A decoction of the bark is useful in the treatment of chronic diarrhea, dysentery, intermittant fevers, hemorrhages etc. Externally, it is used to bathe wounds, skin eruptions, sweaty feet, piles etc. It is also used as a vaginal douche for genital inflammations and discharge, and also as a wash for throat and mouth infections. The bark is harvested from branches 5 - 12 years old, and is dried for later use. Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of hemorrhages, chronic diarrhea, dysentery etc.
Galls are excrescences produced in plants by the presence of the larvae of different insects.
The forms that they assume are many, and the changes produced in the tissues various. They occur in all parts of the plant and sometimes in great quantities. If collected after the insects have escaped, galls are of a pale, yellowish-brown hue, spongy and lighter in weight, perforated near the centre with a small hole. These are known in commerce as white galls. The plant is used in Bach flower remedies - the keywords for prescribing it are 'Despondency', 'Despair, but never ceasing effort'.