Silberweide-Salix-alba-11
Die Weide ist ein verbreiteter Baum oder Strauch, der bevorzugt an Gewässern wächst. Der Hauptwirkstoff der Weide ist Salicin, das auch heute noch in synthetischer Form im verbreiteten Schmerzmittel Aspirin Anwendung findet. It is a medium-sized to large deciduous tree growing up to 10-30 m tall, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter and an irregular, often leaning crown. The bark is grey-brown, deeply fissured in older trees. The shoots in the typical species are grey-brown to green-brown. The leaves are paler than most other willows, due to a covering of very fine silky white hairs, particularly on the underside; they are 5-10 cm long and 0.5-1.5 cm wide. The flowers are produced in catkins in early spring, and pollinated by insects. Hippocrates wrote in the 5th century BC about a bitter powder extracted from willow bark that could ease aches and pains and reduce fevers. The active extract of the bark, is salicin, called after the Latin name Salix.

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