Aspen/willow tree

[Maverick]

Knowledge of plants and trees is a must when in the back country not just for food purposes but also medicinal purposes, everyone should have knowledge in identifying, Plantain, Yarrow, Dandelions, Aspen and Willow trees.

The Aspen and Willow contains salicin AKA Aspirin, salicin was long used before the synthetic version 'Aspirin' The salicin is almost white and it is between the hardwood and the outer portion of the bark, take your knife and cut a piece of bark off the tree about 2"wide by 6"long, shave the inside bark to the outer edge of the bark, 2 table spoons will equal roughly 2 250mg of synthetic Aspirin.

Take 2 table spoons of the shavings and chew on it swallowing the juices (only the juices) ya, it is bitter! or take 2 table spoons and put it in a cup of water (don't boil) just simmer for about 15 mikes, cool slightly then drink.

WARNING, I believe the same precautions apply with salicin as it does with aspirin in other words, if you are allergic to aspirin then don't try this!! Also note, this is more potent then aspirin, it goes to your system faster.

 

[jontte]

is it possible to collect that natural aspirin in advance or must it be "fresh"??
thought if I collect and dry it...

 

[Maverick]

is it possible to collect that natural aspirin in advance or must it be "fresh"??
thought if I collect and dry it...

you can dehydrate it for later, make a tea out of it, you can also put the dry salicin in a small cup rehydrate it with a little water and chew and swallow the juices though at this point it may be a little bitter

 

[jontte]

well,some bitterness is okay as long as it works, thanks Maverick

 

[hlrive]

My mom always had willow bark around in a jar she said that way we could use it when needed. She also would make a tea from it when us kids were sick.

 

[Gazrok]

Something to add to the medicinals list. Thanks!

 

[alabaster]

Herbal medicines are amazing. There is a fair amount of talk about this in a book I read not long ago. I am a firm believer in getting someone to show you hands-one, though. Learning from a book is sometimes more dangerous than not learning.

I like this idea, though. No surprise, I guess. I like all things that are natural! I would like to have a section on herbal medicines and natural remedies on our forum. I suppose I'd better get moving on that!

 

[hlrive]

Herbal medicines are amazing. There is a fair amount of talk about this in a book I read not long ago. I am a firm believer in getting someone to show you hands-one, though. Learning from a book is sometimes more dangerous than not learning.

I like this idea, though. No surprise, I guess. I like all things that are natural! I would like to have a section on herbal medicines and natural remedies on our forum. I suppose I'd better get moving on that!

Was just talking about that in a message to someone in the old days I was brought up to go out foraging and we would eat Wapato (Which is the Native American name for it) which is the water Lily bulbs in the brooks, and ponds. Cattails had many uses, from the sprouts to the fluff. One little weed that many know little about is pineapple weed. It makes a great tea. The worst part is that most folks hate it because it grows in driveways, cracks and even next to roads. But a great source of vitamin C.

Readers digest had out a book many, many years ago about edible and medicinal wild plants in the US. You may want to see if you can find it at amazon.

In Maine the balm of Gilliad trees grew. My mom would make cough syrup with the buds. It was a very useful tree, however there are none here in NC. Of course there willow trees grew wild, around here they don't.

 

[Maverick]

Was just talking about that in a message to someone in the old days I was brought up to go out foraging and we would eat Wapato (Which is the Native American name for it) which is the water Lily bulbs in the brooks, and ponds. Cattails had many uses, from the sprouts to the fluff. One little weed that many know little about is pineapple weed. It makes a great tea. The worst part is that most folks hate it because it grows in driveways, cracks and even next to roads. But a great source of vitamin C.

Readers digest had out a book many, many years ago about edible and medicinal wild plants in the US. You may want to see if you can find it at amazon.

In Maine the balm of Gilliad trees grew. My mom would make cough syrup with the buds. It was a very useful tree, however there are none here in NC. Of course there willow trees grew wild, around here they don't.

