Herb Journal: Desert Willow

Desert Willow. It's not as easy to talk about the flavor of an herb when it is given in the form of a tincture, because, well, at least to me, the overwhelming flavor is the alcohol. So, all I can say is, it tastes somewhat mild, somewhat bitter. Not the best tasting tincture i've had, not even close. But then again, that doesn't tell me a lot. What I do know about desert willow, is that it is an excellent herb with tremendous benefits that I have experienced personally. The American Southwest's answer to Pau D'Arco, which is indigenous to Brazil and various parts of Central/South America, Desert Willow is another one of those herbs you probably wouldn't hear a single thing about unless you were A)studying herbal medicine, most likely in the Southwest US, or 2) Consulting an herbalist... again in the American Southwest. This was given to me as part of a regimen to cure this chronic pain and inflammation that I had in my uterus following a biopsy, and I feel was one of the most instrumental. I came to the conclusion that I had developed some sort of infection, but that one of the components involved some sort of yeast imbalance or overgrowth, since anything fermented or sugary made it so much worse. I couldn't have any alcohol at all, it made my body EXTREMELY hot, and it just made me think there was a candida infection or something fungal going on. I can say that desert willow was instrumental in helping to conquer this, or balance out whatever was out of whack, down there, allowing my insides to heal, once and for all. This is a powerful herb, one of the many that I have to be grateful for due to my recent health crisis/ordeal. This herb is also recommended to use as a deuche for damp vaginal conditions and internally as a tincture expressly for candida. I love this plant. it is beautiful and angelic, and so potent and wonderful for what it is used for. The leaves, stems and flowers of this plant are what are used to make medicine, which is also interesting and unique, since most of the herbs that I used for my condition, that were strong enough to attack this relentless infection were bark and roots. If you look at the tender pink flowers, you would imagine them at your wedding.. it's amazing what nature can do.