Willow (Salix species) is an inspiring plant to me. Willow’s ability to weather the storm is often used as a metaphor for living a life that is flexible and adaptable, able to bend instead of break in the face of life’s ups and downs. As one writer puts it:
During a storm, oaks stand solid, rigid, unwilling to surrender, unable to bend. They are often left damaged, uprooted, unable to survive. Willows dance in the rain, flexible enough to sway and glide as the storm swirls around them. Although blustered and blown, they are usually left standing, undamaged, ready to live on.
That flexibility makes it possible to weave baskets from Willow. She is also used to make living shelters, living fences, and so much more. Willows will often root and grow just from a branch jammed into the soil. Chopped up Willow branches can also be soaked in water and that water can be used as a rooting hormone for rooting other plant cuttings. If you cut down a large branch from a Willow tree, as we did once because it was leaning against our house, and crumpling the shingles, the stump of that branch will sprout multiple little branches in its place. Willow is flexible, adaptable, and loves life—loves to sprout and live and grow and expand.
Growing and Harvesting Willow
Can you grow Willow… that is a laughable question. Willow loves to be near water—or well-watered by the gardener, and if you have an adequate supply of water, and some soil, you can grow Willow bushes and/or trees. According to Wikipedia, “The genus Salix is made up of around 350 species of deciduous trees and shrubs. They hybridise freely, and over 160 such hybrids have been named.” From the early spring “pussy willow” bush to the majestic “weeping willow” there are species of willow to suit any gardeners taste.
I mentioned the fact that willow will grow multiple branches to replace one that is cut off and these branches are what is used to make baskets. They are typically harvested as needed. The inner bark of the willow is used for medicinal purposes and is harvested from branches in the early spring before the leaves bud. These are harvested by peeling the outer bark, and removing the cream colored inner layer to be dried for later use as a tincture or a decoction.
Benefits
The inner bark of the willow contains Salicylic acid, one of the first chemicals isolated from plants in 1838, as scientists turned to the lab to understand how plants worked with the human body (the other chemicals isolated around that time period were narcotic alkaloids in 1803 from the opium poppy and in 1804, inulin from elecampane). Salicylic acid was also one of the first chemicals synthesized in the laboratory in 1860 and was a forerunner of Aspirin (first developed in 1899). Willow bark has been used for pain for centuries before modern science began to study it.
“The oldest recorded use of willow bark goes back 2,400 years ago to ancient Greece where it was used to relieve pain”—Chad Cornell
When in extreme pain, most of us will reach for Tylenol, Aspirin, or one of the other many over-the-counter pharmaceutical pain relievers, and for good reason. Our modern pain relievers work almost instantly. Believe me, having experienced surgery within the past six months, I am very thankful I had modern pain relievers to use! However no pharmaceutical is without it’s side effects, and—as we all know—it is possible to become addicted to opiod pharmaceuticals, and even to die from a painkiller overdose.
Using the inner bark of willow as a pain reliever, in tea, tincture, or capsule form will not instantly kill the pain you are feeling. Plants that relieve pain, do so by working with your body systems (rather than blocking or deadening your systems) and are slower, gentler pain relievers that help to take the edge off a headache or menstrual cramps (for example). However, while Willow can irritate and upset the stomach if taken over a long period of time, it is not going to have the more serious side effects of pharmaceutical pain killers.
Willow tea, capsule, or tincture can be used for headaches. And taken internally or used in a massage oil, Willow is helpful in relieving lower back pain, sciatic nerve pain, osteoarthritis, tendonitis, muscle aches, sprains, and strains. For menstrual cramping, Willow is especially effective when combined with crampbark and red raspberry leaf. This combination is usually enough to help carry on with life as usual through your worst period days.
Willow is used to reduce the achiness from fevers, colds, and flus. It is also effective for arthritic and rheumatic pain that affects the back as well as the knees and hips. Besides relieving the pain for arthritis, it also relieves inflammation and swelling, and improves mobility in swollen joints.
Given that Willow has been used for so long in human history, there are many traditional uses of willow that have not been studied by modern science, such as:
Traditionally used as an astringent to staunch internal bleeding (unlike acetylsalicylic acid which will thin the blood).
The Chipewyan people burned and powdered the inner bark for ulcers.
The inner bark of the pussy willow branches were often used for stomachaches, and to treat diarrhea.
The inner root bark was chewed and applied to deep cuts to stop bleeding and help heal without infection.
The peeled root can be applied to a toothache.
Willow can reduce sweating, helping with menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats.
While the inner bark of the Willow contains the highest amount of salicin, and is most commonly used for pain relief, the roots and leaves can also be used for anti-inflammatory and analgesic (pain-relieving) purposes. The spring catkins of the willow are also edible and are high in vitamin C.
Western Research
White Willow (Salix Alba) is the most commonly studied willow by western science. There are several research papers and meta-analysis on the safety and efficacy of using the inner bark of the white willow for analgesic purposes, especially as it relates to arthritis1.
One interesting abstract from a study reads as follows:
…[W]illow species contain only a low quantity of the prodrug salicin which is metabolized during absorption into various salicylate derivatives. If calculated as salicylic acid, the daily salicin dose is insufficient to produce analgesia. Salicylic acid concentrations following an analgesic dose of aspirin are an order of magnitude higher. Flavonoids and polyphenols contribute to the potent willow bark analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect. The multi-component active principle of willow bark provides a broader mechanism of action than aspirin and is devoid of serious adverse events.2 [italics mine]
I find it interesting that even though the specific pain relieving properties of salicylic acid are higher in the synthetic willow-like drug, willow itself contains more than just the salicin, and as a whole plant, assists the body’s healing processes in more than one way, without causing serious adverse affects.
Caution:
Anyone with an allergic reaction to aspirin should not use any willow bark products.
How to use Willow
Willow can be used in tea, tincture, or capsule form. Personally I like to keep dried willow on hand for making a tea to sip at on days I have a dull headache. I also make a tincture for menstrual cramping with willow, crampbark, and red raspberry leaf. If someone wanted to use willow to help with arthritic pain, you could use either form of it, but use caution, as with any pain relieving medicine, willow shouldn’t be taken internally on a daily basis for long-term use. It would be a good idea to use in a massage oil if needed for long term joint-pain relief.
If you’re interested in the food uses of the catkins, they can be eaten on their own, or fried up with other plants, or eaten in soups.
In Herbal Circles the saying goes that Aspirin contains “a willow-like substance” and not the other way around
—Beverley Grey, The Boreal Herbal
Further Reading and Resources
The Boreal Herbal by Beverley Grey
The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants by Andrew Chevallier