Traditional uses and benefits of Indian Willow

   Salix tetrasperma, commonly called Indian willow, locally known as ঊযুম (ooyum) is a medium sized tree belonging to Salicaceae (Willow family). The plant is native from Afghanistan and the Punjab eastwards throughout South-East Asia including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Laos, Thailand and southern China; in Malesia in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali and Nusa Tenggara), East Kalimantan and the Philippines. In Peninsular Malaysia, only the male sex has been introduced. Few of the popular common names of the plants are Indian willow, Atrupalai, Bains, Niranji, Panijama and Vanchimaram.

In Manipur, in NE India, the new flowers of Indian willow are eaten, and are considered delicious. The wood is light, soft, even-grained, and is used for planking and rough carpentry. The twigs are used to make baskets. This species also has medicinal properties. It is often planted for soil protection, especially on rice field boundaries or riverbanks. Willows are rarely grown from seed but can easily be propagated from sets or cuttings. Due to its wide range the study of provenances is likely to be important. Rust and powdery mildew may cause damage to the foliage. It is reproduced both from seed and by vegetative means. Seed are small and wind disseminated. However most trees result from root suckers or cuttings. It is relatively fast growing. Diameter growth of 0.7 to 2 cm/yr. has been reported. Grains are straight, fine, and even textured. Wood is moderately light and soft having Specific gravity of 0.49.

Indian Willow Facts

Plant Description

Indian Willow is a small to medium sized deciduous tree that normally grows about 6 to 12 m tall with diameters of 0.4 to 1.0 m. The trunk is erect, with a large crown. The bark is rough, with deep, vertical fissures. The young shoots and young leaves are silky. It is a light-demanding species, which may tolerate a wide range of climatic conditions. It is usually found along watercourses and in other moist areas, therefore in drier areas its growth is not dependent on rainfall. Normally the plant prefers wet and swampy places. Shedding of its leaves start at the end of monsoon season.

Leaves

The leaves are lance-like, or ovate-lance like, 8–15 cm long, with minutely and regularly toothed margins. It flowers after leafing.

Flowers

Indian Willow is dioecious plant. The male and female catkins are borne on leafy shoots. The sweet scented male catkins are 2.5 to 12.5 cm long and are borne on leafy branchlets, while the female catkins are 2.5 to 12.5 cm long. Flowering and seed production occurs between February and May. It does coppice.

Fruit

Fertile flowers are followed by capsules that are long, stipulate, in groups of 3 to 4. Normally 4 to 6 seeds are found in a capsule.

Distribution

The tree is native to the sub-continent including Pakistan. It occurs in swampy areas, on river islands, and on the banks of water courses. In Pakistan it is found in the Murree hills, Kahuta, Hazara, Swat, Azad Kashmir, Quetta, Kurram and Gilgit. It has been successfully planted in the plains of Afghanistan and in the Peshawar valley. It is an intolerant tree that grows on a variety of rich, sandy loam soils that are well drained. It is adapted to a precipitation zone of 750 to 1250 mm/yr. or more, within an elevation range of 300 to 1600 m and within a temperature range of -10 to 40°C. It prefers a sub-humid, semi-arid, sub-tropical, monsoon to temperate climate and is frost hardy.

Ethno botanical uses of Indian Willow (medicinal uses)

Location	Uses
Central Punjab, Pakistan	Bark is used as febrifuge
Bangladesh	Febrifuge
Nagaland, India	Decoction of bark is used in fever
Tharu tribes, Himalayan Terai region of India	Bark in fever; Leaves with sugar in rheumatism, epilepsy, venereal diseases, Wild bladder stone, piles and swellings
Kozhenchery Taluk, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, India	Rheumatism, Antiepileptic, Swelling, Piles, Venereal diseases, Stones in bladder
Indo-Burma region, India	Bark is febrifuge
Neelum Valley, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan	Anodyne and febrifuge
Wayanad, Kerala, India	Roots are used in diabetes
District Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	Leaves poultice to wounds, leaf juice for ear pain, roots in cough and cold, seeds in dysentery
Western Mizoram, India	Bark is used as febrifuge
Karamar valley, district Swabi, Pakistan	Bark is used in fever and leaves for piles and rheumatism
Meghalaya, northeast India	Bark febrifuge; dried and powdered leaves with sugar in rheumatism, epilepsy, piles, swellings, stones in bladder
Lahaul valley, Himachal Pradesh, India	Fever
Dehradun, India	Fever
Jalgaon district, Maharashtra, India	Management of wounds

 

Ethno-botanical uses of Indian Willow (non-medicinal uses)

