Willow

(Salix alba)

The Willow is wide-spreaded tree that likes to grow beside water.

The main ingedrient of the Willow is Salicine that is converted to Salicylic acid inside the human body. Salicylic acid helps against pain, fever and allies inflammation.

Salicylic acid is used in modern pain medicines. In former times people drank Willow tea if they suffered from pain or fever.

Medicinal Uses

Inflammation-inhibitory
Diuretic
Analgesic
Sudorific
Colds
Flu
Fever
Rheumatism
Gout
Cystitis
Migraine
Headaches
Neuralgic pain
Horny skin
Corn
Warts

Information

Used Parts:	Bark and Leaves
Substances:	Salicine, Salicylic acid, Tannic acid, Tannic essence
Time to collect:	Bark, Leaves: Spring

Methods

Willow can be used as tea or as tincture. Sometimes you can alos buy pills made of Willow extracts.

The main use of Willow is against pain, inflammation and colds.

Tea

To prepare a Willow tea pour one cup of boiling water over one or two spoonful of Willow.

Wait for five up to ten minutes, than filter the tea and drink it slowly.

You can drink one up to three cups of Willow tea each day.

Tincture

A tincture of Willow can be bought (i.e. in pharmacies) or prepared by yourself.

To prepare a Willow tincture, fill some Willow in a glass. Pour some grain alcohol in the glass, enough to cover the herbs. Close the glass and let it stand at a warm place for two up to six weeks. After the waiting time filter the tincture and pour it into a dark bottle.

Use 10 up to 50 drops of the tincture up to three times daily.

You can use the tincture pure or diluted with water.

Internal use

Willow can be used internally against pain like headache or migraine.

It also helps against rheumatic inflammation and neuralgic pain.

You can use Willow also to ally the flu and lower fever.

External use

Willow tincture or tea can be used external as poultice, in washings or as bath.

This can help against horny skin and corns.

You need to treat the skin rather often until it gets softer.

Plant description

Willow is at home in in temperate climates.

As Willow likes ground with a lot of water, you can find it at humid meadows, at rivers, at seas, in swamps.

Willow can become up to 30 meters high.

It is a perennial tree or shrub.

The stem of the Willow is rough and can become quite thick. Young shouts are very flexible. Therefore they are used for making baskets.

The leaves are shaped like eggs or lanceolate. They are glossy. Their colour is dark green at the topside. The underside is silver shining.

Female and male flowers blossom on different plants.

Translation note
As English is not my native language, some words may not be translated properly.
Please feel free to send me any corrections.
Thank you Eva