Willow
genus of plants
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus Salix, comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs. They are primarily found on moist soils in cold and temperate regions.
Most species are known as willow, but some narrow-leaved shrub species are called osier, and some broader-leaved species are referred to as sallow (from Old English sealh, related to 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 centimetres (2+1⁄2 in) in height, though it spreads widely across the ground.
Description
Willows have watery bark sap rich in salicin, soft, usually pliant, tough wood, slender branches, and large, fibrous roots that are often stoloniferous. The roots are remarkable for their toughness, size, and tenacity to live, and roots readily sprout from aerial parts of the plant.
Leaves
The leaves are typically elongated, but they might also be round to oval, frequently with serrated edges. Most species are deciduous; semi-evergreen willows with coriaceous leaves are rare, e.g. Salix micans and S. australior in the eastern Mediterranean.
All the buds are lateral; no absolutely terminal bud is ever formed.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Willow” is genus of plants. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Willow, genus and plants, not as a finished interpretation.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q36050. The Library of Congress control number is sh85146807. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Willow” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.