Winter Tree Medicine
I love working with the evergreens this time of year...they just seem to beckon. That sole greenery on the landscape is a potent reminder of the verdant abundance to come and also of the strong medicine these trees have to offer. I love that even in the depth of winter I can head outside with my harvesting basket and gather these healing herbs for medicine right outside my door. Read on for info on ID, harvest, medicinal benefits, and herbal recipes for our beloved northeast evergreens.
The Trees
Some of my favorite evergreens to work with in the winter are the Pine Family (Pinaceae) members-
Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) NOTE: Not at all related to Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum), which is not even a tree!!!*
Fir (Abies spp)
Spruce (Picea spp)
White Pine and Hemlock are the dominant evergreens in the forests around here- they are everywhere! Balsam Fir and Spruce are mountain trees and are found at higher elevations here in Massachusetts (think the Berkshires) and also VT, NH, and Maine, however, they grow at lower elevations just fine and are often planted as landscape/ ornamental plants. An especially common planted Spruce species is Norway Spruce (Picea abies), which makes excellent medicine.
Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
NOTE: Not at all related to Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum), which is not even a tree!!!
ID: short, shiny, dark green needles (3/8-5/8 inch long), known for the 2 white lines found on their underside. The tree bears very small (5/8-3/4 in) cones.
HABITAT: They prefer north-facing slopes and cool, moist ravines and streamsides. Very common in Western Massachusetts. Often associate with Yellow Birch and White Pine.
FAVORITE PREPARATIONS: Cordial/Elixir, Bath Salts, Tea, Steam
A Note About Harvest: Due to the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Beetle which is negatively impacting this species, I only recommend harvesting dropped branches on the forest floor- as long as they are pliable and the needles smell aromatic when crushed they will still make fantastic medicine!
Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) in the White Mountains of New Hampshire
Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea)
ID: Known for its characteristic cones that grow upright on its branches and are blue-green when immature. Also it is soft to the touch, not spiny- think "friendly fir." Short needles which are ½-1 inch in length and shiny green. It smells amazing! There are many other species of Fir found throughout North America but this is the only one native to the northeast, however, all the species can be used medcinally.
HABITAT: It grows in high elevations, from 1,000ft to timberline in our area. Grows on mountaintops in the Berkshires and all areas north of here. Sometimes planted as a landscape plant in people’s yards, and on Christmas tree farms!
FAVORITE PREPARATIONS: Cordial/Elixir, Incense, Infused Oil
White Pine (Pinus strobus)
Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
NOTE: All the members of the Pinus genus can be used medicinally, but I tend to work with this one since it is so common in our area. Other native Pine species include Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) and Red Pine (Pinus resinosa)
ID: Our tallest tree in the northeast, it can reach over 150 ft in height. 5 slender needles/ bundle. Bark is gray and smooth when young, becoming rough, thick and deeply furrowed with age. Cones are long (4-8” long) with a long stalk. Open, spreading form. Entire tree has an upward-growing, "plumey" form to it. Extremely common!
HABITAT: Very tolerant of a wide-range of soils. Early successional species- often grows in old fields. Can be found in dry sandy soil and also in wet, moist soil as well. More of a lowland tree and usually not found above 2000 ft. Along with hemlock, the most common evergreen in our local woods.
FAVORITE PREPARATIONS: Oxymel, Salve, Cough Syrup, Honey, Emergen-C, Confections
Norway Spruce (Picea abies)
Spruce (Picea spp)
ID: Spruce is known for its flakey, greyish- brown bark and sharp-to-the-touch, square needles, which are .4-.6 inches in length. The cones have sharp, spikey tips too!
HABITAT: In Massachusetts both Red Spruce (Picea rubens) and Black Spruce (Picea mariana) are native, found at high elevations where you also find balsam fir. They are also very common north of here. The non-native Norway Spruce (Picea abies) is very common as a landscape/specimen plant in New England. It’s fairly easy to identify from a distance, is often the tallest tree around (grows to over 100 ft), has a distinctive pyramid shape, and is known for its branches that droop strongly downward and are often described as "pendulous." All species of Spruce may be used medicinally
FAVORITE PREPARATIONS: Tea, Hot Toddy, Finishing Salts
Harvest
It's so easy to harvest and dry these trees and I’m forever grateful for their abundance. The simplest and by far the most sustainable way to harvest them is by collecting dropped branches from the forest floor. I recommend going-out after a wind storm-you’ll find lots of drops! They stay fresh for quite a long time on the forest floor but any easy way to tell if they’re still fresh enough to use is to see if the needles are still flexible and if they smell aromatic when you crush them. If so, they’re good enough to harvest. If you are harvesting directly from the tree just snip the tips of a few branches here and there, giving it a gentle hair-cut.
