Willow
91983
224676148
2008-07-09T22:40:18Z
Lord Opeth
4757530
/* In literature */
{{alternateuses}}
{{redirect|Salix}}
{{redirect|Osier|the ghost town|Osier, Colorado}}
{{Taxobox
| name = Willow
| image = Willow.jpg
| image_width = 270px
| image_caption = ''Salix × sepulcralis'' - weeping willow
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Malpighiales]]
| familia = [[Salicaceae]]
| genus = '''''Salix''''' [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
About 350, including:<br/>
''[[Salix acutifolia]]'' - [[violet willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix alaxensis]]'' - [[Alaska willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix alba]]'' - [[white willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix alpina]]'' - [[alpine willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix amygdaloides]]'' - [[peachleaf willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix arbuscula]]'' - [[mountain willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix arbusculoides]]'' - [[littletree willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix arctica]]'' - [[arctic willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix atrocinerea]]''<br/>
''[[Salix aurita]]'' - [[eared willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix babylonica]]'' - [[Peking willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix bakko]]''<br/>
''[[Salix barrattiana]]'' - [[Barratt's willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix bebbiana]]'' - [[beaked willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix boothii]]'' - [[Booth willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix bouffordii]]''<br/>
''[[Salix brachycarpa]]'' - [[barren-ground willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix cacuminis]]''<br/>
''[[Salix canariensis]]''<br/>
''[[Salix candida]]'' - [[sage willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix caprea]]'' - [[goat willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix caroliniana]]'' - [[coastal plain willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix chaenomeloides]]''<br/>
''[[Salix chilensis]]''<br/>
''[[Salix cinerea]]'' - [[grey sallow]]<br/>
''[[Salix cordata]]''<br/>
''[[Salix daphnoides]]'' <br/>
''[[Salix delnortensis]]'' <br/>
''[[Salix discolor]]'' - [[pussy willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix eastwoodiae]]'' - [[Eastwood's willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix eleagnos]]''<br/>
''[[Salix eriocarpa]]''<br/>
''[[Salix eriocephala]]'' - [[heartleaf willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix excelsa]]''<br/>
''[[Salix exigua]]'' - [[sandbar willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix foetida]]'' <br/>
''[[Salix fragilis]]'' - [[crack willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix futura]]''<br/>
''[[Salix geyeriana]]''<br/>
''[[Salix gilgiana]]''<br/>
''[[Salix glauca]]''<br/>
''[[Salix gooddingii]]'' - [[Goodding willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix gracilistyla]]''<br/>
''[[Salix hainanica]]'' - [[Hainan willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix helvetica]]'' - [[Swiss willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix herbacea]]'' - [[dwarf willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix hirsuta]]''<br/>
''[[Salix hookeriana]]'' - [[Hooker's willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix hultenii]]''<br/>
''[[Salix humboldtiana]]'' - [[Chile willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix humilis]]'' - [[upland willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix integra]]''<br/>
''[[Salix interior]]''<br/>
''[[Salix japonica]]''<br/>
''[[Salix jessoensis]]''<br/>
''[[Salix koriyanagi]]''<br/>
''[[Salix kusanoi]]''<br/>
''[[Salix lanata]]'' - [[woolly willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix lapponum]]'' - [[downy willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix lasiandra]]'' - [[Pacific willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix lasiolepis]]'' - [[Arroyo willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix lucida]]'' - [[shining willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix magnifica]]''<br/>
''[[Salix matsudana]]'' - [[Chinese willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix miyabeana]]''<br/>
''[[Salix mucronata]]''<br/>
''[[Salix myrtilloides]]'' - [[swamp sillow]]<br/>
''[[Salix myrsinifolia]]'' - [[dark-leaved willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix myrsinites]]'' - [[whortle-leaved willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix nakamurana]]''<br/>
