Cottonwood: Holding the Wisdom of the Cosmos

This tree is ignored because our society perceives that it has no economic value – but it does.

Pictured here is an old growth Cottonwood tree at Shuswap Falls, a park but also an ancient indigenous fishing site which is now part of the Wilsey Dam. This tree was cut down by BC Hydro. Sadly within this region as well as many other parts of the world, human settlement considers the Cottonwood to be a nuisance tree which is aggressive and has root systems that will overpower concrete and water systems. The heavy branches often break off and present a risk in yards and along roads and trails and in parks like this one.

Often farmers and ranchers will eradicate them because Cottonwoods will often expand into pastures and agriculture fields as they seek to create a Cottonwood forest.

So a lot of people including governments despise Cottonwood and try to eradicate the trees as though they were an invasive species – even though they are completely natural to most of the same places that we like to be….and of course they were here first.

The Cottonwood was a primary species for indigenous people who used the tree for making dugout canoes. So this eradication is symbolic as it reduced the traditional travel and survival of original peoples.

This condition of disregard for nature is deeply connected to our nature deficit disorder and plant blindness as we have come to ignore the need to have these trees within the world that we are part of.

These very old Cottonwood trees have deep grooves in their bark which has a similar characteristic to the ancient Willows and Oaks of Europe. Druids believe that the wisdom within the entire cosmos can be found deep inside these grooves – so they are considered sacred.

In wildcrafting we explore discoveries that demonstrate a “knowing” that nature has and we seek to connect with that knowing. We explore “deep ecology”. Proponents of deep ecology believe that the world does not exist as a resource to be freely exploited by humans. The ethics of deep ecology hold that the survival of any part is dependent upon the well-being of the whole.

Pictured here is a Cottonwood stump found on the edge of the Yasei Sanctuary Forest at the Barbe Lakes Habitat. It was created by a Beaver who felled this very large tree into the lake. The branches of the Cottonwood break very easily so when the tree fell into the water the branches broke which provided the Beaver residents with a great deal of perfectly sized branch material which they then moved across the lake to expand their lodge.

The trunk of the Cottonwood then creates an entire ecosystem both on land and in the water. But this large stump is very interesting. Cottonwoods rot in the middle so when the tree fell, part of it splintered and left a rich environment for microbes and tiny insects to reside within. But yet it also left an interesting smooth contoured yet slightly rough surface created by the Beaver chewing through the tree trunk. This surface then carries a thin film of water caused by any light rain or even mist or fog. This moisture gets caught on the surface of this slightly rough area and then drops into the crevices (checks) caused by the stump drying out. Wild pollinators then use this surface as a landing pad and then consume this thin film of moisture held within these cracks…their survival depends on this stump ecosystem which the Beaver has created.

Never underestimate the power found within nature’s wild organic systems…and how our lives depend on all of these details.

Here I am on planting Cottonwood root deep in a remote forest where the tree has become extinct for about a century.

As an organization we have tasked ourselves with regenerating wild forests and the Cottonwood remains a key part of this mission. As a keystone tree species Cottonwood is missing in a lot of places because industrial forestry has eroded populations, this has resulted in a lack of Great Blue Heron nesting habitat and birds of prey nesting habitat.

As a tree that anchors riparian zones it remains key for providing shade and fallen branches that support fish habitat including salmon. We plant Cottonwood root along remote stream banks in the forest in order to support this natural system. As the Cottonwoods grow, their root reinforcement will prevent erosion and the roots will intertwine with the roots of the large Cedar and Hemlock trees growing in these rainforests - giving those trees added support so they don't topple over....this allows them to grow bigger in their quest to become ancient.

The forest is full of relationships and Guardians.

This photo shows tree roots planted in the fall and having successfully reached for the sky the following spring. We have found that planting the root has a much greater success rate than planting seedlings – because the seedlings are often eaten by cattle which are allowed to range in these sensitive riparian areas. We found that if seedlings sprout from the root and are eaten, they will still recover and will keep sprouting.

