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:''See [[White Willow (band)]] for the Norwegian band.''
:''See [[Golden Willow (horse)|Golden Willow]] for information on the horse of that name.''
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = White Willow
| status = secure
| image = Salix alba leaves.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = White Willow foliage; note white undersides of leaves
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Malpighiales]]
| familia = [[Salicaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Willow|Salix]]''
| species = '''''S. alba'''''
| binomial = ''Salix alba''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''''Salix alba''''', the '''White Willow''' is a [[willow]] native to [[Europe]], and western and central [[Asia]]. It is a large [[deciduous]] [[tree]] up to 20-30 m tall. The name derives from the leaves, which are paler than most other willows, due to a covering of very fine silky white hairs, particularly on the underside. The leaves are typically 5-10 cm long and 1-1.5 cm wide. The shoots in the typical species are grey-brown to green-brown. The [[plant sexuality|dioecious]] [[flower]]s are catkins, produced in early spring, and pollinated by bees.
==Cultivars and hybrids==
A number of [[cultivar]]s and [[hybrid]]s of White Willow have been selected for [[forestry]] and [[horticulture]] use:
*The '''Cricket-bat Willow''' (''Salix alba'' 'Caerulea'), often referred to simply as '''English Willow''', is grown as a specialist [[timber]] crop in [[Great Britain|Britain]], mainly for the production of [[cricket]] [[cricket bat|bats]], but also for other uses where a tough, lightweight [[wood]] that does not splinter easily, is required. It is distinguished mainly by its growth form, very fast growing with a single straight stem, and also by its slightly larger leaves (10-11 cm long, 1.5-2 cm wide) with a more blue-green colour. Its origin is unknown, but it may be a hybrid between White Willow and [[Crack Willow]] (''Salix fragilis'').
*The '''Weeping Willow''' (''Salix × sepulcralis'' 'Chrysocoma', [[synonymy|syn.]] ''Salix'' 'Tristis') is a hybrid between White Willow and [[Peking Willow]] (''Salix babylonica'', syn. ''Salix matsudana'').
[[Image:Salix alba11.jpg|left|thumb|Weeping Willows are a [[hybrid]] between White Willow and [[Peking Willow]]]]
*The '''Golden Willow''' (''Salix alba'' 'Vitellina') is a cultivar grown in gardens for its shoots, which are golden yellow for 1-2 years before turning brown. It is particularly decorative in winter; the best effect is achieved by [[coppicing]] it every 2-3 years to stimulate the production of longer young shoots with better colour. Two other similar cultivars, 'Britzensis' and 'Cardinal', have orange-red shoots.
*The '''White Willow''' is a fast-growing, but short-lived, cultivar being susceptible to several [[disease]]s, including watermark disease caused by the [[bacterium]] ''[[Brenneria salicis|Erwinia salicis]]'' (named because of the characteristic 'watermark' staining in the [[wood]]) and willow [[anthracnose]], caused by the [[fungus]] ''Marssonina salicicola''. These diseases can be a serious problem on trees grown for timber or ornament.
*The '''[[Crack Willow]]''' (''Salix fragilis'') is a medium-sized to large [[deciduous]] tree, which grows rapidly and can be up to 27 m tall. Its preferred habitat is beside rivers. The leaves are bright green, 9-15 cm long and 1.5-3 cm wide, with a finely serrated margin.
==Medicinal uses==
[[Hippocrates]] wrote in the 5th century BC about a bitter powder extracted from willow bark that could ease aches and pains and reduce fevers.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} This remedy is also mentioned in texts from [[ancient Egypt]], [[Sumer]], and [[Assyria]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}} The Reverend Edward Stone, a vicar from Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire England, noted in 1763 that the bark of the willow was effective in reducing a fever.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
The active extract of the bark, called [[salicin]], after the Latin name for the White Willow (Salix alba), was isolated to its crystalline form in 1828 by Henri Leroux, a French pharmacist, and Raffaele Piria, an Italian chemist, who then succeeded in separating out the acid in its pure state. Salicin, like [[aspirin]], is a chemical derivative of [[salicylic acid]].
<gallery>
Image:Illustration_Salix_alba0.jpg|White Willow illustration
Image:Salix alba(02).jpg|Catkins
Image:Salix alba(01).jpg
Image:Cricketbatparts.jpg|All Cricket bats are made from willow
Image:Salix Alba.jpg|White Willows in winter time
</gallery>
{{Commons|Salix alba}}
<br>
==References==
<!-- To add a reference or footnote here, please use an inline citation. See [[Wikipedia:Citing sources#Footnotes]] and [[Wikipedia:Citation templates]] for how to do this. Please do not edit this section directly. -->
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Salicaceae|Willow, White]]
[[Category:Flora of Armenia|Willow, White]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
:''See [[Golden Willow (horse)|Golden Willow]] for information on the horse of that name.''
