White willow
Useful properties and recipes for the use of white willow
Botanical characteristics of white willow
Willow is a tree of the willow family, about 30 meters in height, with a thick trunk. The plant has a beautiful spreading crown with sagging branches. Young trees have light gray bark, but older trees have almost black cracked bark. The slender yellow branches of the tree have long silky silky leaves on short petioles. Small willow flowers are collected in several pieces into earrings, which are of two types: female earrings are short and thin, but male ones, on the contrary, are long and cylindrical. Earrings bloom along with the leaves.
Willow fruit is a box consisting of one nest of two valves. Inside the fruit, there are many small seeds, on the surface of which there are hairs. Willow blooms in April, and after a month you can observe the ripening of the plant's fruits.
In the CIS, willow is a very common tree. It can be seen on the edges of forests, near houses and roads, in river floodplains and on wet soil. Willow prefers fertile soil.
Useful properties of white willow
The bark and leaves of the plant contain organic acids, tannins, ascorbic acid and flavonoids. Willow has antipyretic and antiseptic effects on the human body.
For medicinal purposes, the bark of the plant is usually used, but male earrings are also used in folk medicine. Willow bark has astringent and anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, preparations from willow bark have a choleretic, diuretic, and anthelmintic effect. The infusion and decoction of the bark of the plant help to remove uric acid from the body, which is why they are used for gout and arthritis.
Willow is a plant that takes energy, and in return gives calmness and relaxation. With the help of a decoction of white willow, you can remove a headache.
White willow preparations are also used externally. For example, the plant bark infusion is used for skin diseases, ulcers and sweating of the legs. As a means for rinsing, the bark infusion is recommended for inflammation of the oral cavity, nose and pharynx.
White willow propagation
Willow reproduces by seeds, cuttings, stem shoots and cuttings. Sandy loam soils and moist soil are most suitable for reproduction.
Propagation by cuttings is done as follows. It is necessary to cut off the willow branches, keep them in water until roots appear. Once the roots have formed, the plant can be planted in the soil. To get elastic shoots, the shoot must be watered.
Willow does not need any special care. The soil for it must be moist, fertile and fresh. If the time is dry, then the willow needs only watering and spraying. Springtime is the time to loosen young plants and mulch them with peat. Given the fact that willow responds well to pruning, you can give it a beautiful shape. Too long or dead branches should be cut off.
Application of white willow
A decoction of willow bark as an antipyretic agent. Take 1 tablespoon of plant bark and grind it. Pour raw materials with a glass of boiling water and put on low heat for 20 minutes. The broth is ready. After straining, you can take 1 tablespoon three times a day.
Willow broth for prostatitis. To prepare it, you need to take 1 tablespoon of willow branches and chop them finely. Pour 200 ml of boiling water over the chopped branches. Put on fire for 5 minutes. After straining, take 100 ml three times a day.
Willow remedy to remove warts. Take the ash from willow wood and add table vinegar to it. As a result, you should get a mass that looks like gruel. This gruel is applied to the warts until they dry out and begin to fall off.
Willow decoction for hair loss. Take 1 tablespoon of willow bark and the same amount of burdock roots and pour all 500 ml of water. Put in a water bath for 20 minutes and leave for about two hours. After you strain the finished broth, they need to wash their hair no more than twice a week.
Willow remedy for goiter. Take willow shoots and burn them. The coals from burning must be ground and mixed with honey. The mixing ratio is 1 part charcoal to 2 parts honey. The finished product is taken 3 times a day 20 minutes before meals. A single dose of admission is 50 grams.
Tincture for tachycardia and arrhythmia. You need to take 100 grams of male willow inflorescences, pour them with 500 ml of vodka and leave to infuse for 1 month. The finished tincture is taken 30 or 35 drops no more than four times a day before meals. But before taking a drop of tincture, dilute with a spoonful of water.
Contraindications to the use of white willow
With bradycardia, you can not use preparations from willow flowers. Willow medicines should not be used by children under the age of 16 who have signs of the flu or cold. The ban is due to the fact that due to the intake of drugs from willow, which contain salicylates, the child may develop Reye's syndrome - a disease that can lead to the death of the child. Ulcers should also not use willow products.
The author of the article: Sokolova Nina Vladimirovna | Phytotherapist
Education: Diploma in "General Medicine" and "Therapy" received at the Pirogov University (2005 and 2006). Advanced training at the Department of Phytotherapy at the Peoples' Friendship University of Moscow (2008).
