A willow with very long narrow leaves, untoothed, with rolled edges and silky silver hairs beneath
Osier — Salix viminalis.
Nature · Shrubs
Osier
Archaeophyte (introduced) · deciduous, to 6 m · wet ground, ditches and hedgerows
Salix viminalis — Salicaceae
Osier is the basket willow, grown for centuries in Britain for its long, straight, whippy shoots and now naturalised along ditches, roadsides and waste ground. It is the easiest willow to name, with very long, narrow, untoothed leaves that are silver-silky beneath. It is an archaeophyte, arriving deliberately in ancient times, and it is still cultivated for basketry and for biomass.
How to spot them
- ▸Very long, narrow, lance-shaped leaves, often 10 cm or more, with a smooth, slightly wavy and narrowly inrolled margin
- ▸Underside of the leaf covered in shiny, silky, silver hairs pressed close to the surface
- ▸Long, straight, flexible, unbranched young shoots, often grown in beds and cut back yearly
- ▸Catkins appear early, before or as the leaves emerge, silky and yellow-grey
- ▸Look-alikes: almond willow has toothed, glossy leaves without a silvery underside; crack willow has toothed leaves and twigs that snap; the silvery narrow leaf is the tell for osier
How to know it
Long, straight and very flexible shoots have been cut from it for centuries to make baskets
Osier — the basket willow.
It is an archaeophyte: a species deliberately brought to Britain long ago that is now naturalised
Osier.
Its species name comes from the Latin for a pliant twig used for binding
Osier — Salix viminalis.
Grown in short-rotation coppice, this willow is now an experimental source of biomass fuel
Osier.
It avoids shade, exposed high ground and acid peat, and prefers damp, moderately acid to calcareous soils
Osier.
Quick-fire facts
- •Salix viminalis, family Salicaceae; viminalis comes from Latin vimen, a pliant twig
- •Classified an archaeophyte, naturalised throughout Britain and Ireland after being planted for basket cane (BSBI)
- •Leaves are long, narrow and untoothed, with narrowly inrolled margins, silky adpressed silver hairs beneath (BSBI)
- •Long, straight, strong, flexible young shoots made it the basket-maker's willow (BSBI)
- •Grows in hedgerows, roadsides, ditches and waste ground; avoids shade, exposed high ground and acid peat (BSBI)
- •Now cultivated for amenity screening and experimental biomass (BSBI)
- •Osier beds were cut back to the stool each year to give straight rods for basketry
- •Hybridises with grey willow to give Salix × holosericea, one of the sallow hybrids (BSBI)
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Sources
- Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland — Salix viminalis L., Osier