Willow Identification Key: Salix elaeagnos
Common Name:
Bitter willow, rosemary willow, hoary willowScientific Name:
Salix elaeagnos, Previously known as Salix incanaNew Zealand Clones:
Female: PN 225
Technical Description:
Habit: Large shrub or small tree, up to 6 m high, dense and shrubby.
Shoots: Dark reddish or brownish purple; velvety, hairy when young, becoming hairless later; rather brittle.
Leaves: 5-14 cm long, 0.3-1 cm wide; linear or linear lanceolate; dark shining green above, white felted below, margins minutely toothed near apex; bitter.
Catkins: Female only; cylindrical, 2-3 cm long; erect; appearing just before the leaves.
Comments: Planted on riverbanks for erosion control, mainly in Poverty Bay, Hawkes Bay, Westland and Canterbury. Distinctive leaves (very long and narrow), differs from S. viminalis by leaves being felted but not silky below and bitter.
