Salix pentandra

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Salix pentandra
Salix pentandra0.jpg
Bay willow with early autumn colours, Kielder, Northumberland
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Salicaceae
Genus: Salix
Species:
S. pentandra
Binomial name
Salix pentandra
L.

Salix pentandra, the bay willow, is a species of willow native to northern Europe and northern Asia. [1] The scientific name refers to the male flowers having five stamens. The English name derives from the resemblance of the leaves to those of the bay laurel; other common names include bay-leaved willow and laurel willow. Its glossy leaves make it more decorative than many other willows, so it is often planted as an ornamental tree. [1]

Contents

Description

Leaves Salix pentandra(02).jpg
Leaves

The bay willow is a large shrub or small tree growing to 14 m (46 ft) tall (rarely to 17 metres, 56 ft), usually growing in wet, boggy ground. The leaves are glossy dark green, 5–12 cm (2.0–4.7 in) long and 2–5 cm (0.79–1.97 in) broad, with finely serrated margins. The dioecious flowers are catkins, produced in late spring after the leaves; the male catkins are yellow, 2–5 cm long, the female catkins greenish, 1.5–3 cm (0.59–1.18 in) long; they are pollinated by bees. The fruit is a small capsule containing numerous minute seeds embedded in white down which aids wind dispersal. [1] [2]

Distribution and habitat

The bay willow occurs naturally in northern Europe and northern Asia. In the British Isles it is most common in Scotland and northern England and is sometimes planted as an ornamental tree elsewhere. It grows beside rivers and streams, on marshy ground and in wet woodland. [3] It occurs beside Llyn Bedydd in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, an uncommon plant in the area. [4] It has become locally naturalised in northern North America, and is known as laurel willow there. [5]

Ecology

The foliage is the food plant for the larvae of several species of moth, including Ectoedemia intimella whose larvae mine the leaves. The catkins are attractive to bees and other insects for the nectar and pollen they produce early in the year. This willow is susceptible to watermark disease, which causes branches to die back, and is caused by the pathogenic bacterium Brenneria salicis . [3]

Related Research Articles

Willow Genus of plants

Willows, also called sallows and osiers, form the genus Salix, are around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

<i>Salix alba</i> Species of tree

Salix alba, the white willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia. The name derives from the white tone to the undersides of the leaves.

<i>Salix caprea</i> Species of tree

Salix caprea, known as goat willow, pussy willow or great sallow, is a common species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia.

<i>Salix purpurea</i> Species of willow

Salix purpurea, the purple willowpurpleosier willow or purple osier, is a species of willow native to most of Europe and western Asia north to the British Isles, Poland, and the Baltic States.

<i>Salix fragilis</i> Species of tree

Salix fragilis, with the common names crack willow and brittle willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and Western Asia. It is native to riparian habitats, usually found growing beside rivers and streams, and in marshes and water meadow channels.

Pussy willow

Pussy willow is a name given to many of the smaller species of the genus Salix when their furry catkins are young in early spring. These species include :

<i>Salix discolor</i> Species of plant

Salix discolor, the American pussy willow or glaucous willow, is a species of willow native to North America, one of two species commonly called pussy willow.

<i>Salix viminalis</i> Species of willow

Salix viminalis, the basket willow, common osier or osier, is a species of willow native to Europe, Western Asia, and the Himalayas.

<i>Salix herbacea</i> Species of herb

Salix herbacea, the dwarf willow, least willow or snowbed willow, is a species of tiny creeping willow adapted to survive in harsh arctic and subarctic environments. Distributed widely in alpine and arctic environments around the North Atlantic Ocean, it is one of the smallest of woody plants.

<i>Salix babylonica</i> Species of tree

Salix babylonica is a species of willow native to dry areas of northern China, but cultivated for millennia elsewhere in Asia, being traded along the Silk Road to southwest Asia and Europe.

<i>Salix cinerea</i> Species of willow

Salix cinerea is a species of willow native to Europe and western Asia.

NVC community W3 is one of the woodland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.

<i>Salix reticulata</i> Species of willow

Salix reticulata, the net-leaved willow, or snow willow, is a dwarf willow, native to the colder parts of Europe, North America, and Northern Asia. It is found in the western United States, including the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains. In Europe it extends south through the Carpathian Mountains and Alps to the Pyrenees and the mountains of Bulgaria and North Macedonia. It is common in Canada, Greenland and Finland, and present but rare in Scotland.

<i>Salix udensis</i> Species of willow

Salix udensis is a species of willow native to northeastern Asia, in eastern Siberia, northeastern China, and northern Japan.

<i>Salix lucida</i> Species of plant

Salix lucida, the shining willow, Pacific willow, red willow, or whiplash willow, is a species of willow native to northern and western North America, occurring in wetland habitats.

<i>Salix magnifica</i> Species of willow

Salix magnifica is a species of willow in the family Salicaceae. It is endemic to Sichuan in southwestern China, where it grows at high altitudes of 2,100–3,000 m above sea level. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<i>Salix exigua</i> Species of willow

Salix exigua is a species of willow native to most of North America except for the southeast and far north, occurring from Alaska east to New Brunswick, and south to northern Mexico. It is considered a threatened species in Massachusetts while in Connecticut, Maryland, and New Hampshire it is considered endangered.

<i>Salix triandra</i> Species of tree

Salix triandra, with the common names almond willow, almond-leaved willow or black maul willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and Western and Central Asia. It is found from south-eastern England east to Lake Baikal, and south to Spain and the Mediterranean east to the Caucasus, and the Alborz Mountains. It usually grows in riparian habitats, on river and stream banks, and in wetlands.

<i>Salix hookeriana</i> Species of willow

Salix hookeriana is a species of willow known by the common names dune willow, coastal willow, and Hooker's willow.

<i>Salix arbusculoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Salix arbusculoides is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common name littletree willow. It is native to northern North America, where its distribution extends across Alaska and most of Canada.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins ISBN   0-00-220013-9.
  2. ↑ Mitchell, A. F. (1974). A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins ISBN   0-00-212035-6
  3. 1 2 "Bay willow". Woodland Trust. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  4. ↑ A. Burgess; B. Goldsmith; T. Hatton-Ellis; M. Hughes; E. Shilland (2009). "CCW Standing Waters SSSI Monitoring 2007-8". Countryside Council for Wales. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  5. ↑ "Salix pentandra". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA . Retrieved 27 October 2015.
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