Susun Weed's Wise Woman Forum

by **LadyB** » Thu Sep 18, 2003 11:35 pm

This one goes WAYYYYY back for me. When I first had my little Herb Nursery (egad, more than 10 years ago....)White Pine infused oil was a standard preparation we made in my classes. I worked it into a White Pine/Calendula salve that I labelled as "warm, moisturizing and comforting".

One of my students made a whole bottle of White Pine needle oil and accidently spilled it all over her kitchen counter while decanting it. I asked her THEN what did she do?? and she said....."I took my CLOTHES OFF![:)]" She said in rubbing it all OVER herself, that it was just deliciously WARM. Voila, a label is born.

But at this moment in time I have NO idea where I GOT the idea to make this oil in the first place.....I must THINK on this![8)][|)] Now Euell Gibbons has a whole CHAPTER called "Did you ever eat a Pine Tree?" (Euell was LIKE that, he'd eat ANYthing[8D]) But even HE said of his experiment of peeling the bark from the stumps of huge White Pines that had already been cut for lumber, removing the inner bark and boiling it: "it reduced to a glutinous mass from which the more bothersome wood fibers were easily removed. I'm sure it was wholesome and nutritious, but in the area of palatability it left much to be desired". He goes on to talk about disasterous experiments of drying the inner bark and grinding it to mix with white flour and getting turpentine-flavored biscuits. [xx(]

Figuring it's pretty fierce FOOD, he goes on to work on Cough Syrup experiments. He recalled a time when a doctor would still write you a prescription for Syrupus Pini Albae Compositus, a lovely mix of white pine bark, wild cherry bark, spikenard, poplar buds, bloodroot, sassafras-root bark and amaranth. Doubting that we're easily going to be able to get all THAT together, he concocted a simple White Pine/Whiskey/Honey cough syrup: "Put half a cup of coarsely ground white pine inner bark in a jar and cover with two-thirds cup of boiling water. When cool, add half a cup of whiskey, seal the jar and let it soak overnight, shaking the jar occasionally. Next day, strain it, and to the liquid add 1 cup of honey. If kept in a capped or corked bottle, this cough syrup will keep indefinitely without spoiling, and it certainly seems an effective cough remedy. A dose is one tablespoon for adults and one teaspoon for children"

But that is still the bark, and I'm a bit more inclined to work with the needles. Did you know that white pine needles have FIVE TIMES as much vitamin C as lemons??? It's high in Vitamin A as well. Pine needle tea (Mr Gibbons suggests an ounce of finely chopped fresh needles to a pint of boiling water) with lemon and honey would be nice, and healthy!

I'm vaguely remembering reading that White Pine oil was sincerely moisturizing, but I still can't remember where I read it. But the utterly amazing thing is HOW long it stays PRESERVED. I have an original bottle with a label dated 4/95 and the olive oil is STILL not rancid. THAT is pretty amazing. Ah yes, (she says rubbing some of the oil into her hands)....VERY softening, far more so than just plain olive oil.....LOVERLY stuff[^].

Anyway, I scored some glorious branches from a client's yard today, actually more than I can stay awake and chop any more of tonite. I've done 2 pints of oil already and shaved off some bark from the branches. I'm going to try the cough syrup with part bark and part needles.......

Anyone else using dear sister pine?
LadyB

by **LadyB** » Fri Sep 19, 2003 2:09 pm

Good goddess, what a MESS!!! [:0]
You'd THINK something like Comfrey leaves, all moisture-filled and floppy, would, yes indeed, cause much bubble-blowing and slobbering of oil over the sides of the jar.....but PINE NEEDLES???

I was SO sure [:I] they'd be quiet, I actually put the two jars on the kitchen floor.....(I'll let you KNOW when I get the floor clean [V]) . They now sit in SOUP BOWLS with their lids off again. One poke with a chopstick had them just foaming at the lids. Go figyah. Amazing that with THIS amount of activity that the oil would be so much LESS prone to spoiling than something like comfrey....Learn somethin' every day [^]
LadyB, slidin' off the keyboard......

by **karen joy** » Fri Sep 19, 2003 9:22 pm

And my favorite is white pine needle vinegar!! Yummm.[:p]

I am curious to try this needle oil, as well as hemlock oil.