These trees grow very fast and this gives us a chance to witness how we are regenerating these wild places - what we do today will regenerate wild systems for the future.

The Cottonwood is ignored because our society perceives that it has no economic value – but it does. Cottonwood buds have tremendous healing properties – and then there’s “propolis”.

Propolis or bee glue is a resinous mixture that Honey Bees produce by mixing saliva and beeswax with exudates gathered from these tree buds.

Propolis is used as a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the beehive, it is used for small gaps (around 6 mm (1⁄4 in) or less), while gaps larger than the bee space (around 9 mm (3⁄8 in)) are usually filled with pieces of honey comb called burr comb. Propolis color varies depending on its botanical source, with dark brown as the most common. Propolis is sticky above 19 °C (66 °F), while at lower temperatures, it becomes hard and brittle.

When gathering, worker bees primarily harvest pollen and nectar, while also collecting water and plant resin necessary for the production of propolis. The chemical composition and nature of propolis depends on environmental conditions and harvested resources.

I find that one of the first sounds of Spring are the Cottonwoods buzzing with thousands of bees. In good weather the bees fly up and down the big trees gathering the resin from the buds, but when the weather is unstable the bees stick to the lower branches and the younger smaller Cottonwood saplings.

This relationship is key to our survival. Fewer Cottonwoods means a shortage of propolis for bees. This shortage could play havoc on the health of bee populations and overall pollination within localized areas and then wider areas. There is an intrinsic balance required between Cottonwoods and bees which pollination depends on.

What I have noticed is that a beehive does really well next to a couple of mature Cottonwoods.

When we destroy or ignore Cottonwood habitat we destroy and ignore pollinators.

Getting to know this relationship and supporting it allows us to better understand propolis and this allows us to further understand how it can heal us. It allows us to visualize how the propolis functions within our own human condition. Bees seal the beehive with propolis to protect the colony from the elements, such as rain and cold winter drafts. It also provides the hive with protection from pathogens, via antifungal and antibacterial properties – and it makes the hive more defensible against parasites and predators by narrowing the existing entrance (in wild colonies) to a single "choke point".

Propolis also helps to reinforce the hives structural stability and reduces negative vibration as well as improving thermal insulation. It also reduces water loss.

Another key relationship is that it mitigates putrefaction within the hive - bees usually carry waste out of and away from the hive, but if a small lizard or mouse, for example, finds its way into the hive and dies there, bees may be unable to carry it out through the hive entrance. In that case, they will attempt to seal the carcass in propolis, essentially mummifying it and making it odorless and harmless.

So when harvesting Cottonwood buds consider your impact. Leave a large amount of buds on lower branches and small trees. Harvest sparsely over a large area and while you are doing so imagine where you might plant more Cottonwoods in areas where they will not be disturbed so that they have a chance to grow old and expand into their own forest. Get to know a beekeeper and then invite them to place a few hives close by.

We believe that Cottonwood propolis helps the human body and condition the same way that it helps bees.

Here’s a photo from early spring of a Black Cottonwood at the Wildcraft Forest. The new buds look otherworldly in front of this old Mother Tree. We carefully gather the buds for a variety of wildcrafted products including massage oil.

Our Primordial Deep Tissue Massage Oil is composed of a powerful blend of wild botanicals and tree resins which offer therapeutic properties for regeneration and anti-aging. This oil has a soft sweet fragrance of Cottonwood buds and conifers.

Primordial is amazing oil for aching muscles and joints and a perfect solution for the professional massage therapist. It’s also great for athletes and folks who are performing strenuous activities. There are no chemical additives or preservatives in Primordial and the wild ingredients are beyond organic and represent truly nourishing natural skin care.

By purchasing this massage oil or other Wildcraft Forest products you are helping us with our mission. In closing I thought it might be fitting to include a short message from the Kogi Indians in Colombia. It relates – and it’s why you should get involved with helping regenerate planet Earth.

Join us this winter to learn…
http://www.wildcraftforest.com/Rewild.html

We provide education and sell wild teas so that we can regenerate small wild places…

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