Salix chaenomeloides
Kimura
iNaturalist· cc-by
(c) Marco Mussita, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Marco Mussita
iNaturalist· cc-by
(c) Marco Mussita, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Summary
Source: WikipediaSalix chaenomeloides is a species of willow native to Japan, Korea, and China. The species was first described in 1938 by Arika Kimura. They are deciduous trees, reaching heights of 10–20 m. Trees are either male or female, and prefer moist or wet soils, generally growing in or near water. The Seongju Gyeongsan-ri Seongbaek Forest (성주 경산리 성밖숲) is a Korean Natural Monument which protects a stand of these trees, in Seongju.
Description
A deciduous tree reaching 6 m tall, growing rapidly and not frost-tender. Dioecious, bee-pollinated, and self-sterile. Tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils at mildly acidic to neutral pH. Cannot grow in shade and requires moist or wet soil.
Edible Uses
The inner bark can be eaten raw or cooked, or dried and ground into a powder to blend with cereal flour for bread-making. It has a very bitter flavour and is considered a famine food, used only when all else fails. Young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked but are not very palatable.
Medicinal Uses
The fresh bark contains salicin, which probably decomposes into salicylic acid (closely related to aspirin) in the human body, and is used as an anodyne and febrifuge.
Distribution
It is a temperate plant.
Where It Grows
Asia, Australia, China, Japan, Korea,
Cultivation
Succeeds in most soils, including wet, ill-drained or intermittently flooded soils, but prefers a damp, heavy soil in a sunny position. Rarely thrives on chalk. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. Although the flowers are produced in catkins early in the year, they are pollinated by bees and other insects rather than by the wind. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Propagation
Seed must be surface sown as soon as it ripens in late spring, as viability is very short — perhaps only a few days. Cuttings of mature wood from the current year's growth can be taken November to February, either in a sheltered outdoor bed or planted straight into their permanent position with a weed-suppressing mulch; these root very easily. Plant out permanently in autumn. Half-ripe cuttings taken June to August in a frame also root very easily.
Other Uses
Suited to border, massing, or specimen planting with good winter interest. Noted for attractive flowers. Functions as a dynamic accumulator.
Notes
There are about 300 Salix species.
References (2)
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
- Sci. Rep. Tohoku Imp. Univ., ser. 4, Biol. 13:77. 1938