White Pine harvest
If I'm using these fresh (say for an infused oil or tea) I usually use the needles and very young, thin twigs- bark, wood, needles, and all (see photo above). If I am going to dry them, I am typically going for the needles. As usual, use all of your assessment skills and harvest respectfully. I usually harvest into a brown paper bag and let them dry right in there.....my house tends to be dry in the winter and they will be completely dry in about a week if not sooner. From there simply rub your hands along the branches (use gloves if it's spruce!) and they will fall right off into the bottom of the bag where they can easily be collected. Store your dried needles in a glass jar and keep them out of direct sun. They will be good for years.
When harvesting evergreens it’s important to be sure you don’t have the poisonous lookalike Yew (Taxus spp). One easy way to tell is that the needles of Yew, when crushed, don’t have the distinctive evergreen smell of Pine Family trees, however, please use a field guide or comparable botany text to ensure proper ID.
The Medicine
Spruce, Pines, Hemlock, and Fir all share many medicinal properties. Perhaps their most evident medicine is the essential oils contained within their needles and sap. This is what gives them their characteristic evergreen fragrance and is also why their needles are so flammable and make such great incense. Whenever a plant contains essential oils it’s safe to say it contains some level of antimicrobial activity and, while the evergreens wouldn’t be my absolute first choice for an herbal antimicrobial, they certainly do show some antiseptic activity when applied topically to wounds (especially the sap) and are particularly purifying to the lungs, which leads us to the respiratory system.
These Pinaceae Family trees all have an affinity for the lungs. They are herbal expectorants and decongestants to the lungs, helping to thin mucous and clear-up coughs, especially wet and boggy coughs. Of all of the trees discussed in this article, it’s important to note that White Pine bears the distinction of bringing the lungs back into balance-be they wet or dry- and helps restore their tone. For respiratory complaints these trees work especially well as a steam, tea, cough syrup, chest rub, and oxymel (see the recipe section below for inspiration!). They are also quite pleasant tasting, their needles are rich in vitamin C (particularly White Pine), and can form the basis for a lovely winter immune tea, especially when combined with Rose Hips, and Ginger.
These evergreens are also nice, warming, circulatory stimulants- another benefit from the essential oils. They can be employed externally in massage oils, salt and sugar scrubs, and bath salts for this use and there’s nothing like an evergreen hot toddy made with an elixir and honey to warm the body up! On an energetic level these trees lift the spirits. They have a warming and slightly energizing disposition and, especially when enjoyed in the winter months, can help keep spirits bright during the darkest days of the year. When we work with the local plants growing abundantly around us I believe we begin to attune to and harmonize with our local landscape, ecosystem, and its rhythms. In other words we're more in tune with the Earth and her subtleties, seasonal shifts and more....use with the pine family evergreens in the winter to help achieve this balance and harmony so many of us crave!
Lastly, Pines, Spruce, Firs, and Hemlock make fantastic food as medicine. Most of the evergreens in the Pine Family are so tasty and aromatic. They lend themselves well to infused honey, confections, spice blends, finishing salts, infused vinegars, marinades, wild soda, herbal butters and ghee, chai, chocolate, simple syrup, tea, and more.
Recipes
In the recipes below “evergreen needles” refers to the tree species discussed above- Pine, Spruce, Hemlock and Fir
Balsam Fir Cordial
Cordial/Elixir
Ingredients:
Fresh evergreen needles and thin twigs
Alcohol of choice that is 40-50% alcohol content (brandy, vodka, rum, grappa, whiskey, gin)
Honey (preferably raw)
Directions: Roughly chop your fresh conifer needles and thin twigs (kitchen scissors or clippers work great for this). Put them into a glass jar then cover with roughly 75% with your alcohol of choice (see above) and 25% raw honey. Let sit for a month (or as long as you want) and strain. This can be sipped on as a cordial, added to bubbly water or tonic water, or taken by the spoonful as medicine. It's delicious and tastes like the forest!
