Foraging Poplar Medicine and Western Balm of Gilead
NOTE: This article is about how to identify, forage, and use poplar/cottonwood (Populus spp.) tree buds in the early spring for medicine. Find out how to make two different herbal medicine preparations: a powerful bud-infused oil and a tincture for pain relief and wound healing. Learn about Balm of Gilead and how it may relate to our N. American poplars. You can also learn how to make Balm of Gilead Salve here.
Oh, the towering cottonwood trees! They bring beauty, peace, and calm…and for some of us, they provide plant medicine.
These are one of the species of poplars that grow wild here in N. Idaho, as well as in many other places across the North American continent. You may not realize this, but poplar trees, including cottonwoods, have some wonderful medicinal qualities, besides being absolutely beautiful trees.
It’s mid-March here in our little spot of the world, and rather late, really, for harvesting and foraging cottonwood buds in comparison to most places, where the foraging window for these buds may be as early as late January! We have a long winter and a short growing season, so when it’s time to get wild-harvesting, I’m on it! I’ve been watching those little buds on the poplars for weeks now, waiting for signs they’re ready.
Even in one particular area, just within miles of each other, the buds can be ready at vastly different times. For example, the Clearwater River flows about 2,000 feet below the elevation where we live, and the poplars down by the river were easily ready to go a month past. Ours up here, however, are ready now!
The harvest window is short on this plant, at least for the buds, because what they are in all actuality are the tiny bound up leaves. These little leaf buds are filled with a sticky, aromatic resin, and this is where the magic of the medicine lies!
***Hey, would you like to watch me forage for cottonwood buds and talk about how to identify this tree on YouTube? Click here to see my video, and be sure to subscribe to my channel!
Here’s a cottonwood tree in late summer. This is a mature tree. Poplar trunks may be grayish and gnarled like this one, or in the case of aspens, more smooth. But if you want good poplar medicine, the cottonwood is the best choice.
About Balm of Gilead and Poplar
I researched this mysterious balm while creating my course, Healing Herbs of the Bible and How to Use Them for Wellness Today…..and the mystery of Balm of Gilead is likely to remain one, as experts can’t quite agree with absolute certainty what plant this medicine is from.
However, most scientists believe the Middle Eastern tree that was most probably the source of the Balm of Gilead is Cammiphora opobalsamum, which is a smaller tree in the Burseraceae family, which is the same family that frankincense and myrrh come from. This is a completely different family, genus, and species than our Western counterparts; although the resin is used similarly.
Here in North America, where poplar species abound, we use the resin in similar ways, and therefore, some herbalists will refer to the oil and salve from Populus spp. as Balm of Gilead too.
Cottonwood leaves have rather wide shapes. When I was a child, I loved to pick one, fold it in half, create a little tension, and blow into the top. These make wonderful natural musical instruments for children!
Identification of Poplar — Especially Cottonwood
Although the poplars aren’t the tallest trees we have here in the Idaho panhandle, being shorter by far than the evergreens, such as Western red cedar as well as the stately pines, cottonwoods are one of the tallest of the deciduous (leaf-dropping) trees in this area, if not the tallest.
They generally have one large trunk covered with grayish, gnarled bark that reaches into the sky with many smaller branches creating a lovely crowned canopy above. These may grow straight outward or swing downward, and are covered with alternately spaced oval or heart-shaped leaves that seem to “shake” or tremble in the wind.
In fact, the sound of the wind in poplars (which include what we call aspens, poplars, and cottonwood trees) is unique and beautiful. It’s a calming sound that brings peace to anyone on a rough day. When I was a child, we had a huge cottonwood tree growing in the middle of our small pasture, and I used to love to climb into its tall, sturdy branches and find some quiet among the rustling leaves.
Poplars, aspens, and cottonwoods can grow from 50 to 160 feet tall, depending on the particular species. Some are definitely “scrubbier” than others, and you may find lots of sucker trees and new tree growth at the base of a mature cottonwood, depending on the species, once again.
Although all poplars will be medicinal, it’s the stately cottonwood species that contain the richest medicinal resin for our uses.
These are all fast-growing trees, and they love water, being members of the willow family (Salicaceae). There are about 30 species in all growing wild in the Northern hemisphere from the North American continent into Eurasia.
