Gemmotherapy is a new addition to herbal therapy, it uses the burgeoning spring buds of trees as a way to harness the medicinal power of the early spring growth when the tissues have yet to differentiate into their respective functions. For this reason it is often known as phtyoembryotherapy or plant stem cell therapy. Used more extensively on the continent it is seldom seen in the UK but I have found it a gentle but very effective form of plant medicine especially for long standing and chronic complaints.  Although it uses many trees and shrubs already commonly used in traditional herbal medicine it also utilises many trees with far less extensive use in traditional practice.  It has opened my eyes to many more of the powerful medicines that can be found growing around us. Oak, ash, beech, birch and poplar have all been used successfully for a wide variety of ailments in gemmotherapy, but most especially for arthritic and rheumatic complaints, endocrine function and cardio vascular problems.