White Pine Honey
Infused Honey
Ingredients:
Fresh evergreen needles
Honey (preferably raw)
Directions: Cut the needles small with scissors or garden clippers, put into a jar, and cover with honey, mixing well to be sure the needles are thoroughly coated in the honey. It will be ready to use in a few weeks. An optional extra step here is to lightly warm the needle-honey mix to help it infuse into the honey (do not heat to a boil), then put into a jar and let sit a few weeks. An alternate method, if you’d like the honey to be ready right away, is to warm the needles in the honey in a pan on the stovetop for a few hours, being sure not to boil if you’re using raw honey. To use, eat by the teaspoon-full, add to hot water for instant tea, or use in confections. No need to strain the honey- use it with the needles still in the honey!
White Pine & Balsam Fir Cough Syrup
Cough Syrup
Ingredients:
Evergreen Needles (fresh or dried)- 1 part
Mullein lf (Verbascum thapsus)- 1/2 part
Wild Cherry (Prunus serotina)- 1/2 part
Anise Seed (Pimpinella anisum)- 1/4 part
Rose Hips (Rosa multifora, Rosa spp)- 1/4 part
A few other herbs I sometimes add: Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citrodora), Fir boughs (Abies spp), Eastern Hemlock needles and twigs (Tsuga canadensis)
Raw Honey
Directions:
Add your herbs to a pot. 1 part can be whatever you want- 1 tbsp, 1 cup, etc. Cover the herbs with about 2 inches of water and simmer on low to make a decoction. I keep a lid on it, but use a lid with a small hole in it for some steam to escape. Simmer for about an hour, until the water reduces to just covering the herbs. Then remove from heat and let the herbs continue to steep until the decoction cools. Next, strain it and for every cup of the decoction add 1/2 cup raw honey, and that's it! It's important not to heat the raw honey to a boil, but it is ok to warm it all gently to get the honey to mix. Putting it in a mason jar and then capping it and shaking vigorously is another great way to mix the honey in. An adult dose of this could be 1 tbsp every hour until cough improves- in order for herbs to work in acute conditions you often have to use lots! For kids a tsp (mixed in elderberry syrup if they don't like the flavor) 3x/day will suffice. This will likely last 1-2 weeks but we always use it up before it goes bad. You could also freeze the decoction and thaw and add the honey as needed!
White Pine bath salts (with towering grandmother White Pine in the background)
Bath Salts & Scrub
Ingredients:
Fresh evergreen needles
Sea Salt
Directions: Start by putting a 1 inch layer of sea salt (I prefer fine but coarse will work too) or epsom salts on the bottom of a jar, then add an (approximately) 1 inch layer of snipped-up White Pine Needles in the jar and cover with salt, then add another layer of the pine needles, then salt, and repeat. Finish it with a 1 inch layer of salt on the top. It will be ready in a few days, but can stay in the jar indefinitely. You can strain the needles out through a mesh strainer when ready if you like or simply add direct to the bath (my preference). If you add it to the bath with the needles in I recommend geting a strainer cap for the drain of your tub. I like to use at least 1 cup/bath. Bath salts can be easily made into a salt scrub by adding enough olive oil to give it a nice scoop-able consistency. To use, take a nice palm-sized amount and rub into your skin in the shower, moving towards your heart to support the lymph.
Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
Oxymel & Vinegar
Ingredients:
Fresh evergreen needles + thin twigs
Apple Cider Vinegar (preferably raw)
Honey (preferably raw)
Directions:
To make your oxymel fill your jar to the top with with roughly chopped evergreen needles and thin twigs. Next, add enough apple cider to cover the plant material approximately 75% of the way with the vinegar and then cover the remaining 25% with honey. Put a cap on it, putting a seal of parchment or wax paper underneath it, and shake it up! It may take a few days, but all the honey eventually will dissolve. It will be ready in about a month and can be strained then if desired or you can also leave the herbs in! Both honey and vinegar are excellent preservatives and this preparation has a very long shelf-life (2 years at the minimum) and does not need to be refrigerated. Evergreen oxymels are delicious. To use, sip straight, add to marinades and dressings, add to hot water, drizzle on cooked veggies, and more. To make an evergreen vinegar simply omit the honey and cover the needles and twigs completely with vinegar and follow the rest of the recipe above!
