Red Osier Dogwood, Cornus sericea, is one of the most recognizable dogwoods because of its red appearance in the colder months. It is a wild edible and has medicinal qualities.

Red osier dogwood helps with:

• sore and aching muscles
• headaches, especially those right over the eyebrow
• fevers
• parania
• PTSD
• social phobias (especially in children)
• kidney weakness
• excessive menstruation blood

I foraged this plant in central Minnesota.

I use the folk method for making all my tinctures, which uses no measurements except sizing things up with your eyes. So I put the plant material in a jar and then fill with alcohol.

Dosages -

Dosages for children are not provided in most herbals. To determine the correct dose you need to consider the size of the child, the ailment, the power of the herb you intend to use, and the adult dosage.

Young's Rule for determining dosage uses the child's age divided by twelve plus the age. The dosage for a 4 year old: 4/12+4 = 4/16 = 1/4 of the adult dose.