Salix nigra - Black willow

Salix nigra, black willow

Salix nigra (black willow) is a species of willow native to eastern North America, from New Brunswick and southern Ontario west to Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Texas.

Uses

Tentex forte, Muscle & Joint Rub, Impotency & Erectile dysfunction, Diarrhoea, Pharyngitis & Sore Throat, Toothache, Pyorrhea, Common Cold, Childhood apraxia of speech, Delayed Speech Development.

Parts Used

Dried Roots, Leaves, Flower.

Chemical Composition

Analysis has shown a brown, resinous, acrid substance, insoluble in potassium hydroxide and probably containing pelletonin, two oils soluble in potassium hydroxide - one dark brown and acrid, the other yellow - tannin, gum, potassium sulphate and carbonate, potassium chloride, calcium phosphate and carbonate, silica, alumina, lignin, etc. An alkaloid, Pyrethrine, yielding pyrethric acid, is stated to be the active principle.

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada
Hindi	Akarkara
Malayalam	Akkarakaaram
Tamil
Telugu
Marathi	NA
Gujarathi	NA
Punjabi	NA
Kashmiri	NA
Sanskrit	Akarkarabh
English	Pellitory

Habit

Procumbent herb

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature
simple	deciduous	petiolate, alternate, distichous, (2–)5–15 cm long, (0.3–)0.5–1.5(–2) cm wide, falcate or lanceolate, leaf margins serrate or serrulate, leaf apices acuminate, leaf bases cuneate or obtuse or rounded

Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
Unisexual	14-18cm long	Yellow, Circular	Androecium. Stamens 3–7 per flower.	Flowering February or March or April or May. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, catkins, flowers sessile. Flowers unisexual or pistillate or staminate. Perianth. Calyx absent. Corolla absent. Gynoecium. Ovaries superior, pistils 1 per flower. Gynoecium syncarpous, 2 carpels per flower, styles 1 per pistil, styles 0.2 mm long.

Fruit

Type	Size	Mass	Appearance	Seeds	More information
Fruits capsules	0.3–0.8 cm long	reddish-brown, fruit maturation 1 years	seeds many, ovoid.		{{{6}}}

List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used

• Vishatinduka Taila as root juice extract

Mode of Propagation

Seeds, Cuttings.

How to plant/cultivate

Succeeds in most soils, including wet, ill-drained or intermittently flooded soilst

Commonly seen growing in areas

wet soil condition, along streams and lakes.

Photo Gallery

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  Var. depressus

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  same plant, flower detail

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  Var. depressus, flowers closed