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| Salix cinerea – Grey Willow |
Salix cinerea commonly known as Grey Willow also known as
Large Grey Willow is native to Europe and Western Asia. It will often colonies
boggy ground, but it will also do well in all but the driest soils. Good in
exposed and coastal areas. Tolerant of very wet soil with low oxygen levels.
It is a deciduous shrub or small tree. It is growing 4 – 15
(13 – 50 ft) in height. The bark is dark grey with shallow ridges.
The leaves of Grey Willow are spirally arranged. They are
more oval than typical willow, but not as broad or as wrinkly as the Goat
Willow, are 2.5 – 10 cm (1 – 4 in) long and 1 – 3 cm (0.4 – 2.4 in) board,
sometime can be up 16 cm (6 in) long and 5 cm (2 in) board. The color of the
leaves are top side green and below hairy silver, with crenate margin.
The flowers of S. cinerea are produced in early spring and
the male and female catkins appear on separate trees. The flowers provide
valuable early pollen for foraging bees. It is the food plant of several
species of butterfly including the Purple Emperor and Camberwell Beauty. The
male flowers are the densely silvery-hairy, and 2 – 5 cm (0.8 – 2 in) long flowers
well known as Pussy Willow. The male catkins are silvery at first, turning
yellow when the pollen is released. The female flowers are greenish-grey and
maturing in early summer to release the numerous tiny seeds embedded in white
cottony down which assists wind dispersal.
The fresh bark of all members of this genus contains salicin,
which probably decomposes into salicylic acid (closely related to aspirin) in
the human body. This is used as an anodyne and febrifuge. The bark of this
species is used interchangeably with S. alba. It is taken internally in the
treatment of rheumatism, arthritis, gout, inflammatory stages of auto-immune
diseases, diarrhea, dysentery, feverish illnesses, neuralgia and headache. The
leaves are used internally in the treatment of minor feverish illnesses and
colic.
