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Salix purpurea

Species of willow From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Salix purpurea
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Salix purpurea, the purple willow,[3] purpleosier willow,[4] or purple osier, is a species of willow native to most of Europe and north to the British Isles, Poland, and the Baltic States,[5][6][7] and Turkey, the Caucasus, and northwestern Africa.[2]

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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.[2]

  • Salix purpurea subsp. eburnea (Borzì) Cif. & Giacom. ex S.Pignatti – Sardinia
  • Salix purpurea f. gracilis Wimm. – Belgium, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, and Spain
  • Salix purpurea subsp. leucodermis Yalt. – 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).[8]

The weeping cultivar 'Pendula' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[9][10] 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.[6][7]

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