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Salix purpurea
Catkins
Conservation status
Secure
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Salicaceae
Genus:	Salix
Species:	S. purpurea
Binomial name
Salix purpurea L.

Salix purpurea (Purple 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.^[1][2][3]

Foliage

It is a deciduous shrub growing to 1-3 m (rarely to 5 m) tall, with purple-brown to yellow-brown shoots, turning pale grey on old stems. The leaves are 2-8 cm (rarely to 12 cm) long and 0.3-1 cm (rarely 2 cm) wide; they are dark green above, glaucous green below, and unusually for a willow, are often arranged in opposite pairs rather than alternate. The flowers are small catkins 1.5-4.5 cm long, produced in early spring; they are often purple or red in colour, whence the name of the species (other willows mostly have whitish, yellow or green catkins).^[2][3]

It is replaced further east in Asia by the closely related species Salix sinopurpurea (syn. S. purpurea var. longipetiolatea).^[4]

As with several other willows, the shoots, called withies, are often used in basketry.^[3]

References

From Wikispecies

Salix purpurea

Taxonavigation

Classification System: APG II (down to family level)

Main Page
Cladus: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiospermae
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Malpighiales
Familia: Salicaceae
Genus: Salix
Subgenus: S. subg. Caprisalix
Sectio: S. sect. Purpurea
Species: Salix purpurea
Varieties: S. p. var. lambertiana

Name

Salix purpurea L.

References

• Species Plantarum 2:1017. 1753
• USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Data from 07-Oct-06]. 32752

Vernacular names

For more multimedia, look at Salix purpurea on Wikimedia Commons.