A withy or withe (also willow and osier) is a strong flexible
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions.
Most species are known ...
stem, typically used in
thatching,
basketmaking, gardening and for constructing woven
wattle hurdles.
[Life on the Upper Thames](_blank)
by H. R. Robertson (1875), chapters II-IV The term is also used to refer to any type of flexible rod of natural wood used in
rural crafts such as
hazel or
ash created through
coppicing
Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...
or
pollarding
Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In ancient Rome, Propertius mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE. The practice h ...
.
Several species and hybrid
cultivar
A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
s of willows (often known as osiers) are grown for withy production; typical species include ''
Salix acutifolia'', ''
Salix daphnoides'', ''
Salix × mollissima'', ''
Salix purpurea'', ''
Salix triandra'', and ''
Salix viminalis''.
[Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. .]
Places such as
Wythenshawe and Withy Grove (both in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
) take their names from the willow woods and groves that grew there in earlier times. The
Somerset Levels remain the only area in the UK growing basket willow commercially.
Use in water navigation
Withies were used to mark minor
tidal channels in UK harbours and estuaries. In many places they remain in use and are often marked on navigation charts. At high tide the tops of a line of withies stuck in the mud on one or both sides of a channel will show above water to indicate where the deeper water lies. Note the images of international navigation-chart symbols for withies (port and starboard).
Beyond the buoyage: exploring tidal creeks
Yachting Monthly, March 25, 2020
See also
*" The Bitter Withy", a folk song
*Coppicing
Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...
* Fascine
* Widmore, London, a suburb named for the withy
* Willow Man, a sculpture in England
References
{{reflist
External links
Willows in the farming landscape: a forgotten eco-cultural icon
(2022)
Salix
Building materials
Natural materials