Willow
Salix species
(Salicaceae)
Description:
The willow catkin, or pussy willow, is a familiar feature
of the spring landscape in shrubby areas. Some willows flower before the leaves
open out, while in other species the leaves appear first. The willows vary from
prostrate or creeping dwarf shrubs to erect bushes or small trees, usually with
many stems. The short-stalked leaves are long and narrow with smooth or finely
toothed edges.
Distribution:
The several dozen species of Salix that occur in
Alaska are widely distributed.
Constituents:
The active principle in willow bark is salicin, approximately
0.3 to 1%. Salicin is a glycoside hydrolyzed to D-glucose and saligenin
that is a precursor to salicylic acid. The bark also contains tannins.
Medicinal uses:
The history of aspirin begins with the willow, which
was used in Europe for fevers, debilities of the digestive system, bad scorbutic
tumors, and dysentery. (Simmonite-Culpeper) The European use of willow bark
infusions dates back to ancient Greece, where it was used to treat pain more
than 2400 years ago.
In the mid-eighteenth century, Reverend Edmund Stone, in a letter to the president of the Royal Society, gave "an account of the success of the bark of the willow in the cure of agues [fever]." It was in 1837 that Leroux discovered or isolated salicin as the active ingredient in willow bark. In 1860 the synthetic manufacture of this acid from phenol was accomplished by Kolge and Lautemann. (Goodman and Gilman) Before 1900, sodium salicylate, pheylsalicylate, and acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) were synthesized and introduced into medicine, soon displacing the natural compounds.
In Alaska, Oswalt reports the use of S. arbusculoides as a chewing stick for sores in the mouth. I have tried it, and this willow is certainly one of the most likely species to want to chew on--the shiny red bark of the slender twigs and branches is very smooth. S. pulchra also has been used for a sore mouth, but the leaves are chewed. (Lewis) The beautiful willow S. pulchra is the species most highly regarded as spring food; the young green leaves are good either raw or cooked. They seem to be preferred by moose too, because often when I go to one of the S. pulchra bushes to harvest spring buds it is eaten down to short sticks with all the buds gone and moose-type teeth marks on the cut ends.
Lewis and Elvin-Lewis have much to say about willows. Toothpicks made from various willows are commonly used. Comanches used a decoction of willow for sore eyes. The Houmas and Alabamas used a decoction of the root and bark of S. nigra for internal consumption and for baths to reduce fevers. The Chickasaws used the roots of S. lucida for headaches and the Montagnais steeped its leaves and drank the liquid to relieve their headaches. They also made a mash of the bark, which was strapped to the forehead to relieve pain.
Alaskan Native Martha Jack's informant suggests a cough syrup made from willow buds, and Hall states "When a bee stings you, get some willow leaves and chew them up for a few minutes. Put the chewed leaves over the sting. The leaves help keep the sting from swelling." She also says to bathe skin infections in willow leaf tea.
Caution:
With willow, there is a possibility of skin rashes. However, salicylate
poisoning has certainly occurred with synthetic aspirin, but has never been
reported from natural willow bark.
Copyright © 1987 by Eleanor G. Viereck