salix viminalis
{{Short description|Species of willow}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Salix-viminalis.JPG
| image_caption = Common osier foliage
|status = LC
|status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Salix
| species = viminalis
| authority = L.
}}
Salix viminalis, the basket willow,{{PLANTS|id=SAVI2|taxon=Salix viminalis|accessdate=27 October 2015}} 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. {{ISBN|0-901158-07-0}}.Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins {{ISBN|0-00-220013-9}}.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 growing to between {{convert|3|and|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} (rarely to {{convert|10|m|ft|abbr=on}}) tall. It has long, erect, straight branches with greenish-grey bark. The leaves 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 catkins, produced in early spring before the leaves; they are dioecious, 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 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". In his History of the Peloponnesian War, the ancient historian Thucydides describes using osier in 425 BCE to construct makeshift shields.{{cite book |last1=Thucydides |translator-last=Crawley |translator-first=Richard |translator-link=Richard Crawley |author1-link=Thucydides |title=History of the Peloponnesian War |date=1874 |publisher=Longmans, Green & Co. |location=London |page=255 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_History_of_the_Peloponnesian_War_Tra/6LW3nCDvVCIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA255&printsec=frontcover |access-date=20 January 2025}} Cultivation and use of the common osier was common in England in the 18th and 19th century, with osier beds lining many rivers and streams.
Other uses occur in energy forestry, effluent treatment, wastewater gardens,{{cite web|url=https://biospherefoundation.org/project/wastewater-gardens/?doing_wp_cron=1537306104.3177440166473388671875|title=Wastewater Gardens® - Biosphere Foundation|publisher=|access-date=18 September 2018}} and cadmium phytoremediation for water purification.
Salix viminalis is a known hyperaccumulator of cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, petroleum hydrocarbons, organic solvents, MTBE, TCE and byproducts, selenium, silver, uranium, and zinc,Phytoremediation. By McCutcheon & Schnoor. 2003, New Jersey, John Wiley & Sons, page 19.[http://jeq.scijournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/32/6/1939 Enhancing Phytoextraction: The Effect of Chemical Soil Manipulation on Mobility, Plant Accumulation, and Leaching of Heavy Metals.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225035837/http://jeq.scijournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/32/6/1939 |date=2007-02-25 }} By Ulrich Schmidt. In J. Environ. Qual. 32:1939-1954 (2003) and as such is a prime candidate for phytoremediation. For more information, see the list of hyperaccumulators.
Ecology
File:2018-10-22 (879) Salix viminalis (basket willow) at Krems an der Donau, Austria.jpg
Among the most common pathogens on S. viminalis are Melampsora spp. Female plants are more severely infected than male plants.{{Cite journal|last1=Moritz|first1=Kim K.|last2=Björkman|first2=Christer|last3=Parachnowitsch|first3=Amy L.|last4=Stenberg|first4=Johan A.|date=2016-02-01|title=Female Salix viminalis are more severely infected by Melampsora spp. but neither sex experiences associational effects|journal=Ecology and Evolution|language=en|volume=6|issue=4|pages=1154–1162|doi=10.1002/ece3.1923|issn=2045-7758|pmc=4725332|pmid=26839685|bibcode=2016EcoEv...6.1154M }}{{Cite journal|last=Åhman|first=Inger|title=Growth, herbivory and disease in relation to gender in Salix viminalis L.|journal=Oecologia|language=en|volume=111|issue=1|pages=61–68|doi=10.1007/s004420050208|pmid=28307506|issn=0029-8549|year=1997|bibcode=1997Oecol.111...61A|s2cid=2962435}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Salix viminalis}}
- {{PFAF|Salix viminalis}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q158590}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Flora of temperate Asia
Category:Flora of tropical Asia
Category:Phytoremediation plants