Dry White Willow Bark Strips Thin Tree Wood Shaving Organic Herb Tea USA Exp8'23 WildCrafted From Diamond Willow Salix alba of Northern Minnesota from Aug. 2021 Harvest This white willow bark is wild crafted from mostly live trees that I use to make walking sticks. Washed by rain and naturally dried in the wind and sun. With our raw, unprocessed bark you know you're getting the real deal, and not some wood shavings from the inner tree. For healing tea, you want the layers just underneath the bark. BARK SIZE: Some strips are small, some are long. I usually bend the long ones so they'll fit better into a bundle before packing them up to send through the mail. FOR LONGER STRIPS: If you want them left long, let me know ASAP and I'll leave them as long as possible. Some are 2-3 ft, maybe longer. Holla if you need more exact measurements. CONDITION: dry and pure. It's been dried for several days in the wind and summer sun, after being left to get rain and sunshine for a few weeks...then stored unsealed for further drying inside for many months. May have dirt or dusty crumbs, though I've tried to remove most of it by a light brushing, but I didn't want to wash it! LOL USES: _ Traditionally used for arthritic and other pain relief _ Soothing tea (via decoction, ie boiling, not infusion or simple steeping) _ Incense (I love the smell even without burning it) _ Sacred reverence and ceremonial magic _ Weaving or crafts DISCLAIMER: above info is for educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. LESS EXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVE: If you're using these for healing or ceremonial use, then you may want to check out my other listings, as I've put the previous year's willow bark on sale for a bigger discount. As most people do with herbs, I've considered this as having a 2 yr lifespan until it expires (although it probably will still be good much longer, unlike leafy herbs or seeds you want to germinate). PHOTOS ARE EXAMPLES ONLY. All photos taken by me though, and these pics represent what you will get. Same bark, different year's harvest. ;) Bark is weighed, so the amount you get varies on how wide or thin the bark strips are, or how heavy the outer layer of bark is. BARK IS FROM MAIN WOOD, NOT DIAMONDS: Bark is sometimes removed in long strips, but often it comes off in little strips at a time, especially when gingerly navigating around the wooden diamonds. I just strip bark from the main wood, and don't strip bark off the diamonds themselves. That's removed by whittling with a knife or dremel tool, and becomes little specs of dust that is not included in these bunches of strips. See 'About Diamond Willow' below. BARK IS FROM LIVE TREES. I do make trekking staves from dead or half dead trees, as well, but this bark isn't from those. On dead trees, the bark doesn't come off easily or in nice strips like you'll get here. It only peels off fairly easily when the sap is running in the tree...and sap don't run in deadish trees. ;) SUSTAINABLE HARVEST: All trees are hand selected and gently removed from a clump of trees. The removal of one or two trees from a clump allows the rest of the clump to flourish as this gives them greater access to sun and soil nutrients. This is as pure as you can get. No chemicals, no preservatives. 100% organic. There are no major water polluters or smokestacks within hundreds of miles. Even if there were, we're just north of the Laurentian Divide, so rivers run north. The nearest small town is 18 mile drive north, and it has one gas station, one bank, and one store (and is 1.5 hr drive to Canadian border). The next biggest town is 36 miles south, below the Laurentian Divide, and the only industry they have is a paper mill (and the rivers flow away from us, and wind usually blows away from us too, since most wind comes from the north or NW). We're just surrounded by miles and miles of trees and beautiful wilderness in what we like to call God's country. ABOUT DIAMOND WILLOW: Diamond willow is a type of white willow that Mother Nature has decorated with gorgeous wooden diamond shapes of deep caramel and maroon or reddish brown hues, formed by a fungus that's harmless to humans, but it twists the wood of the tree to create beautiful colors and designs. WALKING STAFFS: Diamond Willow (and wildcrafting from the land) is pretty much all we do. Check out our store to find discounted willow bark that is just one year older but still very good. Or check out our handcrafted diamond willow hiking sticks here. BUY NOW before I run out. I only harvest for 2-4 mos. in summer when the sap is running. What I have listed now is almost all the bark I have until the next summer harvest.