Cottonwood Herbal Remedies
You have your Cottonwood buds, now what? What medicinal benefits do these fragrant buds hold within their dense resinous folds?
Cottonwood is anti-inflammatory, astringent (tightens and tones tissues), antimicrobial (antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal), a stimulating expectorant (breaks up thick or hardened mucus and gets it moving, and last but not least it stimulates skin proliferation (helps heal burns, eczema, and other skin issues.)
You can infuse in your favorite oil for lotions, massage oil or salves. Infused honey, elixir, tincture, or even dry for tea (this is quite bitter.)
The buds freeze really well, so you can always store them away for later processing.
Cottonwood infused honey is one of my favorite remedies to make! Simply pour your raw honey over the buds, cover, and put in a dark cabinet for 6 months. Yes, I said 6 months! It's torture, but you can always go dip in for a little spoonful here and there.
6 months from now is back to school which also marks the beginning of the dreaded cold/flu season. You'll have cottonwood honey at the ready to add to all your favorite remedies. I add this to my cough and cold elixirs and teas when I'm not feeling great. I combine it with usnea, saxifrage, licorice root, and geum for a powerful sore throat spray as well.
The elixir makes a fantastic throat spray due to its astringent (tissue tightening), antimicrobial (anti-viral and anti-bacterial), and analgesic (pain relieving) properties.
The tincture and elixir are wonderful for breaking up and clearing out mucus in the respiratory system from the flu and bronchitis.
The tincture works well as a liniment spray to relieve pain and inflammation on sprains and aching parts of the body, such as arthritic hands or joints.
Personally, I like to make both tincture and elixir each year. Just throw your buds in a jar, fill about 2/3 of the way full, and cover with high proof vodka or brandy/honey. I let the elixir sit for 6 months (just like the honey) because I don't use this medicine during the spring and summer, but you can strain as early as 6-8 weeks.
For the tincture I use 151-190 vodka and I strain it after 8 weeks.
I use my crock pot to make cottonwood oil. The keep warm setting on mine sits somewhere between 95-105 give or take a few degrees. I let it go for 7 days and strain.
Cottonwood appears in many of my salves and pain remedies. Combined with Arnica and St John Wort, you have a fantastic anti-inflammatory and pain relieving massage oil. It's also in my Cbd Pain Salve.
It's skin healing properties make it a great addition to my healing, eczema, and antibacterial/antifungal salves.
My favorite though is a chest rub. Combine Cottonwood, Fir, and Grindelia oils. For every 8 ozs of oil add 1Tbsp of Menthol Crystal, and 1.5 oz of beeswax in your favorite double boiler setup. I set a Mason jar on a vegetable steamer in a pot filled with cold water on med low. Melt completely then stir in two tsp each of lavender and rosemary. Pour into a container and let it cool completely before putting a lid on.
This salve is amazing for allergies, colds and flu, and sore muscles. When you get those first symptoms of being sick rub this on your chest, bottoms of feet (cover with socks), and all your aching spots. You'll get an amazing night's sleep and feel refreshed in the morning!