Slippery Elm, is also known as American Elm and Indian Elm.

When water is added to the powdered bark, the "slippery" brew is soothing to irritated mucous membranes of the intestinal tract, as well as the throat. It is still approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a nonprescription anti-inflammatory.

Native Americans from the Missouri River Valley used a tea of the fresh inner bark to make a soothing laxative. Among the Creek, a poultice of the bark was a toothache remedy. The Osage and other groups applied bark poultices to extract thorns and gunshot balls. Surgeons during the American Revolution used bark poultices as their primary treatment for gunshot wounds. Nineteenth-century physicians recommended slippery elm broth as a wholesome and nutritious food for infants and invalids, and the tea has long been the herbal treatment of choice for acute stomach ulcers and colitis.