The Shittah tree that was used to hew Shittim wood and the commanded wood choice for building the Ark of the Covenant, is totally unrelated to the Chittam tree of the Pacific Northwest that once was valued for its bark that was sold as a laxative.
You are welcome! Hopefully, some others will have some overlooked facts and will share them here and help illuminate the shadows that darken such important knowledge.
You should have posted this before I built that boat. The critters are losing weight fast and it's starting to list...
I have only ever heard of it called cascara; so learning that it is also called chittamwood is new for me. I had to look and see if it was the same thing.
That's interesting, because a search on "cascara' brings up supplements, while my earlier search on "chittamwood" brought up very little (and nothing on it's pharmacological or homeopathic uses.) I also see some websites talking about cascara brewed as a tea or as coffee.
You are probably seeing it in capsules, used as a laxative, @John Brunner . When I lived in western Washington state, we had some growing in our yard (lived way out in the country), and the neighbors told me what it was. I had never heard about it before, and can’t remember if I tested it out back then or not. https://www.verywellhealth.com/cascara-sagrada
Dunno what’s so special about acacia or shittah because I figure if I gnaw on just about any bark I’ll get enough fiber to do whatever job needs to be done. Matter of fact and now that it’s mentioned, that cedar tree in front of me looks pretty tasty to me and that steak I had yesterday doesn’t seem to be moving along as fast as it should.
Whilst it may be good for the breath and prevent infringing bugs it doesn’t do much if you’re riding motor cycle with your mouth open. That said, bugs are protein and cedar is fiber. Now all I need to do is eat a conifer loaded with carbs and I’ll have a fairly balanced diet.
The “Windy City” name has nothing to do with Chicago weather. Chicago’s nickname was coined by 19th-century journalists who were referring to the fact that its residents were “windbags” and “full of hot air.”
Chittem is the original Chinook Indian word for the Cascara tree whose bark is a powerful laxative. It was 1775 when Juan José Pérez Hernández that first heard the word Chittum used by the Indigenous Northwesterners to overcome constipation. Juan died after discovering the mouth of the Columbia River as did much of his crew from scurvy and constipation. Had he not rejected the Chinook's offer to partake of the Chittem bark as just a bunch of ignorant Indian chit, he and many others might have lived. Cascara was the principal ingredient in over-the-counter laxatives in the US until May of 2002 when the FDA banned its use. Studies at the time appeared to show that cascara is a carcinogen. It is now an endangered species. Some counterclaim its bark can cure cancer much like the yew bark. We will never know as harvesting the bark is illegal. This is what happens when the government gets involved in your chittem.
Cats have fewer toes on their back paws. Like most four-legged mammals, they have five toes on the front, but their back paws only have four toes. Scientists think the four-toe back paws might help them run faster.
In some tribes, Native Americans used the bark as a form of currency, and often gambled with it. Those who experienced a losing streak would sometimes gamble away an entire month's supply, and were referred to as "Chittem out of luck."