Salix purpurea var. lambertiana

(Sm.) W. D. J. Koch

Salicaceae Edible: Inner bark, Leaves 6,291 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Salix purpurea, known in Britain as purple willow, is a shrub or small tree native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. It has been introduced to many other parts of the world as an ornamental garden plant, and it is widely used in basket making. Within its native range and some places where it is naturalised it is found in wetlands such as lake margins and the floodplains of rivers.

Description

A temperate shrub or small tree in the willow family (Salicaceae). The inner bark and leaves are edible portions of this species.

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Edible Uses

The inner bark and leaves can be eaten.

Medicinal Uses

Purple willow has long been used for basket making and is still harvested for that purpose, when it is often known as "Brittany Green" willow, valued for its purple colour and evenly-sized stems (i.e. remaining the same thickness along its length). Willow beds were often planted with a variety of plants: the British botanist Charles Sinker documented a withy bed at Crew Green in Wales which contained five species and three hybrids. The weeping cultivar 'Pendula' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. As with several other willows, the shoots, called withies, are often used in basketry. The wood of this and other willow species is used in making cricket bats. The Roman herbalist Dioscorides had many uses for iter (willow): taken with pepper and wine it would help people with intestinal obstruction, or effect birth control, and the juice of the leaves (with other ingredients) would help sores in the ears. The bark, when burned and mixed with vinegar, would take away calluses and corns. Culpeper suggested that the boughs of willow, stuck about a chamber, would refresh those who had fevers. More recent herbalists have had less use for willow. Mrs Grieve did not mention purple willow at all. This could be because the effects of consumption can include gastrointestinal bleeding and kidney damage, and just eating the leaves can cause severe abdominal pain.