What is White Willow Bark?

White Willow Bark is the cut and sifted dried bark of Salix alba, a large willow that grows along European rivers and damp ground. The bark is best known as the original natural source of salicin, the compound from which chemists eventually developed aspirin.

About the plant

Willow bark has one of the longest paper trails in herbal history: Egyptian medical papyri record it, Hippocrates wrote about willow bark, and Indigenous North American peoples independently worked with the bark of related Salix species. In the 1820s European pharmacists isolated salicin from the bark, and in 1897 the chemist Felix Hoffmann at Bayer synthesized acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin, using salicylic acid as the starting point. The bark is bitter and astringent, and carries salicin and tannins.

White Willow Bark: form & sizes

We carry White Willow Bark as cut and sifted dried bark, sold by weight in sizes from 1 oz to 1 lb. We make no health or therapeutic claims.

Storage

Store White Willow Bark in an airtight container, away from heat, light, and humidity, to preserve its color and aroma.

White Willow Bark at a glance

Botanical name

Salix alba

Family

Salicaceae

Native region

Europe

Plant part

bark

Also known as

White Willow, European Willow

Historical note

Source of salicin, the compound behind aspirin (synthesized 1897)

Form

cut and sifted dried bark

Sizes

1 oz to 1 lb