As mentioned these are deciduous trees, and the leaves turn a beautiful yellow and sometimes orange in the fall, dropping to the ground and going dormant in winter. But once spring arrives, and I’m talking VERY early spring, the tree begins to awake from it’s winter slumber.
The leaf buds emerge, the sap starts flowing, and the ends of the branches emit a lovely resin that covers and emits from the interesting brownish-green conical shaped leaf buds. This is where the magic of the medicine happens for humans.
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Here are some cottonwoods by their favorite place: a stream. This picture shows them in late summer/early fall.
Foraging for Poplar Buds
Once you notice the buds swelling on the ends and middles of the branches, it’s time to get out there fast and harvest only the amount you need. Foraging takes consideration and skill, as well as thoughtfulness for the plant and the ecosystem.
The ecosystems where poplars live depend on them to stabiize eroding soils; make alterations to the environment that create a more hospitable area for other trees, shrubs and animals to exist; and build the surrounding soil with the thick mulch that comes from the leaf-fall in the autumn months.
I like to look for fallen branches for my first foraging endeavors of the buds. After a heavy windstorm, you can often find these on the ground, and this is a sustainable and also simple way to forage the buds. The smaller leaf buds grow toward the bottom of the tree canopy, while larger ones grow higher up.
Since the branches are often quite high above a person’s head, you’ll need to plan to bring a ladder or be agile enough to do a little climbing. Again, if you’re picking the buds directly from the trees, be sure to exercise restraint because for every bud you pick, that’s one leaf that won’t grow and feed and nurture the tree.
Harvesting the leaf buds can be a rather slow process, as each one is hand-gathered one-by-one. It takes many of these buds to fill a basket, but usually I only gather about a quart in a Mason jar for our needs each year. Be sure to only take what you need. It’s easy to over-harvest and then waste the plant matter—-which never feels very good.
To gather the buds, just snap them off the ends of the branch. Usually, they grow in clusters of three to six, and I like to take no more than two from a larger cluster and only one from a smaller one. If you happen to gather small twigs with the buds, you can use these too! Just snip them into smaller pieces and add them to your preparations.
If you miss the early spring bud window of foraging, the young leaves in early summer can also be harvested, and they’ll contain a bit of the valuable resin that contains pain-relieving glycosides, but generally, they are just not as strong as the resin-coated leaf buds.
NOTE: Be sure you’re using fresh or frozen buds! The dried buds will have lost the medicinal power, and may even be rotten inside. This is one of the instances in herbalism where fresh is best. I’ve frozen buds in the past and had good results later on making my plant medicines with them. But, I prefer using them fresh as possible, of course.
You can see here how the buds cluster. Some clusters will have up to five or six buds!
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Making Medicine with Poplar Buds
The resin is the medicinal powerhouse of these small leaf buds, and it emits a gorgeous aromatic scent that is sweet and warm. It will get all over your fingers, and it’s a reddish-yellow color. Like most resins, a bit of alcohol will help remove it, but personally, I like to smell it, so end up leaving it as long as it will last with normal hand-washing.
My two favorite ways to make pain-relieving medicine with poplar is in an infused oil and also I’ll tincture a smaller amount as well.
The infused oil can be used by itself or as the foundation for an herbal salve. It’s warming, anti-inflammatory action makes it excellent for sore muscle rubs, tension headaches, and joint/back pains.
Making Infused Poplar Bud Oil
Place about a cup of the cold buds into a quart Mason jar. Add the olive oil to within an inch of the top of the jar. Shake well daily. I like to keep mine in a warm window as the gentle heat helps release the helpful plant constituents and medicines into the oil.
After four weeks to up to several months, strain off the infused oil and bottle up. Use as a base in your herbal salves or all by itself. Adding some helpful essential oils that also have analgesic compounds can give you a very strong and powerful pain-relieving oil.
Some of these essential oils include balsam copaiba, black pepper, and ginger.
You can find out more about making herbal infused oils in this article.
For directions on basic salve making, refer to this article for complete directions.
Making Poplar Bud Tincture
A tincture is a specific herbal preparation made with higher proof alcohol, usually 80 proof and above.