''[[Salix nigra]]'' - [[black willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix pedicellaris]]'' - [[bog willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix pentandra]]'' - [[bay willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix petiolaris]]'' - [[slender willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix phylicifolia]]'' - [[tea-leaved willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix planifolia]]''- [[planeleaf willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix polaris]]'' - [[polar willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix pseudo-argentea]]''<br/>
''[[Salix purpurea]]'' - [[purple willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix pyrifolia]]'' - [[balsam willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix reinii]]''<br/>
''[[Salix repens]]'' - [[creeping willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix reticulata]]'' - [[net-leaved willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix retusa]]''<br/>
''[[Salix rorida]]''<br/>
''[[Salix rosmarinifolia]]'' - [[rosemary-leaved willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix rupifraga]]''<br/>
''[[Salix salicicola]]''<br/>
''[[Salix schwerinii]]''<br/>
''[[Salix scouleriana]]'' - [[Scouler's willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix sericea]]'' - [[silky willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix serissaefolia]]''<br/>
''[[Salix serissima]]'' - [[autumn willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix shiraii]]''<br/>
''[[Salix sieboldiana]]''<br/>
''[[Salix sitchensis]]'' - [[Sitka willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix subfragilis]]''<br/>
''[[Salix subopposita]]''<br/>
''[[Salix taraikensis]]''<br/>
''[[Salix tetrasperma]]''<br/>
''[[Salix thorelii]]''<br/>
''[[Salix triandra]]'' - [[almond willow]]<br/>
''[[Salix udensis]]''<br/>
''[[Salix viminalis]]'' - [[common osier]]<br/>
''[[Salix vulpina]]''<br/>
''[[Salix waldsteiniana]]''<br/>
''[[Salix wallichiana]]''<br/>
''[[Salix wilmsii]]''<br/>
''[[Salix woodii]]''<br/>
''[[Salix yezoalpina]]''<br/>
''[[Salix yoshinoi]]''<br/>
}}
'''Willows''', '''sallows''' and '''osiers''' form the [[genus]] ''Salix'', around 400 species<ref name=Mabberley>Mabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.</ref> of [[deciduous]] [[tree]]s and [[shrub]]s, found primarily on moist [[soil]]s in cold and temperate regions of the [[Northern Hemisphere]]. Most species are known as willow, but some narrow-leaved shrub species are called osier, and some broader-leaved species are called sallow (the latter name is derived from the [[Latin]] word ''salix'', willow). Some willows (particularly [[arctic]] and [[alpine climate|alpine]] species), are low-growing or creeping shrubs; for example the [[dwarf willow]] (''Salix herbacea'') rarely exceeds 6 cm in height, though spreading widely across the ground.
Willows are very cross-fertile and numerous [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]]s occur, both naturally and in cultivation. A well known example is the weeping willow (''Salix × sepulcralis''), very widely planted as an [[ornamental plant|ornamental tree]], which is a hybrid of a [[China|Chinese]] species and a [[Europe]]an species – [[Salix babylonica|Peking willow]] and [[white willow]].
==Description==
The willows all have abundant watery sap, bark which is heavily charged with [[salicylic acid]], soft, usually pliant, tough wood, slender branches and large, fibrous, often [[stolon|stoloniferous]] roots. The roots are remarkable for their toughness, size, and tenacity of life, and roots readily grow from aerial parts of the plant.
The [[leaf|leaves]] are typically elongated but may also be round to oval, frequently with a serrated margin. All the buds are lateral; no absolutely terminal bud is ever formed. The buds are covered by a single scale, enclosing at its base two minute opposite buds, alternately arranged, with two, small, scale-like, fugacious, opposite leaves. The leaves are alternate, except the first pair which fall when about an inch long. They are simple, feather-veined, and typically linear-lanceolate. Usually they are serrate, rounded at base, acute or acuminate. The leaf petioles are short, the stipules often very conspicuous, looking like tiny round leaves and sometimes remaining for half the summer. On some species, however, they are small, inconspicuous, and fugacious (soon falling). In color the leaves show a great variety of greens, ranging from yellowish to bluish.
===Flowers===
Willows are [[plant sexuality|dioecious]] with male and female [[flower]]s appearing as [[catkin]]s on different plants; the catkins are produced early in the spring, often before the leaves, or as the new leaves open.
