Willow (Salix viminalis); willow
A dioecious plant of the willow family. A shrub or tree 3–5 m tall. Branches are erect, rod-shaped. Young shoots are grayish pubescent, sometimes bare. The leaves are alternate, 6–20 cm long, dark green above, whitish-silky below, pointed, entire, with rolled edges or notched-toothed, with a very protruding yellow main vein from below. The flowers are unisexual, in thick, fluffy, almost sessile racemes; bract scales are two-colored. The fruit is a box. It blooms in March – April, after the leaves have bloomed.
Distribution . It grows along the banks of rivers and lakes in Polissia, occasionally in Prykarpattia, very rarely in the Forest Steppe and Steppe. It is grown as a phytomelioration plant.
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. A decoction of the willow bark 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.