The White Willow.
Salix vulgaris alba.
A very common tree in wet places, and this which is used in medicine is the most common of all the several kinds of it. It is also the largest. It grows to be a tall tree: the bark is whitish, and rough upon the trunk, and grey upon the branches; the leaves are oblong, narrow, and whitish, especially on the under side: they stand irregularly on the branches, and are a little serrated at the edges, and pointed at the ends. The flowers are very inconsiderable, but they are arranged several together, in what are called catkins or palms. The seeds are small; they stand in the same catkins, mixed with fine white down.
The bark of the branches is used, and it is best dried, ii is good against purgings, and the overflowings of the menses, and is most conveniently given in powder, half a dram for a dose.