The staminate (male) flowers are without either [[calyx]] or [[Corolla (flower)|corolla]]; they consist simply of stamens, varying in number from two to ten, accompanied by a nectariferous gland and inserted on the base of a scale which is itself borne on the rachis of a drooping raceme called a catkin, or ament. This scale is oval and entire and very hairy. The anthers are rose colored in the bud but orange or purple after the flower opens, they are two-celled and the cells open longitudinally. The filaments are threadlike, usually pale yellow, and often hairy.
The pistillate (female) flowers are also without calyx or corolla; and consist of a single ovary accompanied by a small flat nectar gland and inserted on the base of a scale which is likewise borne on the rachis of a catkin. The ovary is one-celled, the style two-lobed, and the ovules numerous.
===Fruit===
The [[fruit]] is a small, one-celled, two-valved, cylindrical beaked [[capsule (fruit)|capsule]] containing numerous tiny (0.1 mm) [[seed]]s. The seeds are furnished with long, silky, white hairs, which allow the fruit to be widely dispersed by the wind.
==Cultivation==
Almost all willows take root very readily from cuttings or where broken branches lie on the ground. There are a few exceptions, including the [[goat willow]] and [[peachleaf willow]]. One famous example of such growth from cuttings involves the poet [[Alexander Pope]], who begged a twig from a parcel tied with twigs sent from Spain to Lady Suffolk. This twig was planted and thrived, and legend has it that all of England's weeping willows are descended from this first one.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uab.edu/english/hone/etexts/edb/day-pages/221-aug09.html |title=August 9 |first=William |last=Hone |authorlink=William Hone |work=The Every-Day Book (Electronic Edition) |year=1826}} Hone quotes "Martyn", and notes that Martyn in turn cites "the ''St. James's Chronicle'', for August, 1801".</ref>
Willows are often planted on the borders of streams so that their interlacing roots may protect the bank against the action of the water. Frequently the roots are much larger than the stem which grows from them.
==Ecological issues==
Willows are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species - see [[list of Lepidoptera that feed on willows]].
A number of willow species were widely planted in Australia, notably as erosion control measures along watercourses. They are now regarded as an invasive [[weed]] and many catchment management authorities are removing them to be replaced with native trees.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/dpi/nreninf.nsf/childdocs/-1C62D26CD3AF6FE44A2568B300051289-8E21A59E53B35BEFCA256BC80005C14F-E1EB709D7DCE1BC9CA256F070003E8D8-FAC3FFA202EA6384CA256BCF000AD522?open |title=Willows along watercourses: managing, removing and replacing |author=Albury/Wodonga Willow Management Working Group |month=December |year=1998 |publisher=Department of Primary Industries, State Government of Victoria}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hoadley.net/cremer/willows/docs/WillowInBiodiversity.pdf |title=Introduced willows can become invasive pests in Australia |first=Kurt W. |last=Cremer |year=2003 |format=PDF}}</ref>
==Uses==
===Medicinal uses===
The leaves and bark of the willow tree have been mentioned in ancient texts from [[Assyria]], [[Sumer]] and [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.touregypt.net/edwinsmithsurgical.htm|title=The Edwin Smith Papyrus|author=James Breasted (English translation)|accessdate=2007-06-09}}</ref> as a remedy for aches and [[fever]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nobelprizes.com/nobel/medicine/aspirin.html|title=An aspirin a day keeps the doctor at bay: The world's first blockbuster drug is a hundred years old this week|accessdate=2007-06-09}}</ref> and the [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] physician [[Hippocrates]] wrote about its medicinal properties in the [[5th century BC]]. [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] across the American continent relied on it as a staple of their medical treatments. This is because they contain [[salicylic acid]], the precursor to aspirin.
In 1763 its medicinal properties were observed by the [[Reverend Edward Stone]] in England. He notified the [[Royal Society]] who published his findings. The active extract of the bark, called [[salicin]], was isolated to its crystalline form in 1828 by [[Henri Leroux]], a French pharmacist, and [[Raffaele Piria]], an Italian chemist, who then succeeded in separating out the acid in its pure state. Salicin is acidic when in a [[saturation (chemistry)|saturated solution]] in water (''p''H = 2.4), and is called [[salicylic acid]] for that reason.
