Cottonwood
Common Names: Black Poplar (Populus nigra) Balm of Gilead (Commiphora opobalsamum) Balsam tree,
Description: Belongs to the Salicaceae family. There are 10 species that grow across North America.. Populus biasamifera, p. candicans, p angustifolia, p deltoids and p trichocarpa. All of these trees have medicinal value. They are fast growing and have short lives. When a tree falls or is cut down, it will vigorously re-sprout. It is a large deciduous tree with spreading branches that arch downwards and brown, later grayish-black, deeply furrowed bark (alligator skin), up to 65 feet tall in height. The Lombardy poplar (var. italic of this species) may reach 130 feet. The leaves are deciduous, rhomboidal or triangular (personally they remind me of hearts). The reddish-brown buds are long, sticky and curve upwards at the tip. Black poplar with orange male and red female flowers catkins that open early in spring before the leaves appear. Although, some trees there leaves come out first. The fruits are small capsules, containing seeds covered with cottony hairs which aid their dissemination by the wind. You find cottonwoods near wet lands, side of streams and rivers. They love water. They are a fast growing tree and is often planted as a screen beside roads and industrial buildings. The buds are covered by a hard shell for protection during the winter. This shell is covered with a sticky resinous substance which is very fragrant. The resin is collected by the bees to make propolis. Propolis is a sticky substance that bees use to seal their hives and protect it from invaders. The cottonwood is in the same family as willow.
Parts Used: Bud, leaf, bark,
Medical Properties: The buds and bark are used . Sometimes the leaves. Cottonwood resin is cooling and drying. The major constituent of the resin is a group of aspirin-like compounds, or salicylates, that relieve pain and inflammation (inflammation of all kinds). Antiseptic, expectorant, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, anti-rheumatic, antibacterial, stimulant, pectoral, analgesic and anodyne, anti-galactagogue, antipyretic, cholagogue, antioxidant and tonic
Analgesic - herbs that relieve pain
Anodyne - Herbs that reduce pain by reducing sensitivity of the nerves
Antibacterial - Active against bacteria
Antigalactagogue - decrease the production of milk secretion of nursing moms
Anti-inflammatory - herbs which help the body fight inflammation
Antioxidant - herbs that render free radicals harmless
Antipyretic - herbs that reduce fever
Anti-rheumatic - herbs that alleviate the symptoms of arthritis
Antispetic - inhibit growth of bacteria and prevent infection, cell decay and pus formation
Astringent - herbs that have a binding action on skin or mucous membranes that helps dry up mucous discharge, tone local blood vessels, stop bleeding
Cholagogue - herbs that stimulate the flow of bile
Diuretic - increase the flow or urine, used to treat water retention, lymphatic swellings...
Expectorant - herbs that help the body to remove excess mucus
Pectoral - herbs that strengthen the lungs
Stimulant - herbs that cause an increase in body functions
Tonic - herbs that strengthen and support the function of a specific organ or whole body
History: The genuine Balm of Gilead, highly esteemed by the ancient Arabs, Egyptians, Turks, Greeks, and Romans was extracted from this small tree. At one time the sweet-scented resin was so highly prized that guards watched over trees cultivated in the gardens near Cairo. The herbs popular name is derived from the Greek balsamon, meaning a fragrant oil, while Gilead refers to its ancient cultivation on Mount Gilead in Israel. There are biblical references to the Balm of Gilead in Genesis and Jeremiah, and the queen of Sheba is said to have presented a tree to Solomon as a gift. The black poplar is dedicated to Proserpina and the white to Hercules. The raw resin from this tree is thick, whitish and strongly perfumed. It solidifies on exposure to the air but is soluble in alcohol,. Balm of Gilead was valued for its scent and once used as a beauty aid by ladies of the royal courts. True Balm of Gilead is scarce and supplies are likely to come from related north American trees, Populus candicans or P. balsamifera. These members of the poplar family took the name of their biblical counterpart on account of the sticky, heavily scented resin that covers the young buds.
At one time the bruised buds were added to fresh butter which was then left in the sun to melt, and used by peasant women in China to give a sheen to their hair.
Native American Uses: The cottonwood tree was sacred to many Native Americans, particularly in the Southwest. The Apache tribes considered cottonwood trees a symbol of the sun, and some northern Mexican tribes associated cottonwoods with the afterlife, using cottonwood boughs in funeral rituals. Cottonwood roots were used for carving kachina dolls, masks, and other ceremonial objects by the Hopi, Pueblo, and Navajo tribes. The cottonwood was also viewed as a medicine tree in many Plains Indian tribes, with sacred poles and sun dance artifacts often being made from cottonwood trunks and branches. Cottonwood bark and leaves were also used as medicinal herbs by many different tribes, particularly to treat wounds and swelling. The white poplar (similar properties to the black cottonwood) has been used medicinally by American Indians for many centuries.