I have tried the new shoots of the white pine needles in spring and they are a nice welcome treat as I am out walking about, start to my wild foods eating for the year.

by **karen joy** » Sat Sep 20, 2003 3:53 pm

Oh,[url="http://www.susunweed.com/Article_White_Pine.htm"]Here is an article by Susun on White Pine[/url]! I love this as I love this dear tree!

by **LadyB** » Sat Sep 20, 2003 5:00 pm

Thanks, Karen, that was great!
So I am definitely going to make some pine needle vinegar (bet that would make one SPLENDID gargle for a sore throat) and go ahead and dry some of the needles for winter tea. I've also been thinking of Pine Sisters Cough Syrup, using MOSTLY Euell G's recipe but substituting brandy for the whiskey and adding some colt's foot leaves.....(think I'll pass on the turpentine-flavored biscuits, though....[xx(])

I'm only now recalling how a certain HUGE White Pine was just my BEST buddy when I was not yet a teenager. After a particularly destructive windstorm, I looked out my window and all I saw were pine trees lying on the lawn. I was inconsolable. My mother didn't know WHAT to do with me, I was just up in my room SOBBING. When everything was cleared, I looked out and MY tree HADN'T fallen. I remember spending entire afternoons sitting in her 'lap' on this soft blanket of pine needles, reading....White Pines, with those soft, SOFT needles make a sighing sound when the wind goes through them like no other tree I've ever met.....Ahhhh. I'll bet Secrets From The Lives of Trees has something to say about them too....let me see if I can find it.....

LadyB, sorta squirrel....

by **LadyB** » Sat Sep 20, 2003 5:33 pm

Awwwwww[^]
Of COURSE Jeffrey Goelitz had a conversation with a Pine Tree in his "Secrets from the Lives of Trees" (c)1991 where he asks the Pine why her needles are so long and she replies that that is how she grabs energy, light and water, and it also reflects her 'energy configuration' of gracefulness and charm. He asks why her sap is so sticky and she assures him it only becomes sticky when exposed to air, within her it flows freely......
LadyB

by **Leaf** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 5:36 pm

Oh LadyB, I LOVE the story of the white pine needle oil and the woman just taking her clothes off! I'm giving an oil making workshop in some weeks; I'll have to tell the participants this [:D] (and then make the oil together perhaps)[:)]. I don't know why, but smelling pine always gives me this feeling of RELIEF... and that's just wonderful.
Thanks for sharing!
Leaf

by **Lady Jane** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 7:00 pm

Wow! As I stated in my introductory post, I'm very much a newcomer to this way of life. Accordingly, I'd been taking many different kinds of vitamins & nutritional supplements for decades. One of the hottest is Pycnogenol, a rather pricy antioxidant made by extracting certain nutrients from a particular species of Maritime Pine Tree found in southwestern France.

What's pertinent to this discussion is how Pycnogenol was discovered. The original research was designed to learn how a pine bark decoction prepared by Native American medicine men helped Vitamin C's effectiveness. In reading the reports of early European explorers of the North American continent, it was learned they were saved from scurvy (caused by Vitamin C deficiency)by ingesting this decoction which contains Vitamin C from pine tree needles & bark. Later, the researchers learned that this decoction worked so well because the pine bark was rich in bioflavenoids.

It's now being claimed that Pycnogenol is nature's most powerful antioxidant with benefits that include:

Reducing the risk of many diseases including heart disease, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, etc.

Safeguarding arteries, veins & entire blood & circulation system.

Protecting eyes agains cataracts & reinopathy.

Fighting inflammation.

Improving mental function, alertness & memory.

Minimizing female disorders.

Reducing allergies & colds.

... and a host of others.

My point is not to be an advocate for Pycngenol. Rather, I'm delighted to make the connection to the wonderful White Pine which is out there & available for the benefit of all.

