A year ago December I found a windfall on my walk along the river; a Poplar had dropped a large branch, and I was able to break off two whole pocket-fulls of sticky brown buds. I brought them home, put them in a quart jar, filled it with Olive oil and settled it in my yogurt maker, where it sat for the next six weeks, on during the day and off at night. I stirred it with a chopstick. The smell of Poplar Bud is just wonderful. It is slightly spicy and earthy and reminds me of walks along the river.
The chopstick became coated with resin. I strained off the oil and saved it in a pint jar in the refrigerator. Now I use it for massage. The buds were then distributed into other jars of oil.
Poplar Buds are analgesic, which means, they relieve pain. Poplar Bud, like Alder and Willow, has salicylates, like aspirin, which was originally derived from Willow. An analgesic will not necessarily cure anything, but it will soothe and mask pain for a while, relieving inflammation. And the oil smells good! The buds also work to preserve fat, which is very useful if you have limited refrigeration. Now, how simple is that?
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