Modern Day Herbalist Use: Juice of the leafs is used to relieve pain of earache.
Externally (ointment or liniment) for skin rashes, cuts, scalds, burns, boils and hemorrhoids. A liniment for helping to relieve pain, arthritis and rheumatic joint (anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic), Use a tincture to clean cuts and wounds (antiseptic and antibacterial)
Internally: Tincture/tea/decoction) for infections of the upper respiratory tract, sore throats, fever reducer, laryngitis and bronchitis. As an expectorant, meaning it helps the body to remove excess mucus. Make a bitter tonic or digestive aid (stimulates the flow of bile), diseases for the urinary tract (kidney and bladder) and gout (it reduces the amount of uric acid in the blood). As a diuretic, it can help with chronic kidney and bladder problems. It makes your urine more acidic and has antibacterial and antiseptic properties.
The resin, (the sticky substance in the buds) does not break down in water. You must infuse them in oil or alcohol to use them medicinally.
Preparations: The buds and bark are used. Sometimes the leaves. Infused oil, tincture, liniment, digestive aid, poultice, decoction/tea
RECIPES
Infused Cottonwood Oil:
Fresh Cottonwood buds
Organic oil of choice, apricot, jojoba, olive etc.
Jar with lid
Cheese cloth
Fill a jar about 1/3 full with the buds. Add oil. Cover with cheese clothe and then ring.
Important: If you decided to not use the cheese cloth and use the lid with the ring, please let the air out of the jar once a day. Do not screw the lid on to tight, keep it lose. My first year of infusing cottonwood buds, I lost a jar because it had to much pressure. To my knowledge this only happens with cottonwood buds.
Let sit by a wood stove or sunny window for 6 weeks
Strain, date and label
Double Boiler Method and more information on infusing herbs in oil:
http://www.motherearthliving.com/natural-beauty/infused-oils-salves-infusion-method.aspx
Balm Of Gilead Salve:
8 oz cottonwood infused oil strained
1/4 cup bees wax or 2 oz
Jars or stainless steel tins to pour your salve in
Labels
Wood spoon
Stainless steal ladle
Double boiler
Put oil in the top of the double boiler and add beeswax
GENTLY heat and melt bees wax
Ladle or pour into jars before it is cooled
Cool and label
Infused Cottonwood Honey
Fresh cottonwood buds
Real raw honey, local is best
Double boiler, mason jar with lid, knife, spatula, labels
Fill jar about 1/3 full with the buds and cover with the honey. Use your knife to push the honey down. The buds need to be completely covered with the honey. Once it is blended together now pour it into the top of your double boiler.
GENTLY HEAT FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES. You do not want to kill all the medicinal properties of the honey, by overheating it.
Now pour the mixture back into the original jar. Label and let sit in a sunny window for about 4 weeks.
Strain or leave the buds in
Use this honey to sweeten your tea, or what ever you like to put honey on. You could also use it as a first aid remedy. Burns, cuts etc.
Cottonwood Liniment
Fresh cottonwood buds and twigs
Everclear ( I personally never use rubbing alcohol for my liniments, because it has petroleum in it)
Mason jar with lid, labels
Pull the buds off of the twigs and put them in the jar.
Next, remove the bark form the twigs (I use my pocket knife)
Add the bark to the buds in the jar and fill it 1/2 full with this material
Pour the alcohol to fill the jar. Put the lid on and shake.
Label and Mark EXTERNAL USE ONLY
Let sit for 4 to 6 weeks (plus), shaking daily. It will be ready to use in 6 weeks. The longer it sits the stronger it gets.
Use then for muscle spasms, sprains, aches and pains. You could also use it for a first aid remedy.
Cottonwood Tincture
Fresh cottonwood buds
Vodka that comes in a glass bottle
8 oz jar with lid, label
Add enough buds to fill the jar 2/3 full. Pour vodka to the top of the jar and place the lid on
Label
Shake Daily, give it some love
Let sit for 4 weeks, strain
Cottonwood Rooting Hormone Mixture:
More on Cottonwood:
https://wildlettucegal.wordpress.com/tag/cottonwood-tree-native-american-legends/
http://bearmedicineherbals.com/harvesting-medicine-making-with-cottonwood-bark.html
http://www.ryandrum.com/twobudsoneleaf.htm
https://feralbotanicals.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/harvesting-cottonwood-buds-for-medicine/
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