How do you recognise White willow (Salix alba)?

Leaf

Josep Gesti, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

White willow

Salix alba L.

Family: Salicaceae

15 to 25 m tall

Riverbanks and ditch edges, damp soils

Flowering: April

Full sun

Part shade

Very hardy, to -40°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

The silvery foliage shimmering in the wind is the quickest identification marker. 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

Long and narrow, finely toothed, underside silky silvery

🌸 Flowers

Erect catkins appearing with the leaves

🍎 Fruits

Small capsules releasing cottony seeds

🪵 Bark

Grey, deeply fissured in diamond patterns with age

🗺️ Distribution

Europe, western Asia; very common in France along watercourses

🐝 Value for pollinators

Early, very nectar-rich catkins, an essential source of nectar and pollen for bees in early spring

✂️ Horticultural uses

Planted on riverbanks to stabilise the soil, pollarded for basketry

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No known toxicity; bark rich in salicin, the traditional origin of aspirin

⚠️ Look-alike species

White willow

Salix alba

Hoary willow

Salix eleagnos

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.

White willow

Salix alba

Weeping willow

Salix × sepulcralis 'Chrysocoma'

White willow normally has an upright, non-drooping habit; only certain horticultural forms of it (such as 'Tristis') have weeping branches. The true weeping willow is recognised by its branches that hang down to the ground from the base of the crown, all around the tree.

🌿 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.