Old Willow tree against blue cloudy sky
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species[1] of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Most species are known as willow, but some narrow-leaved shrub species are called osier, and some broader-leaved species are called sallow (the latter name is derived from the Latin word salix, willow). Some willows (particularly arctic and alpine species), are low-growing or creeping shrubs; for example, the dwarf willow (Salix herbacea) rarely exceeds 6 cm in height, though spreading widely across the ground. Willows are very cross fertile, and numerous hybrids occur, both naturally and in cultivation. A well known example is the weeping willow (Salix × sepulcralis), a widely planted ornamental tree, which is a hybrid of a Chinese species, the Peking willow, and a European species, the white willow. Willows all have abundant watery sap; bark which is heavily charged with salicylic acid; soft, usually pliant, tough wood; slender branches; and large, fibrous, often stoloniferous roots. The roots are remarkable for their toughness, size, and tenacity of life, and roots readily grow from aerial parts of the plant. The leaves are typically elongated but may also be round to oval, frequently with a serrated margin. All the buds are lateral; no absolutely terminal bud is ever formed. The buds are covered by a single scale, enclosing at its base two minute opposite buds, alternately arranged, with two, small, scale-like, fugacious, opposite leaves. The leaves are alternate, except the first pair which fall when about an inch long. They are simple, feather-veined, and typically linear-lanceolate. Usually they are serrate, rounded at base, acute or acuminate. The leaf petioles are short, the stipules often very conspicuous, looking like tiny round leaves and sometimes remaining for half the summer. On some species, however, they are small, inconspicuous, and fugacious (soon falling)
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Location: podlasie,poland
Photo credit: © Aleksander Bolbot / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
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