Willow Tree

Willows are trees and shrubs in the genus Salix. There are around 350 different species of willow tree, such as White willow (Salix alba), Purple willow (Salix purpurea), Bay willow (Salix pentandra), Arctic willow (Salix arctica) and Peachleaf willow (Salix amygdaloides). Willow tree is chiefly found in moist soils in cool environments in the Northern Hemisphere.
Willow trees growing in harsh arctic and alpine environments will typically stay very small and look more like bushes than trees. The Dwarf willow (Salix herbacea) will for instance seldom grow taller than 6 centimetres, but spreads widely over the terrain.

Male and female willow tree flowers grow as catkins on different plants. Catkins are slim and cylindrical flower clusters. The willow tree will produce flowers in early spring, sometimes even before there are any green leaves on the willow tree. The willow tree is a wind pollinated species and the flowers have not petals. It is easy for one species of willow tree to cross with another species of willow tree, and hybrids are therefore common. They occur not only in gardens, but in the wild as well.

The willow tree leaf is usually serrated and elongated, but some species have round or oval leaves. The willow tree is decidous, which means that it will drop its leaves each year. The willow tree fruit consists of a small capsule filled with an abundance of minuscule seeds that rarely exceeds 0.1 millimetres in length.

Willows are often used as ornamental trees. The Weeping willow is one of the most widely known willow types and has been derived from a hybrid between White willow (Salix alba) and Peking willow (Salix babylonica). The White willow is native to Europe while the Peking willow naturally originates from China. The Weeping willow is formally referred to as Salix × sepulcralis 'Chrysocoma. According to legend, all Weeping Willows in England hail from a tree planted by famous British poet Alexander Pope. According to this tale, Weeping willow twigs had been used to tie a parcel that was sent from Spain to Lady Suffolk. Alexander Pope pleaded for one of the twigs and eventually managed to make it thrive in England.

A broken willow branch can easily develop into to a new willow tree and willow tree cuttings are known to easily take root. There are a few notable exceptions from this rule, such as the Peachleaf willow (Salix amygdaloides) and Goat willow (Salix caprea).

The bark of the willow tree contains salicin and has therefore been commonly used in many traditional folk remedies. Ancient texts from Egypt, Sumeria and Assyria all mention the effectiveness of willow tree bark when treating pain and fever. The 5th Century Greek physician Hippocrates mentioned willow tree bark in his writings, and across the Atlantic, Native Americans also considered willow tree bark a highly important remedy and used it in their cures.

In 1828, a French pharmacist named Henri Leroux managed to isolated the active willow tree bark substance – salicin. Henri Leroux created salicin in crystalline form, and an Italian chemist named Raffaele Piria eventually succeeded in extracting salicin acid from Henri Leroux’s crystals. Since salicin is acidic when in a saturated water solution, it is commonly referred to as salicylic acid

Willow tree flower

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