Location	Uses
Wayanad wildlife sanctuary, Kerala, India	Twigs are used for making basket
Mao-Naga tribe, Manipur, India	Log of the plant is used for making traditional utensils. Plant is grown as soil binder on embankments.
Agra Valley Parachinar, upper Kurram agency, Pakistan	Wood is used as fuel and in making agricultural tools
Siran Valley, District Mansehra, Pakistan	Construction, furniture, fencing, roofing, fuel wood
Ashezai and Salarzai Valleys, District Buner, Pakistan	Wood
Sargodha district, Punjab, Pakistan	Ornamental
Chagharzai valley, district Buner, Pakistan	Fuel wood, timber, roofing material
Dawarian village, Neelum valley, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan	Used as fuel, foliage is used as fodder, wood is used as making sport articles
Himachal Pradesh, India	Used in making agricultural equipment and house construction, as timber
District Ghizer, Gilgit, Baltistan	Leaf is used as fodder, stem is used as fence and fuel
Ghulamo tibmber market Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	Timber and fuel
Allai valley, district Battagram, Pakistan	Fuel and timber
Temperate zones of Pakistani Hindukush-Himalaya	Stem is used as fuel wood; leaves are used as fodder
District Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, India	Shoot looped for cattle fodder

 

Traditional uses and benefits of Indian Willow

• On the Malay Peninsula a cold decoction of the leaves is used as a lotion for an ulcerated nose.
• Bark is used to treat fever.
• It is used in Egyptian folk medicine as anti-rheumatic sedative and analgesic.
• Leaves and bark is used as remedy for aches.
• Paste of both leaf and root is used externally for scorpion stings, bug bites, sores and warts.
• Decoction of dried root is taken internally for treatment of hepatitis.
• In Pakistan, bark is used as febrifuge; leaves used to poultice wounds.
• In India, bark used for epilepsy, rheumatism, bladder stones, hemorrhoids, epilepsy; roots used for diabetes.
• It is used to treat rheumatism, piles, VD, bladder stones, epilepsy and swelling.
• In Bangladesh, bark decoction of Indian Willow is used to bring down high body temperature (fever).
• Ethno-medicinally, the plant is used to treat ailments such as diabetes, fever, piles, epilepsy, rheumatism, swellings, and stones in bladder, wound, ear pain, dysentery, cough and cold.
• Leaf juice is used to treat bloody diarrhea, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly and jaundice.
• Leaves are dried, powdered and used along with sugar to treat rheumatic arthritis, swelling, epilepsy, venereal diseases, bladder stone and piles.
• Sap of the stem is used orally to treat painful menstruation.
• Roots are used to treat diabetes, cough and cold.
• Decoction of the roots and leaves are used to treat whooping cough in kids.
• Dried leaves possess cardio tonic and neuro-tonic activity.
• Leaf and root paste is applied externally to heal wounds, warts, sores, scorpion stings and bug bites.
• Leaf juice is used as ear drops to heal ear pain.
• Hot water extract of the entire plant is used in vaginal canal to induce abortion and used rectally to treat sores in the rectum.
• Tribes of the Keonjhar district of Orissa drink the bark paste properly suspended in water to treat diabetes mellitus.
• Its bark has been used in traditional medicine in many countries to alleviate pain, fever, and inflammation.
• It also strengthens the heart and can be given in bleeding disorders.
• It can also be given to reduce hematemesis, bronchiectasis and dyspnea.
• Its decoction is used in piles to reduce pain and stop bleeding.
• It acts as a digestive and reduces water content from the fecal matter.
• It acts as a diuretic and hence can be given in dysurea and renal stones.
• It acts as an aphrodisiac and can be given in problems related to nightfall. (20 drops half an hour before sleeping taken along with 30 ml of water)
• It also relieves vaginal problems.
• It is helpful in hyper pyrexial conditions.
• It is used in eye irritations and headaches.

Other Facts

• It is planted along water courses to prevent erosion.
• It is used for making cricket bats and light furniture.
• Soft twigs are used in weaving of baskets.
• Woods are used as a good gun-powder-charcoal, used for making of Cricket bats.
• The non-medicinal applications of the plant includes the use of plant as fodder, soil binder on embankments and fuel and in making baskets, agricultural tools, sports articles, furniture and roofing material.
• Planted on the bunds of wet rice fields in Peninsular Malaysia for soil protection.
• It is also planted in regularly pollarded and coppiced hedges to delimit field boundaries.

References:

https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/SAXTE

http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/tro-28300561

http://www.stuartxchange.com/Malatiki

http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Indian%20Willow.html

https://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/261494

https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.48709

https://uses.plantnet-project.org/en/Salix_tetrasperma_(PROSEA)#Synonyms

http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0001133625

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