Infused Ghee
Ingredients:
Evergreen Needles (fresh or dried)
Ghee
Directions:
Melt your ghee in a pan and add approximately 2 tsp fresh evergreen needles or 1 tsp dried evergreen needles per cup of ghee. Gently warm for about 1/2-1 hr. Strain into a mason jar and let cool. Use as you would ghee or butter for a delicious conifer-infused flair!
White Pine Emergen-C
Ingredients:
Fresh White Pine needles
Lemon
Honey (preferably raw)
Directions: Put a large handful of White Pine needles in a pan on the stove, put a lid on it and cover with about 2 cups of water. Bring it to a boil, then turn off the heat, and let it steep 5-10 minutes. Strain. For every 2 cups of tea add the fresh squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon plus a tbsp of local raw honey. This is one of my favorite winter immune pick-me-ups that’s full of vitamin C (the needles of White Pine have been studied and shown to contain 5 times as much vitamin c as oranges!) so I like to cheekily call it “White Pine Emergen-C” as a d.i.y. take on the popular supplement. Feel free to adjust the proportions, make additions, and so on based on your taste, your abundant evergreens in your region, and so on!
Making Balsam Fir infused oil
Infused Oil
Ingredients:
Fresh evergreen needles + thin young twigs
Oil (I like olive and grapeseed oil)
Directions:
I like to use a double boiler for this but a pan on low will work too. Fill your vessel with fresh or dried evergreen needles and twigs and then cover with a oil that can tolerate heat. I tend to use grapeseed oil for this. Then let warm on low for 1-2 hours until the oil has taken in the aroma of the evergreen has thoroughly infused. Then strain and now you've got an herbal infused oil that can serve as a base for salves, solid perfumes, bath salts, scrubs, used for massage, and more!
Norway Spruce- one of my favorite evergreens for finishing salts
Finishing Salts
Ingredients:
Fresh evergreen needles
Sea salt
Remove the needles from your evergreen and coarsely chop. Then add to a blender with equal parts sea salt- for instance, if you have 1/2 cup of needles add 1/2 cup of sea salt- and blend well. The salt will naturally preserve the fresh herbs and essential oils and this will smell and taste amazing! Use in place of plain sea salt at your table, sprinkle onto chocolates and confections, or even as the salt for making ferments for an herbal kick. Lovely additions that pair well with the evergreens are Rosemary, Thyme, and citruses such as lemon and orange zest- feel free to add your favorite herbs and flavors to make this recipe your own!
Dried Balsam Fir needles for incense
Loose Incense & Spice Blends
Loose incense is so simple and staple in my home. Mix together dried, aromatic plants and sprinkle on incense charcoal, a fire, or an ember from your wood stove. All of our evergreen needles make incredible incense and the aroma is comforting and calming and good for your immune system too! You can choose to blend your needles with other aromatic herbs or use alone. Some nice combination with evergreen needles are cinnamon, orange peel, rosemary, frankincense, and mint.
Spice blends are made in a similar way- simply blend dried evergreen needles with dried spices (see ideas below). However, I recommend grinding the needles and spices in a mortar and pestle or giving them a quick zoom in a spice or coffee grinder so they have a fine enough texture to easily sprinkle on food and into dishes. The Pine Family evergreens combine well with the similarly pungent and aromatic Mediterranean herbs such as thyme, basil, rosemary, and oregano, as well as juniper berry, citruses, and mint!
White Pine & Orange Zest Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
3 tbsp fresh white pine needles, finely minced (or needles from hemlock, fir, or spruce will also work here!)
zest of 1 orange
1 1/2 cups flour (or your favorite gluten-free blend- we like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 blend)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 stick butter (or 8 tbsp ghee)
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Whisk together your dry ingredients- the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl mix the butter and sugar with an electric beater for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Then add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Zest your orange and chop your pine needles as finely as possible. Next mix in the flour mixture, orange zest, and pine needles with the butter/sugar/egg mix at the lowest speed on your mixer. Make the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap or a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking tray with parchment paper then roll-out the dough to about 1/4-inch thick. Use cookie cutters and cut-out your cookies then place on the parchment-lined tray, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the pan midway if needed. Let cool and garnish your serving dish with fresh evergreen boughs!
Enjoy all and happy medicine-making and cooking!
White Pine & Rosemary Nougat. You can get the recipe here!
