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Salix
Also called Sallow, Willows
Willows (genus Salix, about 350 species) are mostly deciduous trees and shrubs that grow best on moist soil in cold and temperate regions. They root very easily from cuttings, so they are simple to propagate.
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus Salix, comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs. They are primarily found on moist soils in cold and temperate regions.
Most species are known as willow, but some narrow-leaved shrub species are called osier, and some broader-leaved species are referred to as sallow (from Old English sealh, related to the Latin word salix, willow).
Almost all willows take root very readily from cuttings or where broken branches lie on the ground (an exception is the peachleaf willow, Salix amygdaloides). One famous example of such growth from cuttings involves the poet Alexander Pope, who begged a twig from a parcel tied with twigs sent from Spain to Lady Suffolk. This twig was planted and thrived, and legend has it that all of England's weeping willows are descended from this first one.
Willows are extensively cultivated around the world. They are used in hedges and landscaping.
Willows are shade tolerant and typically short-lived. They require disturbances to outcompete conifers or large deciduous species. The seeds are tiny, plentiful, carried by wind and water, and viable only for a few days; they require warm and moist conditions to take root. The plants can also reproduce vegetatively from decapitated stumps and branches.
The Quinault people of Washington made the bark into a twine which sometimes served as harpoon line. The wood was used by some other Native American tribes to start fires by friction, the shoots to weave baskets, and both the branches and stems to build various items including fishing weirs.
Siberian Violet Willow · White willow · Salix alpina · Arctic willow · Eared willow · Peking Willow · Goat Willow · Pussy willow · Olive Willow · Salix excelsa · Narrowleaf willow · Salix fargesii
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Willow by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
