Tree Lore and Remedies

WILLOW: Willow barks active ingredient, salicin, has a strong analgesic effect and was used to make the first aspirin. (Today, salicylates are synthetically produced.) Willow-bark tea may be used to ease aches and pains, but because it acts as a blood thinner (like commercial aspirin), be careful not to drink any before surgery or a tooth extraction. To make the tea, place two tablespoons of willow bark (use the inner bark from a twig; never remove bark from the trunk, as it can kill the tree) into a cup of water and simmer for 20 minutes.

LORE: People once carried a piece of willow with them in order to ease the fear of death. Bark from the tree was often used in funeral pyres.

ROWAN: Mashed apple and ripe red rowanberries can be cooked together with honey and then eaten to cure nagging coughs.

LORE: In Scotland, eating the ripe berries is said to promote longevity, while a necklace of rowan-berries brings good luck to its wearer. A cross of rowan twigs tied with red thread placed in a window was thought to protect a house against storms.

PINE: The antitumor properties of pinecones are currently being studied. But pine-needle tea (recipe below) is already known to be an excellent source of vitamin C. Pine bark also contains compounds called pycnogenols - powerful antioxidants that are more potent than vitamins E and C. Pycnogenol supplements can be bought at health-food stores.

LORE: Pine trees were known as the keepers of peace by many native peoples, and gatherings of clans were often sought beneath the pines.

ELM: Slippery-elm lozenges, available commercially, can soothe sore throats and coughs. Tea made from four teaspoons of the inner bark simmered for 20 minutes in a cup and a half of water helps to ease upper respiratory problems.

LORE: Druids thought the elm to be a tree associated with elves. B

BIRCH: Betulinic acid, known for its antitumor properties, is made from birch bark. Northern Europeans have long used birch brooms or twigs while in the sauna: The skin is gently flailed with a twig to aid circulation.

LORE: Tying a red ribbon around a birch tree was thought to ward off evil.

HAZEL: Hazelnuts, also known as filberts, are a rich source of unsaturated fatty acids and phosphorus. Herbalists have long recommended that the powdered nuts be mixed with honey and water to help ease chronic coughs.

LORE: Dowsing or divining rods (used by well diggers in the hopes of finding water) were made from hazel wood.

YEW: The cancer remedy Taxol is derived from the bark of the Pacific yew tree (Taxus brevifolia).

LORE: In Europe, the yew was known as the tree of immortality and trees were planted in graveyards.

HOLLY: Holly bark may be mixed with goldenseal and used to make a tea to ease indigestion. The berries are poisonous and should only be used by a knowledgeable health practitioner.

LORE: The Druids believed that if they decorated their homes with holly in the winter months, beneficial wood spirits would be enticed to enter during snowstorms.

OAK: White-oak bark can be used externally in a wash to treat burns, rashes, insect bites, and inflammations. Boil one-half to two pounds of bark in two quarts of water. Reduce until only one quart of the liquid remains, and apply.

LORE: Oaks were the ancient Western Europeans' favorite trees. Oaks, whose roots go down as deep as the branches grow high, served as a metaphor for the Druid, who believed himself to be firmly rooted in the earth but with his head in the clouds. Houses made of oak were said to last 100 years, and it is believed that King Arthur's round table was made out of oak because of its strength and durability. Acorns were considered lucky charms and were carried for protection, prosperity, and longevity.

by Maggie Howe