''Salix integra'' is a species of
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist ...
native to north-eastern China, Japan, Korea and the far south-eastern Russia (
Primorsky Krai
Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of t ...
).
[Flora of China]
''Salix integra''
/ref>deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...
shrub growing to 2–6 m tall with greyish-green bark and reddish to yellowish shoots. The leaves are 2–10 cm long and 1–2 cm wide; they are pale green both above and below, and unusually for a willow, are often arranged in opposite pairs or whorls of three, rather than alternate. The flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...
s are produced in small 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, arra ...
s 1-2.5 cm long in early spring; they are brownish to reddish in colour. It is 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 reproducti ...
, with male and female catkins on separate plants.[Japanese Treeflowers]
''Salix integra''
/ref>
It is closely related to the European and western Asian ''Salix purpurea
''Salix purpurea'', the purple willow purpleosier willow or purple osier, is a species of willow native to most of Europe and western Asia north to the British Isles, Poland, and the Baltic States.Flora Europaea''Salix purpurea''/ref>Meikle, R. D ...
'', and has been treated as a variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
of it by some authors, as ''S. purpurea'' var. ''multinervis'' (Franchet & Savatier) Matsumura, or as a subspecies ''S. purpurea'' subsp. ''amplexicaulis'' (Chaubard) C.K.Schneid.[
]
Cultivation and uses
The cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...
'Hakuro Nishiki' (dappled willow) is widely grown as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...
for its variegated
Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves and sometimes the stems and fruit of plants. Species with variegated individuals are sometimes found in the understory of tropical rainforests, and this habitat is the s ...
foliage, the leaves strongly mottled with patches and blotches of white and pale pink. As its growth is fairly weak and shrubby, it is commonly sold grafted
Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...
on the top of a straight stem of another willow. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (No ...
’s Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q135669
integra