Willow lamka (Salix fragilis); brittle willow
A dioecious plant of the willow family. The tree is 15–20 m tall. The bark is shiny, the old one is easily removed with plates. Branches at the base are fragile, often break from the wind. The leaves are entire, alternate, narrowly ovate-lanceolate, 6–15 cm long, long-pointed, with an oblique apex, unevenly glandular-toothed, glabrous or slightly downy when young and slightly sticky. Flowers are unisexual, in racemes; bract scales yellowish, almost bare. The fruit is a box. Blooms in April – May.
Spread. It grows on the banks of rivers, in floodplains throughout the territory of Ukraine, it is often bred near houses, near dams.
Procurement and storage . Bark collected during sap flow from 3–4-year-old branches is used. Dry outdoors or in a well-ventilated room. 33% of dry raw material is obtained.
The plant is unofficial .
Chemical composition . Willow bark contains tannins (about 12%), flavonoids, flavone glycosides (2.5–3%).
Pharmacological properties and use. Brittle willow bark decoction has analgesic, sedative, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, diaphoretic, antimalarial, antiseptic, hemostatic, wound-healing, astringent and anthelmintic properties. It is used for headache, neuralgia, various forms of neurosis, rheumatism, gout, colds, malaria, indigestion of food in the stomach, inflammatory phenomena in the stomach and intestines, jaundice, diseases of the spleen and liver (when they are overloaded with large doses of toxins), diarrhea, inflammation of the urinary tract, gynecological and infectious diseases, gastric, intestinal, uterine and other bleeding. Externally, the bark decoction is used for rinsing (for stomatitis, gingivitis, periodontitis, angina, inflammatory processes of the oral cavity and throat), for foot baths (for hyperhidrosis, phlebitis, varicose veins, muscle weakness
Medicinal forms and applications .
Internally – bark decoction (15 g per 200 ml of boiling water) 1 tablespoon three times a day;
bark infusion (1 teaspoon per 200 ml of boiling water, infuse until cool, filter) 1 tablespoon 4–5 times a day;
bark powder 0.5–1 g per night.
Externally – infusion for baths (1 teaspoon of bark powder per 400 ml of cold water, infuse for 8 hours, filter) with hyperhidrosis;
a strong bark decoction for rinsing, washing wounds and foot baths.