Willow

About 350, including:

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Salix acutifolia - Violet Willow

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Salix alaxensis - Alaska Willow

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Salix alba - White Willow

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Salix alpina - Alpine Willow

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Salix amygdaloides - Peachleaf Willow

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Salix arbuscula - Mountain Willow

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Salix arbusculoides - Littletree Willow

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Salix arctica - Arctic Willow

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Salix atrocinerea

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Salix aurita - Eared Willow

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Salix babylonica - Peking Willow

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Salix barrattiana - Barratt's Willow

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Salix bebbiana - Beaked Willow

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Salix boothii - Booth Willow

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Salix bouffordii

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Salix brachycarpa - Barren-ground Willow

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Salix cacuminis

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Salix candida - Sage Willow

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Salix caprea - Goat Willow

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Salix caroliniana - Coastal Plain Willow

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Salix chilensis

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Salix cinerea - Grey Sallow

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Salix cordata

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Salix daphnoides

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Salix discolor - Pussy Willow

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Salix fragilis - Crack Willow

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Salix eastwoodiae - Eastwood's Willow

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Salix eleagnos

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Salix eriocephala - Diamond Willow

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Salix exigua - Sandbar Willow

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Salix foetida

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Salix geyeriana

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Salix glauca

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Salix hainanica - Hainan Willow

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Salix helvetica - Swiss Willow

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Salix herbacea - Dwarf Willow

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Salix humboldtiana - Chile Willow

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Salix humilis - Upland Willow

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Salix interior

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Salix kusanoi

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Salix lanata - Woolly Willow

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Salix lapponum - Downy Willow

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Salix lasiandra - Pacific Willow

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Salix lasiolepsis - Arroyo Willow

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Salix lucida - Shining Willow

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Salix matsudana - Chinese Willow

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Salix mucronata

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Salix myrtilloides - Swamp Willow

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Salix myrsinifolia - Dark-leaved Willow

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Salix myrsinites - Whortle-leaved Willow

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Salix nigra - Black Willow

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Salix pedicellaris - Bog Willow

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Salix pentandra - Bay Willow

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Salix petiolaris - Slender Willow

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Salix phylicifolia - Tea-leaved Willow

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Salix planifolia

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Salix polaris - Polar Willow

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Salix pseudo-argentea

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Salix purpurea - Purple Willow

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Salix pyrifolia - Balsam Willow

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Salix repens - Creeping Willow

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Salix reticulata - Net-leaved Willow

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Salix retusa

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Salix rosmarinifolia - Rosemary-leaved Willow

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Salix salicicola

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Salix scouleriana - Scouler's Willow

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Salix sericea - Silky Willow

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Salix serissima - Autumn Willow

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Salix sitchensis

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Salix tetrasperma

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Salix thorelii

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Salix triandra - Almond Willow

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Salix viminalis - Common Osier

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Salix waldsteiniana

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The willows are deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus Salix, part of the willow family Salicaceae. There are about 350 species in this genus worldwide, found primarily on moist soils in cooler zones in the Northern Hemisphere. The leaves are deciduous, often elongate but round to oval in a few species, and with a serrated margin. Willows are dioecious with male and female flowers appearing as catkins on different plants; the catkins are produced early in the spring, often before the leaves or as the new leaves open. The fruit is a small capsule containing numerous tiny (0.1 mm) seeds embedded in white down, which assists wind dispersal of the seeds. Willows are very cross-fertile and numerous hybrids are known, both naturally occurring and in cultivation.

Related Topics:
Deciduous - Tree - Shrub - Salicaceae - Soil - Northern Hemisphere - Leaves - Dioecious - Flower - Catkin - Fruit - Capsule - Seed - Hybrid

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Some smaller species may also be known by the common names osier and sallow; the latter name is derived from the same root as the Latin salix.

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The White Willow (Salix alba) is a widespread European species, which has become naturalised on many other parts of the world; it is a tree up to 30 m tall. A cultivar of it, 'Caerulea', selected for fast, straight growth, is grown in southern England, the wood being used for the manufacture of cricket bats.

Related Topics:
Salix alba - Europe - Cultivar - England - Wood - Cricket bat

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The Weeping Willow, very widely planted as an ornamental tree, is also a cultivar, Salix × sepulcralis 'Chrysocoma', derived from a hybrid between the Chinese S. babylonica and S. alba.

Related Topics:
Ornamental tree - Chinese

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Some willows, particularly arctic and alpine species, are very small; the Dwarf Willow (Salix herbacea) rarely exceeds 6 cm in height, though spreading widely across the ground.

Related Topics:
Arctic - Alpine

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Almost all willows take root very readily from cuttings or where broken branches lie on the ground. The most famous example of this is the poet, Alexander Pope, who begged a twig from a parcel tied with twigs sent from Spain to Lady Suffolk. This was planted and thrived and legend has it that all England's Weeping Willows are descended from this first one. There are a few exceptions to this ready growth from cuttings, including the Goat Willow and Peachleaf Willow.

Related Topics:
Goat Willow - Peachleaf Willow

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Willows are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Brimstone Moth, Poplar Hawk-moth, Buff-tip, Autumnal Rustic and Small Square-spot.

Related Topics:
Larva - Lepidoptera - Brimstone Moth - Poplar Hawk-moth - Buff-tip - Autumnal Rustic - Small Square-spot

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