Willow Leaf, a name in traditional Chinese medicine. It refers to the leaves of the weeping willow (Salix babylonica L.), a plant of the genus Salix in the Salicaceae family. It is native to the Yangtze and Yellow River basins and is cultivated throughout other regions. It has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, promoting urination, calming the liver, relieving pain, and promoting the eruption of rashes.It is primarily used to treat coughing and wheezing, heat-induced dysuria, calculous dysuria, leukorrhea, hypertension, boils and abscesses, scalds and burns, swollen and painful joints, toothache, prickly heat, and itchy skin.
Willow Leaves
Willow Leaf, a name in traditional Chinese medicine. It refers to the leaves of the weeping willow (Salix babylonica L.), a plant of the genus Salix in the Salicaceae family. It is native to the Yangtze and Yellow River basins and is cultivated throughout other regions. It has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, promoting urination, calming the liver, relieving pain, and promoting the eruption of rashes.It is primarily used to treat coughing and wheezing, heat-induced dysuria, calculous dysuria, leukorrhea, hypertension, boils and abscesses, scalds and burns, swollen and painful joints, toothache, prickly heat, and itchy skin.
Chinese Name : 柳叶
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Bitter in taste, cold in nature; enters the Lung, Kidney, and Heart meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Clears heat, detoxifies, promotes urination, calms the liver, relieves pain, and promotes the eruption of rashes.
Indications
Mainly used to treat cough and wheezing, heat-induced dysuria, calculous dysuria, leukorrhea, hypertension, abscesses and swellings caused by toxins, burns and scalds, swollen and painful joints, toothache, prickly heat, and itchy skin.
Usage and Dosage
1. Internal use: Decoct 15–30 g; use 30–60 g of fresh herb. 2. External use: Use an appropriate amount; decoct in water for washing; or pound and apply as a poultice; or grind into powder and apply as a paste; or boil into a paste and apply.
Precautions
Patients requiring treatment with traditional Chinese medicine should first consult a licensed TCM hospital, where a TCM practitioner will conduct a professional pattern differentiation and issue a prescription.
Relevant Discussions
1. *The Supplementary Records*: “Treats internal bleeding in the chest and abdomen; relieves pain.”
2. *The Treatise on Medicinal Herbs by Ri Hua Zi*: “Treats epidemic febrile diseases, carbuncles, consumptive diseases caused by ‘transmitted corpses’ and ‘bone-steaming’ conditions, heat and distress caused by toxins from scalds or burns entering the abdomen, and severe heat and distress in patients who have taken mineral-based medicines; also expels water retention; when boiled into a paste, it repairs tendons and bones, promotes tissue regeneration, and relieves pain; for toothache, boil and gargle with the decoction.”
3. *Compendium of Materia Medica*: “Treats leukorrhea and relieves erysipelas.”
4. *Compendium of Chinese Herbal Medicines*: “Treats chronic bronchitis, urethritis, cystitis, bladder stones, and hypertension; for external use, treats swollen and painful joints, abscesses and boils, and itchy skin.”
Applications
Clinical Applications
1. For chronic bronchitis in the elderly: 60 g each of fresh weeping willow leaves, fresh chestnut leaves, and fresh Chinese arborvitae leaves. Decoct in water (for at least 1 hour), take as a course of treatment for 10 days; after a 2–3-day break, repeat the course.
2. For hypertension: 250g of fresh willow leaves. Decoct in water and concentrate to 100ml; take in two divided doses. One treatment course lasts 6 days. (Formulas 1–2 are from *Compendium of Chinese Herbal Medicines*)
3. For sudden-onset malignant sores of unknown origin, as well as malignant sores on the face: Boil willow leaves or bark in water to extract the juice, add a small amount of salt, and wash the affected area frequently.(*Formulas for Emergency Use*)
4. For treating boils and mastitis: Finely chop willow leaves, boil until soft, strain, and reduce to a syrup-like consistency; apply topically. (*Selected Materials from the National Exhibition on New Therapeutic Methods for Chinese Herbal Medicine*: Willow Leaf Ointment)
5. For treating back abscesses: Fresh leaves of weeping willow and fresh loofah in appropriate amounts. Pound into a paste and apply to the affected area. (*Fujian Materia Medica*)
Notes
References for this entry: [1] Jiangsu New Medical College. *Encyclopedia of Chinese Materia Medica* [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Science and Technology Press, 1986. [2] Editorial Committee of *Chinese Materia Medica*, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. *Chinese Materia Medica: Volume 2* [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Science and Technology Press, 1999.
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
Harvest from May to August; use fresh or sun-dried.
Crude Drug Identification
Properties of Crude Drugs
Leaves are narrowly lanceolate, 9–16 cm long and 0.5–1.5 cm wide, with a long, acuminate apex and a cuneate base; they are glabrous on both surfaces, with serrated margins, and are overall grayish-green or pale greenish-brown. They have petioles 0.5–1 cm long. The texture is soft; the odor is faint; the taste is slightly bitter and astringent.
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
A species of Salix (willow) in the Salicaceae family.
Morphological Characteristics
A tree reaching up to 18 m in height. The crown is spreading and open. The bark is grayish-black and irregularly fissured; the branches are slender, pendulous, and glabrous. The buds are linear with an acute apex. The leaves are narrowly lanceolate, 9–16 cm long and 0.5–1.5 cm wide, with a long acuminate apex, a wedge-shaped base, and serrated margins;petioles (3–)5–10 mm long, pubescent; stipules present only on new shoots. Inflorescences appear before or simultaneously with the leaves; male inflorescences 1.5–3 cm long, short-stalked, with a hairy axis; stamens 2, anthers reddish-yellow; bracts lanceolate, pubescent on the outer surface;2 glands; female inflorescences 2–5 cm long, pedunculate, with 3–4 leaflets at the base, axis hairy; ovary elliptic, sessile or nearly sessile, style short, stigma 2–4-lobed; bracts lanceolate, hairy on the outside; 1 gland. Capsules 3–4 mm long; flowering period: March–April; fruiting period: April–May.
Distribution Area
Tolerates wet conditions but can also grow in dry areas.