Salix commutata

Bebb.

Undergreen Willow

Salicaceae Edible: Inner bark, Leaves Some parts mildly toxic — see hazards 529 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Salix commutata, the undergreen willow, is a plant species native to western Canada and the north-western United States. It has been reported from Alaska, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, Idaho. Washington and Oregon. It grows on rocky alpine and subalpine slopes, conifer forests, stream banks, bogs, etc. Salix commutata is a shrub up to 3 m tall. Leaves are elliptic to ovate, up to 10 cm long, sometimes with a few teeth, both sides with some white hairs but not glaucous (waxy).

Description

A deciduous shrub growing to 3 m tall, hardy to UK zone 4 and frost-resistant. Flowers in May. Dioecious requiring both sexes for seed; bee-pollinated. Grows in light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils at mildly acidic to neutral pH. Tolerates semi-shade or full sun and prefers 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

Canada, North America, USA,

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.