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Salix cinerea is the "weed-willow" of the garden. Wherever ground is undisturbed for any time, seedlings will start to appear. It seems to be able to grow through, and eventually dominate,
the bramble species that are the first to take over. It is attractive in catkin but their appearance means I have neglected to remove a seedling fast enough. Plants in my garden are probably S. c. ssp. oleifolia, a common weed in Cornwall. Trees and Shrubs online says of the subspecies oleifolia: "Taller growing than the typical subspecies, sometimes a tree up to 40 ft high. Mature twigs and buds glabrous or almost so. Leaves smaller, to about 21⁄2 in. long, the coating beneath rather thin, rough to the touch, and composed of grey hairs intermingled with brown hairs." I will have to look more carefully to confirm the identity. Previously I had been content to see that it had "second year wood prominently striated under the bark" (T&SO) which distinguishes it from the similar S. caprea. |
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| 9th March 2019 | ||