Salix eleagnos

Salix eleagnos the bitter willow,^[2] olive willow,^[3] hoary willow,^[2] rosemary willow,^[2] or elaeagnus willow,^[4] is a species of flowering plant in the family Salicaceae, native to central and southern Europe and south west Asia. Growing to 3 m (10 ft) tall by 5 m (16 ft) broad, it is an erect bushy deciduous shrub with narrow grey-green leaves up to 20 cm (8 in) long, which turn yellow in autumn (fall). The green catkins, 3–6 cm (1–2 in) long, appear with the leaves in spring, male catkins having yellow anthers.^[5]

Salix eleagnos
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Salicaceae
Genus:	Salix
Species:	S. eleagnos
Binomial name
Salix eleagnos Scop., 1772
Distribution map

Like all willows, the species is dioecious. The specific epithet eleagnos is frequently spelt elaeagnos (Elaeagnus, silverberry or oleaster), though the original spelling has been accepted as a correct Greek form.^[2]

Salix eleagnos subsp. angustifolia has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[6][7]