How do you recognise Hoary willow (Salix eleagnos)?

Leaf

John De Vos, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0

Hoary willow

Salix eleagnos Scop.

Also known as: Olive willow, Rosemary willow

Family: Salicaceae

2 to 5 m tall

Riverbanks, hedgerows, cool and damp soils

Flowering: March – April

Full sun

Part shade

Hardy to -25°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Its long, narrow, almost needle-like leaves give it very fine, light foliage. White willow becomes a large tree with elongated leaves, greyish green above and silky white only beneath, whereas the hoary willow remains shrubby, with narrow leaves silky and silvery on both sides.

🍃 Leaves

Deciduous, very narrow, elongated, green above, cottony white beneath

🌸 Flowers

Erect catkins appearing before the leaves

🍎 Fruits

Small cottony capsules

🪵 Bark

Slender grey-brown shoots, flexible drooping habit

🗺️ Distribution

Mountain Europe (Alps, Pyrenees); found along mountain torrents and rivers in France.

🐝 Value for pollinators

Early spring catkins, rich in pollen and nectar, an essential resource for the first bees.

✂️ Horticultural uses

Planted on watercourse banks for soil stabilisation, also used in basketry.

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No known toxicity.

⚠️ Look-alike species

Hoary willow

Salix eleagnos

White willow

Salix alba

White willow becomes a large tree with elongated leaves, greyish green above and silky white only beneath, whereas the hoary willow remains shrubby, with narrow leaves silky and silvery on both sides.

🌿 Other Salicaceae to discover

White poplar

Populus alba

Weeping willow

Salix × sepulcralis 'Chrysocoma'

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.