To make your herbal tincture, fill your jar about 1/4 full with the buds. Add your alcohol to within an inch of the top of the jar. Shake well daily for four to six weeks, then strain off the beautiful herbal liquid. Bottle in dark amber glass jars.
Poplar medicine in the making. The jar on the left is a tincture in high proof (151) alcohol; and the jar on the right is the buds infusing in oil. These have just begun. Over the course of four weeks and longer, the liquid will become cloudly and rather opaque, as the buds release their medicinal constituents.
Using Your Poplar Medicines
To use your infused oil, massage gently into the areas of need, and enjoy the warming and soothing relief.
Poplar has been well-studied for its skin loving benefits, and it can be useful in anti-aging formulas in small amounts. There are many antioxidant compounds found in poplar resin, and this is one of the reasons why it’s so helpful for mature skin.
Poplar is also helpful for those dealing with acne and blemishes, as well as speeding recovery of wounds. This is due to the powerful antimicrobial qualities of the resin. It’s also wonderful for healing burns, such as sunburn or minor burns. Never apply oil to a weeping or blistered burn.
It’s also helpful for speeding the healing of fungal infections on the skin such as tinea (athlete’s foot or ringworm).
To use your tincture:
Tinctures are usually used internally, and indeed, I’ve heard of herbalists who use poplar tincture this way. However, I much prefer it as a liniment, in the case of the poplar buds. Poplar contains certain glycosides that may cause harm in large amounts.
The reason the tincture is so powerful is due to the methyl salicylate. This is the same chemical used by the Bayer Company at the turn of the century to make aspirin. These days, aspirin is made using synthetic compounds created in a lab from petrochemicals (I’ve heard, but don’t quote me). I’d rather take the “real” deal, myself.
Willow bark tincture also contains this chemical in high amounts, and is what I prefer to use as an aspirin substitute and for general pain relief when needed. Poplars and willows are in the same family, Salicaceaem all of which contain methyl salicylate in varying degrees.
Safety and Contraindications:
For a very small percentage of the population (less than 1%), some may experience an allergic reaction, so do a patch test first. The chemical methyl salicylate is the primary pain relieving compound. For those on blood thinners, care should be taken just as you would using aspirin (which contains the same active ingredient). Pregnant and nursing women should avoid poplar especially internally unless given permission by the health professional.
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Here are a few buds in the bottom of a quart Mason jar. Harvesting the buds of cottonwood is rather laborious, but worth it! It takes quite a few of these little buds to get enough, so be sure you’re harvesting in an area with lots of trees and don’t take too much from one place.
Take a look at the video below for directions on how to use the lovely cottonwood bud infused oil to make the actual Balm of Gilead salve. This salve is exceptionally helpful for pain relief and is one of my most asked-for salves!
Final Thoughts on Foraging Poplar Bud Medicine
Foraging is one of my favorite things to do. Once you know the plants, understand their rhythms in your own ecosystem, and fully realize when to go find the most potent medicine, you’ve got a great self-sufficient skill! Making herbal medicine with plants you grow or forage is extremely useful and satisfying.
If you can’t grow or forage your own, you might want to join some groups for herb swaps, like the one we have in our Healing Harvest Homestead Natural Living Community! People who live all over N. America and the world are ready to make some herbal trades and seed swaps, and it’s so fun seeing what others have available and sharing what you have too!
There are other natural living groups within the community you’ll enjoy, too. It’s off social media, it’s ads-free, and it’s private. You can join us here, if you’re interested in a safe place to learn herbalism without the New Age stuff: Healing Harvest Homestead Natural Living Community.
If you go out and forage for cottonwood, share pictures and your experiences! It’s fun to see what other herbalists are doing out there in the world!
Here are some related foraging articles that you might be interested in, too:
Foraging Chaparral in the Mojave Desert
Foraging Lambsquarters: Survival Food for All
Springtime Forsythia Flower Syrup
Rose and Red Clover Healing Salve
And there are literally over 500 other articles for you to peruse on my website, Healing Harvest Homestead! You can also see how I make herbal things on my YouTube channel, as well! Please subscribe!
Hugs, Health, and Self-Reliance,
Heidi
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