In Yakima county we have a town called Wapato, yap, named after the plant. We are in a medicinal and foraging oasis here in Washington, like the porcupine many of the vegetation is protected as it is considered for 'survival purposes only' because city folks was heading into the hills stripping it of cattails and other vegetation's for decorative purposes back home, a few years back we almost lost all our wild huckleberries and mushrooms in Indian Heaven because asians from out of state stripped the land, the same group hired hunters to poach the black bear for its gall bladder, we lost a good portion of the black bear population that year. Like what alabaster said "someone to show you hands-one" mistaken identity will kill you! like the cattail and the iris in the spring

 

[hlrive]

yeah you really do need someone to help out if you don't know your plants. Down here in NC most of the plants that thrived in Maine do not grow here, so I am on strange grounds here and don't touch anything. If I don't know the plant I stay away from it.

 

[Maverick]

There is one edible wild berry plant in Colorado that is toxic in California, one plant, safe in one state but not the other, that is why it is imperative to know one's area! No one person has knowledge for all states nor for one country to another for that matter.

As a note, Foraging books are region dependent make sure one knows what region the book is referencing! I have seen folks take books for identification mushroom picking, a major problem here DON'T DO IT!! Books are reference ONLY not a definitive source of identification, foraging is an art that must be learned by a hands on teacher.

Relying on books and the internet for plant identification regarding foraging will get you killed, I can't stress that enough!

 

[hlrive]

There is one edible wild berry plant in Colorado that is toxic in California, one plant, safe in one state but not the other, that is why it is imperative to know one's area! No one person has knowledge for all states nor for one country to another for that matter.

As a note, Foraging books are region dependent make sure one knows what region the book is referencing! I have seen folks take books for identification mushroom picking, a major problem here DON'T DO IT!! Books are reference ONLY not a definitive source of identification, foraging is an art that must be learned by a hands on teacher.

Relying on books and the internet for plant identification regarding foraging will get you killed, I can't stress that enough!

Very true that is why I only forage what I grow here on the property I plant as much fruit as possible and that is used for different things. However if I was back in Maine I would be all over the woods. But here heck no. I do however dig dandelions that is about it. Next year I am adding gooseberries, they are good for heart health.

 

[alabaster]

Mushrooms are no joke. @Maverick , I have an uncle who forages mushrooms, but he's been doing it for decades. I think it is generally accepted that plants are extremely dangerous. Mushrooms, it seems, are generally accepted as being flat out lethal. Even more so than plants, I suppose. I love mushrooms, but I just don't have the guts to forage any of them. Literally, none of them. I have thought of growing 'shrooms, though. I have a friend in FL, whose family grows mushrooms. I forget what kind they are, but they tell me they are very efficient and plentiful.

On a side note... I just searched for "Efficient mushrooms" and most of the result were about "Minecraft". It scares me to think of where society is going these days.

 

[Maverick]

Mushrooms are no joke. @Maverick , I have an uncle who forages mushrooms, but he's been doing it for decades. I think it is generally accepted that plants are extremely dangerous. Mushrooms, it seems, are generally accepted as being flat out lethal. Even more so than plants, I suppose. I love mushrooms, but I just don't have the guts to forage any of them. Literally, none of them. I have thought of growing 'shrooms, though. I have a friend in FL, whose family grows mushrooms. I forget what kind they are, but they tell me they are very efficient and plentiful.

On a side note... I just searched for "Efficient mushrooms" and most of the result were about "Minecraft". It scares me to think of where society is going these days.

I pick mushrooms all the time but I only pick the four I can absolutely identify here, I tend not to try and cram my brain thus tend to keep it more tuned to what is relevant for the places I focus on, I have enough stuff I'm continually trying to remember as it is

I pick these only, fairy ring, western cauliflower, chanterelle and the shaggy parasols and there is a hundred more that is safe but I don't know them enough to trust my memory too, we have over a thousand different types here I can't even begin to pretend to know them all.

I type in mushrooms and it wants to take to magic mushrooms :-/

 

[alabaster]

Magic mushrooms?!

So.... Getting high is more important than sustenance to most folks... Boy are we in trouble!