Love & blessings,

Jane

by **LadyB** » Tue Sep 23, 2003 4:59 pm

Well, the SmithSisters Cough Syrup is done....(first batch) I mixed strips of bark from young branches with chopped pine needles, added some nearly dried Coltsfoot leaves (Tussilago, meaning Cough Squelcher)poured boiling water over it and when it cooled, added the appropriate amount of brandy. Let that steap overnight (well, actually let it SIT for more than 24 hours until I got out for honey today) I've strained out all the goodies, added the honey and ahhhhhh, it smells like Christmas...pine and honey and brandy.....Seeing as how THE LAWS dictate that if I 'apply heat' to anything I may not sell it unless it was done in a Health Dept Approved kitchen, this will be strictly for the IN crowd and Christmas gifts....sorry, the Health Food Store gets none.

by **Lavender** » Sat Sep 27, 2003 5:03 am

Hmmmm! I love White pine! Last spring I found a small grove of young white pines with HUGE resin bubbles. I was able to pop a few of the larger bubbles and gathered up the clear sap that oozed from them. I used that to make a salve with beeswax. Not only does it smells wonderfully pine-y, it is very very good for cuts and chapped skin. I love pine needle tea. Every spring, I gather up the new growth on the branches of the pine trees and dry them to save for the winter. It's part of my cold prevention tea mixture.

by **Anonymous** » Wed Nov 19, 2003 9:18 pm

Yay...tis the season! It is not the best idea to dry the pine needles for winter use...they are there all winter long, and what a fresh green treat in February to go out and harvest some and make infusion...vitamin C!
I made vinegar of hemlock tree and cedar tree when I was in the Adirondacks this summer...and both are truly magnificent. I love to vinegar everything...it is a bit out of control! :-)
Thanks for the pine cough rememdy. I will look forward to trying that!

by **sapphire kate** » Thu Nov 20, 2003 5:26 am

"I love to vinegar everything...it is a bit out of control! :-)"

I know the feeling!! And it's spring here so there is no limit to endless new goodies [:D]

Go on then, tell us your weirdest vinegar.

We've got another pine thread going if you want to stop by and share your experience with her

http://www.herbshealing.com/weedforum/t ... IC_ID=2593

I'm totally new to pine tea, and am busy experimenting.

Nice to see you again shaUna [:)]

by **Ananda** » Tue Nov 25, 2003 4:08 pm

Thanks so much to all you ladies celebrating Pine!!!!! This is just the thread I've been waiting for. I am blessed with ENORMOUS white Pine trees around my home, and am so in love with them. Last year I collected big globs of sap from where the branches had been broken off from the wind storms, and let it dry until this past weekend. I brought it to my friends new home blessing and smugded everything - and I think we all got Pine-drunk! It was so cleansing and peaceful, what a smell!
I am eager to get outside and collect needles for a C-tea, I think it will be much more pleasant than the fresh little pinecone I ate this spring. Yyuuck!! My entire mouth was sticky with sap and eventually went numb. But my gums felt great [:D]
I also can't wait to make a healing salve with pine - do I use the sap for this?? Does it actually melt into the oils/waxes? I would love to hear more about how you Pine Sisters have used the sap.
I wonder if it's good for haemmorroids? Then I could say it's a pine in the ass[:o)]
Sorry, I guess that was innapropriate - I couldn't resist!
These forums get me goofy.

Ananda

by **Anonymous** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 10:30 am

Ohh, now that brings up a new use for me. Smudging with pine sap globs?!![:)]
I can imagine it would smell simply divine. Do you just dry out the resin bubbles and use charcoal burner to heat it up? I initially imagined making sappy sticks and burning them like a smudge bundle, but then thought that would pop and sputter like no tomorrow.
If you could elaborate on this new use I'd really love to try it out!
We've got a huge white pine in our yard that is getting slightly trimmed to provide a small wreath for the holidays.

by **Ananda** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 5:59 pm

Hi Maebius,

You said your Pine has been trimmed? That will be a great place to collect the sap from. I have burned it both fresh and semi-dried (after a year and a half, the middle was still soft and sticky!)
Both ways provide a plentiful, fragrant smoke. I have also burned little bark strips, but they are not as fragrant. The semi-dried sap was easier to pull spots off to put on the charcoal.
I was thinking that maybe I could roll drops up in a powder, like Myrhh, Sandalwood or Lavender, and it would hold it together a little better and drier.
Enjoy - let me know how you like it!

Ananda

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