Salix caprea
Habit | tree
| |
---|---|---|
Height: | ⇕ | 15 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 15. to 35 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 35. |
Width: | ⇔ | 10 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10. to 20 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 20. |
Lifespan: | ⌛ | perennial |
Exposure: | ☼ | sun |
---|---|---|
Water: | ◍ | wet, moist |
Features: | ✓ | deciduous |
USDA Zones: | 5 to 10 | |
Sunset Zones: | 2-24, 30-41 |
Salix > |
caprea > |
Salix caprea (Goat Willow, also known as the Pussy Willow or Great Sallow), is a common species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia.[1]
It is a deciduous shrub or small tree, reaching a height of 6-12 m, rarely to 20 m. The leaves are 3-12 cm long and from 2-8 cm wide, broader than most other willows. The flowers are soft silky, silvery 3-7 cm long catkins, produced in early spring before the new leaves appear; the male and female catkins are on different plants (dioecious). The male catkins mature yellow at pollen release, the female catkins maturing pale green. The fruit is a small capsule 5-10 mm long containing numerous minute seeds embedded in fine cottony hairs. The seeds are very small (about 0.2 mm) with the fine hairs aiding dispersal; they require bare soil to germinate.[1][2]
Salix caprea occurs both in wet environments, such as riverbanks and lake shores, and in drier sites, wherever bare soil becomes available due to ground disturbance.[1]
ExpandRead about Salix caprea in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
|
---|
Cultivation
Propagation
Unlike almost all other willows, pure specimens of Salix caprea do not take root readily from cuttings; if a willow resembling the species does root easily, it is probably a hybrid with another species of willow.[2]
Pests and diseases
The leaves are commonly eaten by browsing mammals. Willows are very susceptible to gall inducers and the midge Rhabdophaga rosaria forms the Camellia gall on S. caprea.[3]
Varieties
A small number of cultivars have been selected for garden use. The most common is S. caprea 'Kilmarnock', with stiffly pendulous shoots, forming a mop-head; it is a male clone. A similar female clone is S. caprea 'Weeping Sally'. As they do not form a leader, they are grafted on erect stems of other willows; the height of these cultivars is determined by the height at which the graft is made.[2] Plants can also be grown from greenwood cuttings make attractive creeping mounds. Hardwood cuttings are often difficult to root.
- Salix caprea var. caprea. Lowland regions throughout the range. Leaves thinly hairy above, densely hairy below, 5-12 cm long; stipules persistent until autumn.
- Salix caprea var. sphacelata (Sm.) Wahlenb. (syn. S. caprea var. coaetanea Hartm.; S. coaetanea (Hartm.) Floderus). High altitudes in the mountains of central and northern Europe (Alps, Carpathians, Scotland, Scandinavia). Leaves densely silky-hairy on both sides, 3-7 cm long; stipules early deciduous.
Hybrids with several other willow species are common, notably with Salix cinerea (S. × reichardtii), Salix aurita (S. × multinervis), Salix viminalis (S. × smithiana), and Salix purpurea (S. × sordida). Populations of Salix caprea often show hybrid introgression.[1][2]
Gallery
References
- ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Meikle, R. D. (1984). Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland. BSBI Handbook 4. ISBN 0-901158-07-0.
- ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins. ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
- ↑ Gall Inducers
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Salix caprea. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
- Salix caprea QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)