''Salix viminalis'', the basket willow, common osier or osier, is a species of willow native to Europe, Western Asia, and the Himalayas.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. .Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins .Perttu, K. L. and Kowalik, P. J. (1997). ''Salix vegetation filters for purification of waters and soils''. Biomass and Bioenergy, Volume 12, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 9-19. Elsevier Science Ltd.

Description

''Salix viminalis'' is a multistemmed

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

growing to between (rarely to ) tall. It has long, erect, straight branches with greenish-grey

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, ...

. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

long and slender, 10–25 cm long but only 0.5–2 cm broad; they are dark green above, with a silky grey-haired underside. The flowers are

catkin A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated (anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in ''Salix''). They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged cl ...

s, produced in early spring before the leaves; they are

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, with male and female catkins on separate plants. The male catkins are yellow and oval-shaped; the female catkins are longer and more cylindrical; they mature in early summer when the fruit capsules split open to release the numerous minute seeds.

Distribution and habitat

It is commonly found by streams and other wet places. The exact native range is uncertain due to extensive historical cultivation; it is certainly native from central Europe east to western Asia, but may also be native as far west as southeastern England. As a cultivated or

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

plant, it is widespread throughout both Britain and Ireland, but only at lower altitudes. It is one of the least variable willows, but it will hybridise with several other species.

Uses

Along with other related willows, the flexible twigs (called withies) are commonly used in basketry, giving rise to its alternative common name of "basket willow". Cultivation and use of the common osier was common in England in the 18th and 19th century, with

osier beds Osier may refer to: * Willow or osiers, a genus of deciduous trees and shrubs ** Common osier (''Salix viminalis''), a species of willow * Red osier (''Cornus sericea''), a species of flowering plant *Osier, Colorado, an unincorporated community a ...

lining many rivers and streams. In the Chilean village of

Chimbarongo Chimbarongo, Chile, is a city and commune located south of Santiago in the Colchagua Province of the O'Higgins Region. Many of the people of Chimbarongo make their living weaving wickerwork, ''mimbre'', baskets. Demographics According to th ...

, it is used to fashion their renowned baskets. Another increasing use is in energy forestry, effluent treatment, in wastewater gardens, and in cadmium phytoremediation for water purification. ''Salix viminalis'' is a known hyperaccumulator of cadmium,

chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...

, lead,

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

, petroleum hydrocarbons, organic solvents, MTBE, TCE and byproducts, selenium, silver, uranium, and zinc, and as such is a prime candidate for phytoremediation. For more information, see the list of hyperaccumulators.

Ecology

Among the most common pathogens on ''S. viminalis'' are ''Melampsora'' spp. Female plants are more severely infected than male plants.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q158590 viminalis Flora of Europe Flora of temperate Asia Flora of tropical Asia Phytoremediation plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus