The Arroyo Willow

If you go on a hike near a creek at this time of year, you might see something that
looks like snow falling. Actually, the “snowflakes” are the seeds from the Arroyo Willow. The Arroyo Willow produces catkins. Catkins are dangling clumps made up of dozens of tiny flowers. Bees pollinate the flowers. The flowers turn into tiny seeds surrounded by cottony fluff. The wind blows the fluff off of the tree, carrying the seed with it. The seed then gets planted nearby, creating another Arroyo Willow. So, in this case, the wind helps disperse the seeds. The Arroyo Willow needs this type of seed dispersal to survive.

The tribal people living here needed the Arroyo Willow many things. The bark was made into clothing. The twigs are flexible so they were made into animal traps, bows, and arrows. The wood was also used in shelter construction, baby cradles, and baskets. The leaves and bark contain an ingredient that relieves pain, salicylic acid. This acid is found in aspirin. The Juanenos, Luisenos, and other tribal people would chew pieces of willow bark to get rid of headaches and toothaches. Cool!
If you could find a treatment for a disease in a plant, what disease would you cure?

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