In 1897 [[Felix Hoffmann]] created a synthetically altered version of salicin (in his case derived from the ''[[Spiraea]]'' plant), which caused less digestive upset than pure salicylic acid. The new drug, formally ''[[Acetylsalicylic acid]]'', was named [[aspirin]] by Hoffmann's employer [[Bayer|Bayer AG]]. This gave rise to the hugely important class of drugs known as [[NSAIDs|non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs]] (NSAIDs).
===Other uses===
;As a plant : Agroforestry, [[biofiltration]], [[constructed wetland]]s, [[Ecology|ecological]] [[wastewater]] treatment systems, [[hedge]]s, [[land reclamation]], [[landscaping]], [[phytoremediation]], streambank stabilisation ([[bioengineering]]), [[slope]] stabilisation, [[soil]] [[erosion]] control, shelterbelt & [[windbreak]], [[soil]] building, soil reclamation, [[tree bog]] compost toilet, [[wildlife]] [[habitat (ecology)|habitat]]
; Agriculture : Willow bark contains [[auxin]]s: plant growth hormones, especially those used for rooting new cuttings. The bark can even be used to make a simple extract that will promote cutting growth.
; Energy source : [[Charcoal]], [[energy forestry]] such as the [[Willow Biomass Project]]
; Wood : [[Box]]es, [[broom]]s, [[cricket bat]]s (grown from certain strains of [[white willow]]), cradle boards, [[chair]]s and other furniture, [[doll]]s, [[willow flute|flute]]s, [[Pole (object)|pole]]s, [[sweat lodge]]s, [[toy]]s, turnery, tool handles, [[veneer]], [[wand]]s, [[whistle]]s
; [[Wicker]] (often from osiers): [[Basket weaving]], [[fish]] traps, wattle [[fence]]s, [[wattle and daub]]
; Other wood-derived products: [[Fibre]] plants, [[paper]], [[rope]] and string, [[tannin]]
; Art: Willow [[Charcoal#Art|charcoal]] (for drawing), living [[sculpture]]
; Religion : As one of the "[[Four Species]]" used in a ceremony on the [[Judaism|Jewish]] holiday of [[Sukkot]]. Also the willow is one of the [[nine sacred trees]] mentioned in [[wicca]] and [[witchcraft]], with several magical uses.
==Willow in human culture==
The willow is a famous subject in many East Asian nations' cultures particularily painting (pen and ink) in china and japan.
[[Gisaeng]] [[Hongrang]], who lived in the middle of the [[Joseon]] period, wrote: <blockquote>like willow I will be the willow on your bedside.</blockquote> Hongrang wrote this poem by the willow in the rain in the evening which she gave to her parting lover<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.arirang.co.kr/Tv/TSymbols_Archive.asp?PROG_CODE=TVCR0271&view_cont_seq=4&code=St1&sys_lang=Eng|publisher=Arirang TV|title=The Forest of Willows in Our Minds|date= [[August 20th]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[2007]]-[[September 10th]]}}</ref>{{Clarifyme|date=January 2008}} .
In English folklore, a willow tree is believed to be quite sinister, capable of uprooting itself and stalking travellers.
Willow trees are quite prevalent in folklore and myths<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.controverscial.com/Willow.htm | title=In Worship of Trees by George Knowles: Willow
}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/forest/mythfolk/willow.html |title=Mythology and Folklore of the Willow}}</ref>.
===In literature===
[[Hans Christian Andersen]] wrote a story called [http://hca.gilead.org.il/under_wi.html Under The Willow Tree] (1853) in which children ask questions of a tree they call 'willow-father', paired with another entity called 'elder-mother'.
