Cottonwood: Nature's Pain Reliever
MEDICINAL INFORMATION
For hundreds of years the sap and bark from the willow (Salicaceae) family has been used as a pain reliever and fever reducer. It wasn't until 1829 when German chemist Felix Hoffmann isolated the active ingredient and named it salicin, that it began to be more widely used. In 1899, the Bayer company began manufacturing and selling a modified form of the salicin constituent called acetylsalicylic acid, or aspirin.
However, unlike aspirin, this natural form of salicin carries many other phyto-nutrients and does not cause bleeding in the stomach! In fact, The Drug Commission E in Germany has approved this plant medicine as a safe and effective drug for diseases accompanied by fever, rheumatic ailments, and headaches. Other common ailments that it helps with are menstrual cramps, sore muscles, blood clotting, lung congestion, colds, and cough.
HOW TO HARVEST
The scent of the resin is enough to gush about. It ‘s the familiar smell of wandering around on western river banks as a child. The taste of the extract tastes like a stronger version of that scent, almost like a woodsy cough syrup. I get transported every time I take a drop.
When harvesting it is good practice and stewardship to take only from the fallen branches from the winter storms. And even though you can harvest anywhere from fall to spring, the prime time to harvest is at the end of the winter just at the beginning of spring. That is when the buds are nice and big and full of sap and it’s still cold out so the sap doesn’t get everywhere…. and trust me that sap will get everywhere! It’s also the optimal time for finding fallen branches. That’s the beautiful thing about nature, heavy winter storms naturally prune deciduous trees so that the branches don’t get too tangled and the trees nutrients go to the strongest branches in the spring and summer months.
I suggest harvesting directly into mason jars. That way you will cause less mess, and you can recycle the jars when the tincture is finished. This also is an easy way to measure how much you want to harvest.
Pluck the buds off and fill the mason jar to the top. When you arrive home, combine the menstruum: Glycerin and Organic alcohol (Vodka or gin are easy to find and affordable to get organic). You want the ratio of these two to be 1:1. Fill to the brim! I should add, that this is a specific instruction for cottonwoods as the combination of the two extracting liquids extract the full spectrum of constituents (so I’m told). Be sure to label what is in the jar, where you harvested, and when you started the tincture/ when to end it - this step may feel like an afterthought but it has saved me soooooo many times!
After filling the jars with the menstruum, close the jars and do one big shake. Then leave on a sunlit shelf or in a cabinet for at least 4 months. By this time all of the constituents have been extracted out of the buds and your medicine is ready!
Lastly, pour the liquid through a strainer and cheesecloth. And then with that liquid, use a funnel to pour the liquid into UV protected dropper bottles so that it is easily used.
Tinctures or extracts are wonderful to have in the medicine cabinet as they have a very long shelf life. Since it is mainly made up of alcohol, a natural preservative, you can enjoy your tincture for 3-5 years.