Willow Identification Key: Salix x sepulcralis

Common Name:

Scientific Name:

New Zealand Clones:

Technical Description:

Habit: Medium sized tree, up to 15-20 m high, spreading crown with pendulous branches.

Shoots: Olive-brown (not golden c.f. x sepulcralis 'Chrysocoma'), slender, moderately brittle, silky when young, soon without hairs.

Leaves: 7-17 cm long, 1.5-3.5 cm wide, lanceolate to elliptic; margins finely serrate; dull green above, bluish green below.

Catkins: Female; appearing with leaves, August-September.

Comments: Thought to be a hybrid between S. alba var. vitellina and S. babylonica. Related to the male S. x sepulcralis 'Chrysocoma' however differs in having olive-brown (rather than golden) twigs, and broader leaves that are duller in colour. The leaves are also broader than those of S. babylonica. Less common in New Zealand, mainly grows in Hawkes Bay and Poverty Bay along riverbanks, lakesides and in large gardens.