Willow Identification Key: Osier Willows

The osiers, or basket willows, are tall shrubs with slender branches and long narrow leaves. The leaves are 3 to 10 times longer than wide and usually having a smooth or irregularly toothed margin. The leaves and bark of some osiers have a high salicin content and are usually very bitter to taste. The catkins are large and closely-spaced along the one-year old shoots. They appear 2-3 weeks before the leaves.

Osier willow shoots
Osier willow shoots
Osier willow leaves
Osier willow leaves

Leaves persistently and densely felty beneath

Leaves persistently and densely felty or downy beneath; not yellow under bark

The stems on the left are yellow under the bark, while the stems on the right are yellow-green
The stems on the left are yellow under the bark, while the stems on the right are yellow-green

Leaves soon glabrous beneath

Leaves soon glabrous beneath; yellow-green under bark