Parts Most Frequently Used: Bark, Leaf

Flavors/Temps: Astringent, Slightly Bitter, Cool, Dry

Caution: Considered Safe.

Key Constituents: Salicin (Salicylic acid), Polyphenols, and Flavonoids. Tannins, Acids, Glycosides, Aldehydes.

History/Folklore: Willows all have abundant watery bark sap, full of salicylic acid. Aspirin was developed in the 1800s from the plant’s constituent salicin. While Aspirin works more quickly than white willow, white willow’s effects are believed to last longer. Aspirin gave rise to the important class of drugs known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Hippocrates reported that people chewed on willow bark to relieve pain and fever, low back pain, and osteoarthritis, including tendinitis and bursitis.

Ancient texts from Assyria, Sumer, and Egypt mention willow bark as a remedy for aches and fever. Native Americans used it as a staple in their medical treatments. The Pomo Indians of California boiled the inner bark and drank the resulting tea to promote sweating in cases of chills and fever. In the 1700s, it was enormously popular with colonial Americans as a treatment for fevers.

It is said that the poet Alexander Pope begged a twig from a parcel tied with willow twigs sent from Spain to Lady Suffolk. He planted it and it thrived. Legend holds that England’s weeping willows are descended from this first planting.

Willows are often planted on the borders of streams so their interlocking roots may protect the bank against erosion. Frequently the roots will grow larger than the stem that grows from them. Willow roots can spread widely and aggressively seek out moisture. Their roots are notorious for clogging drains, and septic and sewer systems. Willows are hosts to more than a hundred aphid species.

Willow is listed as one of the 38 substances used to prepare Bach Flower Remedies, an alternative medicine. White, Black, and Crack Willow species produce the highest amounts of salicin and are often used together. Native to Asia, white willow bark’s name derives from the leaves being covered with fine white hairs.

Willow is also grown for biomass or biofuel. It has a high energy-in energy-out ratio, large carbon mitigation potential, and fast growth.

Willow is one of the “Four Species” used ritually during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. In Buddhism, a willow branch is one of the chief attributes of Quan Yin, the Bodhisattva of compassion. Willow branches are often used instead of palm branches in Christian churches in Europe and the Ukraine on Palm Sunday.

Willow is used to make charcoal for drawing. Its branches are often used in living sculptures as well as in the making of baskets and fences.

Willows are a symbol of flexibility and adaptability. They proliferate from cuttings, even when upside down, making them a symbol of survival, renewal, and rebirth. Native Americans view the trees as a sign of inner wisdom and an open mind. In ancient Celtic lore, the gray willow is known as a “Tree of Enchantment”. In Chinese cultures they are a sign of immortality and weeping willows are a sign of great sorrow, used to honor the deceased.