Story: Mother Nature’s Pain Cure
Episode: 3
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane
Air Date: 30 August 2025

Trevor introduces the humble willow tree, long admired for its beauty, also produces a natural form of aspirin that has been traditionally used to ease pain and soothe aching muscles.

• Weeping willows produce salicin, a plant chemical converted into salicylic acid – the active ingredient in aspirin – traditionally used to ease aches, pains, and fevers.
• Dried bark or young shoots can be steeped in hot water for tea, or stems added to a bath for soaking sore muscles and joints.
• These graceful trees provide shade and have fibrous roots that absorb excess nutrients and pollutants in waterways, though they can also outcompete native plants.
• While not a weed of national significance, willows are declared invasive in Victoria, NSW and the ACT, but are still found in many parks and large gardens. In other states, they may be available or grown easily from cuttings.
• Willow remedies should be avoided by people with kidney disease or blood-thinning issues. Like aspirin, they can cause bleeding, always consult your GP before use.
• Willows remind us of the natural remedies growing in our own backyards, showing the remarkable potential of plants for health and wellbeing.