[http://www.spiritoftrees.org/folktales/martin/green_willow.html Green Willow] is a [[Kwaidan|Japanese ghost story]] in which a young samurai falls in love with a woman called Green Willow who has a close spiritual connection with a willow tree. [http://live-artist.com/fairytales/willow.html The Willow Wife] is another, not dissimilar tale. [http://tweedsblues.net/theparables/osage.html Wisdom of the Willow Tree] is an [[Osage Nation]] story in which a young man seeks answers from a Willow tree, addressing the tree in conversation as 'Grandfather'.
In [[JK Rowling]]'s ''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]'', and ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'', there is an ancient tree on the school grounds of [[Hogwarts]] called the "Whomping Willow". It is provided as a hiding spot of a secret passageway that Professor [[Remus Lupin]] roamed through every full moon when he began his transformation into a [[Werewolf (Harry Potter)|werewolf]].
Also, in [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Hamlet]]'', the character Ophelia climbed a Willow tree when a branch broke and dropped her into the river below where she drowned.
==Pictures==
<gallery>
Image:Weeping Willow.jpg|Weeping willow (''Salix × sepulcralis'') in [[Auckland]], [[New Zealand]]
Image:Salix herbacea.jpg|Dwarf willow (''Salix herbacea''), [[Sweden]]
Image:Willow catkin 1 aka.jpg|Willow catkin<br />(''[[Salix discolor]]'')
Image:Willow catkin 2 aka.jpg|Sallow catkin<br />(''[[Salix caprea]]'')
Image:PICT3750small.jpg|Willow leaves (''Salix × sepulcralis'')
Image:Li Di, Homeward Oxherds in Wind and Rain.jpg|Willow tree in a painting by Chinese artist Li Di, 12th century, [[Song Dynasty]].
Image:PussyWillowBoston.jpg|''[[Salix discolor]]'' used in a [[Floristry|decorative arrangement]] outside a [[hotel]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts]].
</gallery>
==See also==
* [[Aravah (Sukkot)|Aravah]], the Hebrew name of the willow, for its ritual use during the Jewish [[Feast of Tabernacles]]
== External links==
* [http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Salix+alba ''Salix alba'' at plants for a future]
* [http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Salix+purpurea ''Salix purpurea'' at plants for a future]
* [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Willow 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica] (but see [[Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition#Versions_of_this_public_domain_work_claiming_copyright|this]])
* [http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/saca5.htm ''Salix caroliniana'' images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]
* [http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/sani.htm ''Salix nigra'' images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]
== References==
{{reflist}}
* {{cite book
| last =Keeler
| first =Harriet L.
| title =Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them
| publisher =Charles Scriber's Sons
| date =1900
| location =New York
| pages =393-395 }}
* Newsholme, C. (1992). ''Willows: The Genus Salix''. ISBN 0-88192-565-9
* Warren-Wren, S.C. (1992). ''The Complete Book of Willows''. ISBN 0-498-01262-X
{{Commons|Salix}}
{{Ancient anaesthesia-footer}}
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
[[Category:Salicaceae]]
[[Category:Trees]]
[[Category:Trees of Alaska]]
[[ar:صفصاف]]
[[bs:Vrba]]
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[[ca:Salze]]
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[[da:Pile-slægten]]
[[de:Weiden (Botanik)]]
[[et:Paju]]
[[el:Ιτιά]]
[[myv:Каль]]
[[es:Salix]]
[[eo:Saliko]]
[[eu:Sahats]]
[[fr:Saule]]
[[gl:Salgueiro]]
[[ko:버드나무속]]
[[hr:Vrbe]]
[[id:Dedalu]]
[[os:Хæрис]]
[[it:Salix]]
[[he:ערבה (צמח)]]
[[ku:Bî]]
[[la:Salix]]
[[lt:Gluosnis]]
[[hu:Fűzfa]]
[[mk:Врба]]
[[nah:Huexōtl]]
[[nl:Wilg]]
[[ja:ヤナギ]]
[[no:Viere]]
[[pl:Wierzba]]
[[pt:Salgueiro]]
[[ro:Salcie]]
[[qu:Sawsi]]
[[ru:Ива]]
[[se:Sieđga]]
[[sq:Salix]]
[[sl:Vrba (drevo)]]
[[sr:Врба]]
[[fi:Pajut]]
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