Willow as an Herb

(Salix spp.)

The Willow-herbs (Epilobium), nine species of which are natives of Great Britain, belong to the order Onagraceae, to which belong also the familiar garden flowers the Fuchsia, Clarkia and Godetia, and the Evening Primrose.

Willow is the inner bark of several species of Salix, trees in the willow family including white willow (S. alba). Four other European species recognized as sources are crack willow (S. fragilis), purple willow (S. purpurea), violet willow (S. daphnoides), and bay willow (S. pentandra). All except bay willow are naturalized in North America.

Medicinal Uses for Willow

For more than 2,000 years, people of the Northern Hemisphere used willow bark as a wash for external ulcers and internally to reduce fevers and relieve aches, pains, rheumatism, arthritis, and headaches. Native Americans used it: black willow root bark was used by the Houma as a blood thinner; the Creek used the root tea to relieve inflammation in rheumatism and to reduce fever. In American folk traditions, the bark was used as a blood thinner (like aspirin) and to treat fever. The tea was also given for dyspepsia. In 1763, a Dr. Stone of London first recommended willow bark to the medical profession for the treatment of fevers.

In the 1890s the Bayer Company was looking for a substitute for wintergreen and black birch oil, then used to relieve pain, because they were simply too toxic. Their researchers studied experiments from 1853 in which salicylic acid was first synthesized from carbolic acid. They rediscovered a derivative of the acids developed in the 1853 studies-"acetylsalicylic acid", commonly known today as aspirin. No other drug is as well-known for its analgesic, fever-reducing or antiinflammatory qualities. Willow bark has been considered a "natural aspirin".

Used much in America as an intestinal astringent.

Culinary

The leaves of the Rose Bay Willow herb have been used as a substitute and adulterant of Tea. Though no longer so employed in England, the leaves of both this species and of the Great Hairy Willow-herb (E. hirsutum, Linn.) are largely used in Russia, under the name of Kaporie Tea.

Cautions

Willow bark is high in tannins, which can damage the liver. Because willow bark produces salicin, it is suggested to be contraindicated in the same instances as aspirin for stomach ulcers and, in children, for high fevers. However, salicin does not metabolize the same as aspirin, so the contraindications may not apply.

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DISCLAIMER: These pages are presented solely as a source of INFORMATION and ENTERTAINMENT and to provide stern warnings against use where appropriate. No claims are made for any historical herbal treatment. In no way can the information provided here take the place of the standard, legal, medical practice of any country. Some plants are extremely toxic and should be used only by licensed professionals. Some plants used for illness in the past have proven to be ineffective for the problems to which they were applied.