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Salix alba

White willow

Blatt (CC BY-SA 4.0) Alice Kracht

Short Description

The white willow is a deciduous tree or shrub and mostly grows close to water. It can grow up to 30 m tall. The sparse crown is irregular and highly branched.

The leaves are small and pointed with a short stalk. The underside (and sometimes also the top) of the leaves is covered in dense silver-grey hairs. The leaf margins are finely serrated.

The bark is grey with vertical fissures.

There are male and female flowers clustered in flower heads. Male catkins are thin and yellow. Female catkins are a bit smaller and greenish.

The fruit capsules are clustered in elongated seed heads and dehisce when ripe while still on the tree. Numerous seeds with white down are released.

Features

White willow

Salix alba

  • small pointed leaves

  • silvery-grey leaves covered in silky hairs

Habitus (CC BY-SA 3.0) Liné1

In the city

White willow is a popular tree in parks. It is often planted near park ponds and lakes because of its silvery leaves and its beautiful habitus. It prefers wet-dry, semi-shaded to sunny sites.

Fun Facts

  • The leaves were used to dye wool.

  • It flowers from April to May.

  • The fruit ripening season is from May to June.

  • Endangerment level Germany: not endangered

  • Willow bark was formerly used as an analgesic.

männliche Blüte (CC BY-SA 4.0) Alice Kracht

Sources

Blatt, Alice Kracht, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://offene-naturfuehrer.de/web/Datei:Salix_alba_(7).JPG

Habitus, Liné1, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salix_alba_%27Tristis%27_02_by_Line1.jpg

männliche Blüte, Alice Kracht, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://offene-naturfuehrer.de/web/Datei:Salix_alba_(6).JPG

Aas, G. & Riedmiller, A. (2002) Laubbäume. Bestimmen – Kennenlernen – Schützen, Bindlach: Gondrom Verlag.

Amann, G. & Richter, P. (1962) Bäume und Sträucher des Waldes, Melsungen: Verlag J. Neumann – Neudamm.

Böhlmann, D. (2015) Laubbäume temperierter Klimate mit ihrer Artenvielfalt, Berlin: Patzer Verlag.

Mitchell, A. (1975) Die Wald- und Parkbäume Europas. Ein Bestimmungsbuch, Hamburg und Berlin: Verlag Paul Parey.

Quartier, A. (1989) Bäume und Sträucher, München: BLV.

Roloff, A. (2013) Bäume in der Stadt. Besonderheiten - Funktion - Nutzen - Arten - Risiken, Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.

Page „Silber-Weide“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 13.02.2016, 20:16 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Silber-Weide&oldid=151454063 (Accessed: 26.05.2016).