Wildcrafting Black Cottonwood Medicine

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Here in Colorado we are so so blessed to be living amongst the cottonwood tree. In a couple of weeks this tree might get the best of those with allergies, covering us with clouds of her fluffy white seeds. But right now, she is budding. Beautiful gold and red buds filled with a wild medicinal resin that is a potent panacea for so many ailments. 

The cottonwood tree has been held sacred by nearly all the first peoples of this land, as far as I can tell. Traditionally, the wood has been used for drums that sing to us, to make looms to weave upon, and to make caskets to bury our ancestors. The bark has been made into medicine or eaten as a late winter food, the ashes have been made into glazes to decorate pottery, and the roots have been used to make Kachina dolls. The Hopi believe that the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves is the sound of the spirits speaking to them. And many of the plains tribes, including the Lakota, harvest a poplar or cottonwood tree for the center of their Sundance ceremony each season.  

My love affair with the cottonwood tree started long ago, when I was a kid breaking open fallen twigs trying to find the perfect star in the center. I now know that different kinds of trees have different shapes of pith, the internal area of the plant that stores and transports nutrients, and that the star shape is super special to cottonwoods and oaks.  

The cottonwood tree is part of the poplar family, which includes aspens and willows. It is a native, fast growing deciduous tree that loves water. A helpful tip—if you’re ever in a survival situation in the backcountry, you can usually identify hidden sources of water by spotting where poplars are growing. 

Medicine

All of the Populus species contain varying amounts of salicin and poplin, the precursors of aspirin that are anti-inflammatory. There are so many ways this tree is medicinal. But for the sake of keeping this post somewhat short, I will just focus on my favorite concoction, Balm of Gilead, which uses the resinous leaf buds to make a potent healing ointment that eases sore muscles and arthritic joints, and helps to heal damaged skin including burns and skin irritations. It even contains substances that are known to inhibit the growth of cancerous cells. 

Some History

The original Balm of Gilead is believed to have originated in the Middle East and is mentioned in the Christian bible and the Torah.  It was a substance collected from several varieties of Middle Eastern and East African trees and was said to have many curative powers. The resin was extracted and revered as a great healing salve.  It was burned at ceremony as it was thought to heal the soul and protect it from dark sources.

There has been much mystery surrounding the true identity and origin of the Balm of Gilead. The confusion lies in the distinction between what ancient sources refer to as Balm of Gilead, and what is known and commonly used as Balm of Gilead today in North America. There is a tree referred to as Balm of Gilead, which grew in abundance upon the slopes of Mount Gilead in the Middle East, who’s tales and stories are spread throughout the histories and legends of the Eastern World. However, what is commonly used as Balm of Gilead today in the Western world is most often the resinous winter buds of the North American black cottonwood, Populus trichocoarpa. Check out this article if you’re interested to learn more about the history of Balm of Gilead.

The Harvest

In the springtime, right about now, when the weather starts to warm enough to soften the resin, you can smell the super fragrant scent of the medicine coming from the buds of the black cottonwood. Though all cottonwood species contain some amount of medicine, you’ll want to try to find a black cottonwood (or balsam poplar if you’re in the north). To find a highly medicinal tree, touch and smell the young leaf-buds before leaf break.  The smell should be a strong pleasant perfume, with a hint of camphor.  The buds will be sticky and resinous, coating your fingers with a reddish brown gum.  The young branch tips will be deeply coloured with the rising sap. If your fingers get sticky with resin and if there’s a camphorous scent, these are good buds to harvest. 

A Note On Wildcrafting:

It is a beautiful offering to wildcraft herbs and plants. When we do this in a good way we are helping the plant to live out their life purpose, giving us their fruits to feed, nourish and sustain us. This being said, when you head out to harvest there are a couple of things that are good to be aware of. 

Always ask permission from the plant to harvest and make an offering.  Some people offer tobacco, some a strand of hair. I say, offer whatever it is that is sacred to you. Maybe a song, a prayer, or something you’ve made. It is a way to acknowledge the generosity of the plant and give a little something in gratitude for all that we receive from them.

Only take what you need and have a plan for.  Know that the buds represent the leaves of the tree, and you want to leave enough buds on the plant to nourish the root for another season and produce the next spring’s leaf buds. Harvest in gratitude for what you need, and leave what you don’t.

Always leave enough for the plant to reproduce for the coming year.  A good rule of thumb is to never take the first, never take the last, only take what is given, and never take more than half. When harvesting buds from a tree, never take the terminal bud as this bud represents the growing branches as well as the future leaves.

Making Balm of Gilead

Just use your fingers to harvest the buds that are showing you they’re ready to be picked. Cottonwoods are very prone to breakage from wind and storms, so be sure to check the ground for recently fallen branches with buds ready to harvest. It is best to harvest these buds first, before harvesting those on the tree. Know that the buds represent the leaves of the tree, and you want to leave enough buds on the plant to nourish the root for another season and produce the next spring’s leaf buds. 

Collect all of your harvested buds into a mason jar and cover completely with olive oil. Put the jar in a warm spot, like a sunny window where the warmth of the sun helps the buds release their resin. Over the next two weeks or so, the resin will slowly move into the oil, giving the oil a golden to deep reddish hue. Give the jar a stir a few times a week while you are waiting.  When it’s ready to strain after about two weeks, the oil will have the pleasant medicinal scent.

Strain the infused oil through muslin or cheesecloth. It’s gonna take a strong squeeze to get all the oil out. Put the oil into a stainless steel pot and heat over low heat. For each cup of oil that you’ve collected, add a drop of Vitamin E oil (this maintains the freshness of the oil and keeps it from going rancid), and about 1.5 tablespoons of beeswax.

When the beeswax is melted into the oil, place a drop or two on a plate and let cool. Then check the consistency of the oil. You want it to be hard enough to hold together, but soft enough to spread easily. You’re going for the consistency of an ointment. If it is too soft, just add more wax. 

Once you have the desired consistency, pour the ointment into jars and let cool. Now you’ve got a sun golden super amazing healing salve to help with sore muscles, joints, pains, sprains, wounds, burns, and anything else you can think of for the most part.

Enjoy and share generously!