Salix purpurea

Salix purpurea, the purple willow,<ref name=BSBI07>Template:BSBI 2007</ref> purpleosier willow,<ref>Template:PLANTS</ref> or purple osier, is a species of willow native to most of Europe and north to the British Isles, Poland, and the Baltic States,<ref name=fe>Flora Europaea: Salix purpurea</ref><ref name=rdm>Meikle, R. D. (1984). Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland. BSBI Handbook No. 4. Template:ISBN.</ref><ref name=rushforth>Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins Template:ISBN.</ref> and Turkey, the Caucasus, and northwestern Africa.<ref name = powo/>

File:Salix-purpurea-leaves.JPG

Foliage

It is a deciduous shrub growing to 1–3 m (rarely to 5 m) tall, with purple-brown to yellow-brown shoots, turning pale grey on old stems. The leaves are 2–8 cm (rarely to 12 cm) long and 0.3–1 cm (rarely 2 cm) wide; they are dark green above, glaucous green below, and unusually for a willow, are often arranged in opposite pairs rather than alternate. The flowers are small catkins 1.5-4.5 cm long, produced in early spring; they are often purple or red in colour, hence the name of the species (other willows mostly have whitish, yellow or green catkins).

Four subspecies and forms are accepted.<ref name = powo/>

• Salix purpurea subsp. eburnea Template:Small – Sardinia
• Salix purpurea f. gracilis Template:Small – Belgium, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, and Spain
• Salix purpurea subsp. leucodermis Template:Small – Turkey
• Salix purpurea subsp. purpurea – Europe, the Caucasus, Turkey, and northwestern Africa

It is replaced further east in Asia by the closely related species Salix sinopurpurea (syn. S. purpurea var. longipetiolatea).<ref name=foc>Flora of China: Salix sinopurpurea</ref>

The weeping cultivar 'Pendula' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.<ref name = RHSPF>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As with several other willows, the shoots, called withies, are often used in basketry. The wood of this and other willow species is used in making cricket bats.<ref name=rdm/><ref name=rushforth/>

External links

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