White willow – Salix alba

Description of white willow:

Salix alba L. salix alba (Silver willow) Salix alba (Salix salix) a 15 – 20 m tall tree with branches that are initially greyish-yellow, later light green. Leaves elongated-lanceolate, white silky, later greyish.

Occurrence:

In temperate regions, especially in wet places, along river banks. In our country, along streams, ditches, rivers, wet meadows.

Part to be collected:

The bark, about 1 mm thick, brown or greenish, smooth on the outside, brownish inside, which is traded as cortex salicis.

Active substances:

Salicin glyeoside and tannic acid.

Harvesting and drying:

The branches cut at the end of February or beginning of March should be cut into 6-8 cm pieces and the bark cut from these pieces should be dried in an attic, in the sun or in a low-temperature oven.

Processing and marketing:

Before the spread of salicylic acid and quinine, it played a major role in medicine as an antipyretic. Today it is used in the medical field only in folk medicine. It is also used in the tanning industry. Source: Dr. Ferenc Darvas and Dr Gyula Magyary-Kossa,Domestic medicinal plants, their production, marketing, effects and medicinal uses