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = White Willow
| status = secure
| image = Salix alba leaves.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = White Willow foliage; note white undersides of leaves
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Malpighiales]]
| familia = [[Salicaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Willow|Salix]]''
| species = '''''S. alba'''''
| binomial = ''Salix alba''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''''Salix alba''''', the '''White Willow''' is a [[willow]] native to [[Europe]], and western and central [[Asia]]. It is a large [[deciduous]] [[tree]] up to 20-30 m tall. The name derives from the leaves, which are paler than most other willows, due to a covering of very fine silky white hairs, particularly on the underside. The leaves are typically 5-10 cm long and 1-1.5 cm wide. The shoots in the typical species are grey-brown to green-brown. The [[plant sexuality|dioecious]] [[flower]]s are catkins, produced in early spring, and pollinated by bees.
==Cultivars and hybrids==
A number of [[cultivar]]s and [[hybrid]]s of White Willow have been selected for [[forestry]] and [[horticulture]] use:
*The '''Cricket-bat Willow''' (''Salix alba'' 'Caerulea'), often referred to simply as '''English Willow''', is grown as a specialist [[timber]] crop in [[Great Britain|Britain]], mainly for the production of [[cricket]] [[cricket bat|bats]], but also for other uses where a tough, lightweight [[wood]] that does not splinter easily, is required. It is distinguished mainly by its growth form, very fast growing with a single straight stem, and also by its slightly larger leaves (10-11 cm long, 1.5-2 cm wide) with a more blue-green colour. Its origin is unknown, but it may be a hybrid between White Willow and [[Crack Willow]] (''Salix fragilis'').
*The '''Weeping Willow''' (''Salix × sepulcralis'' 'Chrysocoma', [[synonymy|syn.]] ''Salix'' 'Tristis') is a hybrid between White Willow and [[Peking Willow]] (''Salix babylonica'', syn. ''Salix matsudana'').
[[Image:Salix alba11.jpg|left|thumb|Weeping Willows are a [[hybrid]] between White Willow and [[Peking Willow]]]]
*The '''Golden Willow''' (''Salix alba'' 'Vitellina') is a cultivar grown in gardens for its shoots, which are golden yellow for 1-2 years before turning brown. It is particularly decorative in winter; the best effect is achieved by [[coppicing]] it every 2-3 years to stimulate the production of longer young shoots with better colour. Two other similar cultivars, 'Britzensis' and 'Cardinal', have orange-red shoots.
*The '''White Willow''' is a fast-growing, but short-lived, cultivar being susceptible to several [[disease]]s, including watermark disease caused by the [[bacterium]] ''[[Brenneria salicis|Erwinia salicis]]'' (named because of the characteristic 'watermark' staining in the [[wood]]) and willow [[anthracnose]], caused by the [[fungus]] ''Marssonina salicicola''. These diseases can be a serious problem on trees grown for timber or ornament.
*The '''[[Crack Willow]]''' (''Salix fragilis'') is a medium-sized to large [[deciduous]] tree, which grows rapidly and can be up to 27 m tall. Its preferred habitat is beside rivers. The leaves are bright green, 9-15 cm long and 1.5-3 cm wide, with a finely serrated margin.
==Medicinal uses==
[[Hippocrates]] wrote in the 5th century BC about a bitter powder extracted from willow bark that could ease aches and pains and reduce fevers.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} This remedy is also mentioned in texts from [[ancient Egypt]], [[Sumer]], and [[Assyria]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}} The Reverend Edward Stone, a vicar from Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire England, noted in 1763 that the bark of the willow was effective in reducing a fever.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
The active extract of the bark, called [[salicin]], after the Latin name for the White Willow (Salix alba), was isolated to its crystalline form in 1828 by Henri Leroux, a French pharmacist, and Raffaele Piria, an Italian chemist, who then succeeded in separating out the acid in its pure state. Salicin, like [[aspirin]], is a chemical derivative of [[salicylic acid]].
<gallery>
Image:Illustration_Salix_alba0.jpg|White Willow illustration
Image:Salix alba(02).jpg|Catkins
Image:Salix alba(01).jpg
Image:Cricketbatparts.jpg|All Cricket bats are made from willow
Image:Salix Alba.jpg|White Willows in winter time
</gallery>
{{Commons|Salix alba}}
<br>
==References==
<!-- To add a reference or footnote here, please use an inline citation. See [[Wikipedia:Citing sources#Footnotes]] and [[Wikipedia:Citation templates]] for how to do this. Please do not edit this section directly. -->
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Salicaceae|Willow, White]]
[[Category:Flora of Armenia|Willow, White]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
