Willow
Salix alba
Young bark · cooling · astringent
The stream-bank bark for an ache — sour, drawing, old as a headache.
In the mouth
How it tastes
Bitter bark, aspirin-green, tannin.
Traditional use
Folk tea for a feverish ache in the joints or the head. The bark is bitter-sour and astringent. It is a tree of the clay and the water’s edge.
In the cup
A small piece of dried young bark, decocted 10 minutes. Unpleasant alone — often a pinch in a larger cup.
Story
A tree of the water’s edge. Artemis kept willow among her trees. The bark is the old ache-tea — sour, drawing, stream-bank medicine.
Blood
Sour blood · sour
Sour is cooling and astringent. It draws and binds, thickens thin blood, starts saliva, and hydrates even as it tightens. Sour plants carry the antioxidants of fruit. They move mucous and support the lungs — large doses irritate. Lemon-family plants show up again and again in sinus cups.
Read sour bloodReached for
Who it feeds
The living bloom
Io moth, Polyphemus moth, Mourning Cloak, Viceroy, Red-spotted Purple, Dreamy Duskywing…
The promise
A careful hand
Some people, or a long pot, need extra care.
Contains salicylates. Not for children with viral illness, aspirin allergy, or anyone on blood thinners without a clinician. Not a handful of bark.
Read the whole promiseSits well with
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
The wound-wort and fever herb of the yard.
Feverish & flushed · Crampy cycle · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Peppermint
Mentha × piperita
The lift in the cupboard — head, belly, and a closed room.
Bloating · Indigestion · Headache
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Ginger
Zingiber officinale
The stillroom’s first answer to a cold belly or a coming chill.
Nausea · Indigestion · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Traditional kitchen and folk use only. This is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are pregnant, nursing, on medicine, or unwell, ask a clinician before drinking anything as a remedy.