Editing Salix viminalis

{{Short description|Species of willow}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Salix-viminalis.JPG
| image_caption = Common osier foliage
|status = LC
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{Cite iucn |title=''Salix viminalis'' |author1=Barstow, M. |author2=Harvey-Brown, Y. |name-list-style=amp |page= e.T61960656A61960676 |date=2017 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T61960656A61960676.en |access-date=11 April 2024}}</ref>
| genus = Salix
| species = viminalis
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
}}

'''''Salix viminalis''''', the '''basket willow''',<ref>{{PLANTS|id=SAVI2|taxon=Salix viminalis|accessdate=27 October 2015}}</ref> '''common osier''' or '''osier''', is a species of [[willow]] native to [[Europe]], [[Western Asia]], and the [[Himalayas]].<ref name=rdm>Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. {{ISBN|0-901158-07-0}}.</ref><ref name=rushforth>Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins {{ISBN|0-00-220013-9}}.</ref><ref name=perttu>Perttu, K. L. and Kowalik, P. J. (1997). ''Salix vegetation filters for purification of waters and soils''. Biomass and Bioenergy, Volume 12, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 9-19. Elsevier Science Ltd.</ref>

==Description==
''Salix viminalis'' is a multistemmed [[shrub]] growing to between {{convert|3|and|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} (rarely to {{convert|10|m|ft|abbr=on}}) tall. It has long, erect, straight branches with greenish-grey [[Bark (botany)|bark]]. The [[leaf|leaves]] long and slender, 10–25&nbsp;cm long but only 0.5–2&nbsp;cm broad; they are dark green above, with a silky grey-haired underside. The [[flower]]s are [[catkin]]s, produced in early [[spring (season)|spring]] before the leaves; they are [[plant sexuality|dioecious]], with male and female catkins on separate plants. The male catkins are yellow and oval-shaped; the female catkins are longer and more cylindrical; they mature in early summer when the [[fruit]] [[capsule (fruit)|capsules]] split open to release the numerous minute [[seed]]s.<ref name=rdm/><ref name=rushforth/>

==Distribution and habitat==
It is commonly found by streams and other wet places. The exact native range is uncertain due to extensive historical cultivation; it is certainly native from central Europe east to western Asia, but may also be native as far west as southeastern [[England]]. As a cultivated or [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalised]] plant, it is widespread throughout both [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and [[Ireland]], but only at lower [[altitude]]s. It is one of the least variable willows, but it will [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridise]] with several other species.<ref name=rdm/><ref name=rushforth/>

==Uses==
Along with other related willows, the flexible twigs (called [[withy|withies]]) are commonly used in [[basket]]ry, giving rise to its alternative common name of "basket willow". In his [[History of the Peloponnesian War]], the ancient historian [[Thucydides]] describes using osier in 425 [[Common era|BCE]] to construct makeshift shields.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thucydides |translator-last=Crawley |translator-first=Richard |translator-link=Richard Crawley |author1-link=Thucydides |title=History of the Peloponnesian War |date=1874 |publisher=[[Longmans|Longmans, Green & Co.]] |location=[[London]] |page=255 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_History_of_the_Peloponnesian_War_Tra/6LW3nCDvVCIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA255&printsec=frontcover |access-date=20 January 2025}}</ref> Cultivation and use of the common osier was common in England in the 18th and 19th century, with [[osier bed]]s lining many rivers and streams.

Other uses occur in [[energy forestry]],<ref name=rdm/> effluent treatment, [[wastewater]] gardens,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://biospherefoundation.org/project/wastewater-gardens/?doing_wp_cron=1537306104.3177440166473388671875|title=Wastewater Gardens® - Biosphere Foundation|publisher=|access-date=18 September 2018}}</ref> and [[cadmium]] [[phytoremediation]] for [[water purification]].<ref name=perttu/>

''Salix viminalis'' is a known [[hyperaccumulator]] of  [[cadmium]], [[chromium]], [[lead]], [[mercury (element)|mercury]], petroleum [[hydrocarbon]]s, [[organic solvent]]s, [[Methyl tert-butyl ether|MTBE]], [[Trichloroethylene|TCE]] and byproducts, [[selenium]], [[silver]], [[uranium]], and [[zinc]],<ref>''Phytoremediation.'' By McCutcheon & Schnoor. 2003,  New Jersey, John Wiley & Sons, page 19.</ref><ref>[http://jeq.scijournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/32/6/1939 ''Enhancing Phytoextraction: The Effect of Chemical Soil Manipulation on Mobility, Plant Accumulation, and Leaching of Heavy Metals''.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225035837/http://jeq.scijournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/32/6/1939 |date=2007-02-25 }} By Ulrich Schmidt. In J. Environ. Qual. 32:1939-1954 (2003)</ref> and as such is a prime candidate for phytoremediation. For more information, see the [[list of hyperaccumulators]].

==Ecology==
[[File:2018-10-22 (879) Salix viminalis (basket willow) at Krems an der Donau, Austria.jpg|thumb|''Salix viminalis''(basket willow) at Krems an der Donau, Austria]]
Among the most common pathogens on ''S. viminalis'' are [[Melampsora|''Melampsora'' spp]]. Female plants are more severely infected than male plants.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Moritz|first1=Kim K.|last2=Björkman|first2=Christer|last3=Parachnowitsch|first3=Amy L.|last4=Stenberg|first4=Johan A.|date=2016-02-01|title=Female Salix viminalis are more severely infected by Melampsora spp. but neither sex experiences associational effects|journal=Ecology and Evolution|language=en|volume=6|issue=4|pages=1154–1162|doi=10.1002/ece3.1923|issn=2045-7758|pmc=4725332|pmid=26839685|bibcode=2016EcoEv...6.1154M }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Åhman|first=Inger|title=Growth, herbivory and disease in relation to gender in Salix viminalis L.|journal=Oecologia|language=en|volume=111|issue=1|pages=61–68|doi=10.1007/s004420050208|pmid=28307506|issn=0029-8549|year=1997|bibcode=1997Oecol.111...61A|s2cid=2962435}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Salix viminalis}}
* {{PFAF|Salix viminalis}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q158590}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Salix|viminalis]]
[[Category:Flora of Europe]]
[[Category:Flora of temperate Asia]]
[[Category:Flora of tropical Asia]]
[[Category:Phytoremediation plants]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]