preparation.
Side Effects of Black Locust Flowers
Excepting the cases in which you are allergic to these flowers, there are no known contraindications or side effects to treatments with locust flowers (Robinia pseudoacacia L). Black locust flowers infusion can be consumed during
pregnancy and breastfeeding.
How to Use Black Locust Flowers for Soul Aches
Embrace Life Changes
Every major life circumstance leaves traces of light or shadow on us, seals that will largely determine the sweet or bitter taste of your life. Are you afraid of changes that you can’t control? Black locust trees are at your service. The beauty of its floral blooms in May proves that the renewals bring about the chance for great accomplishments. Sit under the bright and fragrant corolla of a locust tree and you will look towards the future with peace and confidence. Black locust is a good listener and healer.
Convalescence
The return of inner energies, after a painful ordeal or an illness, brings with it a whole series of changes – a new inner state, and new mental qualities. In all this, there is an important transient state: convalescence. For healing to be complete, it is very important to take the time to integrate the experience of the disease. Or, the meaning of renewal and rebirth of the locust, its force to start from the beginning so spectacularly, with so many billions of flowers, is an urge to have faith that you will be able to resume your existence from where you left it, before this great challenge.
Breakup Pain
The pain of breaking up with a loved one is another soul ache that the black locust is known to heal. This tree provides moral support and spiritual help to those who are going through a period of suffering, following the loss of a loved one.
Read Also: 10 Linden Flowers Tea Benefits and How to Use Them in Remedies
In folk traditions, the black locust tree symbolizes the renewal, the rebirth that the last month of spring unleashes in nature and within us. May, the month in which flowers and human hopes spring up. It is the guardian tree of change, of things that follow stagnation. Life pushes us all the time to change and adapt, either through life-changing circumstances or through mundane decisions we make every day.
The black locust tree helps us take on the challenges, small or big, that we face.
Its flowers have a sweet scent, are extremely rich in nectar, and have a calming effect on the mind. They are often used to treat psychosomatic illnesses, ie illnesses of the body which appear as a direct consequence of the tensions of the soul and which are cured when the psychological cause has been eliminated. Black locust flowers are especially effective in long-term treatments, due to the effects of harmonization, and mental “reconstruction” that they induce gradually.
If you’ve enjoyed learning about the health benefits of black locust flowers and how to use them at home for various health conditions, please share this article so more people can use this information. Stay healthy and happy, naturally!
Share on Pinterest ❤️
