Willow tea for a headache

I feel blessed to have knowledge of the medicinal plants from the southern vancouver island bioregion.
Earlier this week my dear friend approached me with a pounding headache, asking for a tea to ease the pain. I remembered a willow tree i hadn't visited in a while and told her to come find me soon.
Long before the days of aspirin people would chew on the bark of willow branches to ease the pain of a headache. The pain releaving compound salicylic acid in aspirin originated from willow bark.

I have been taught to look for fallen willow branches on the ground after a wind storm. If no fallen branches are available, I harvest branches carefully with gratitude. I take a small amount from a large area, acknowledgement the growth of the plant as being more important that my own needs. The healthier the ecosystem stays from which I harvest, the longer it can provide medicines to my children's children.

In spring or in the fall when there are heavy rains, the medicinal willow bark pulls easily off of the branch. In the heat of summer I use a knife to strip it off.
Recently I have been harvesting from a young tree close on the land. I choose not to harvest large branches because it is still developing. Therefor I have been harvesting small shoots which are growing off of the main branches. I thin out the most crowded ones.

After thanking the tree I harvested a handful of tiny branches inside for my friend with a headache. Then I pounded them with a mortar and pestle (in the warm months I pound them between two stones). I Put the pounded willow in a pot (about a tablespoon to a cup of water) and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Barks are tougher than leaves and flower petals. Therefor the willow needs to be simmered- decocted, instead of infused (steeped in a cup of water).

My friend was feeling better after her first cup and felt re-leaved after her second. I am very thankful for this small willow tree that grows on our property, for the same tree has helped me heal other's headaches.