Gunpowder Tree Bark grows all over the country, in wet plains, along streams, and in wet mountain regions up to 1000 m high. It is rarely found.

It is a shrub up to 3 m. high or a dwarf tree up to 6-7 m. The color of the young branches is between cinnamon red and brown. The color of the mature ones is between dark gray and black. The leaves are elliptical to obovate, entire-edged, alternate, the upper surface is shiny, dark green, the lower surface is yellow-green. The flowers are small, whitish yellow, bisexual and found in bunches in the axils of the leaves. The fruits are juicy, round, black-violet and bright. It blooms in May-July.

Barks of trunk and 3-year-old branches. The barks are rested for one year. They are peeled off in spring (March-April) when water starts to flow into the plant and when the first signs of leaf emergence appear. The barks are first drawn with 30 cm intervals, then the lines between these two lines are also drawn, the tree is slowly hit with a hammer and it is easily peeled off.

When peeling the bark, the tree part should not be touched. If it is torn from the tree part, it should be cleaned immediately. One of the characteristics of the gunpowder tree bark is that when the bark is lightly scraped, a bright red layer appears underneath; a green layer appears from the bark of other plants. Due to this characteristic, it is easily noticed.

Barut ağacı kaynatıldığında su koyu kırmızı renk alır.Diğer ağaç kabuklarında böyle renk olmaz.Kabuklar gölgede veya 100 derece kadar ısılı fırınlarda kurutulur.Kuru kabukların rengi boz veya koyu kahverengi, beyazımsı veya boz renkte beneklidir, kokusuz ve buruk bir tattadır.Kabuk bünyesi; sık kırışık, dış tarafı taneli, iç kısmı ise liflidir.Kabul edilen rutubet payı %13’tür.Torba veya balya halinde paketlenir.Kuru, gölgeli ve havadar binalarda saklanır.

Antrahinon ve antranol glikozidi, glikotrangulin, frangulin, frangulae modin, emodin, izoemodin, hrizofan asidi, frangul asidi, %15 kadar alkaloidler, sepi maddeler, elma asidi, eterik yağ asitleri, reçine vs. ihtiva eder.

Use in folk medicine:

Gunpowder tree is very suitable for seriously ill patients and pregnant women because it has a diarrheal effect.

In folk medicine, it is used for chronic large intestine constipation, liver diseases, jaundice, cirrhosis, hemorrhoids, etc. It is used externally to wash purulent wounds, boils and skin diseases. The anthrone glycoside found in the bark, which has a softening content, turns into the anthraquinone glycoside glycofrangulin after being kept for a year. If the bark of the gunpowder tree is used before being kept for a year, it becomes an emetic.

Boil 1 tablespoon of chopped peels in 0.5 liters of water for 10 minutes. After straining, take a tea glass three times a day before meals.

In our folk medicine, the fruits of the hawthorn tree (Rhamnus carthartica L.) are black, just like the fruits of the gunpowder tree. It is used against the same diseases as the bark of the gunpowder tree. The softening effect of the hawthorn tree comes from the anthranol glycoside, BUT IT IS NOT THE GUNPOWDER TREE. The bark of the gunpowder tree is not used as a powder, it is used in the brewing method of the bark of the gunpowder tree.