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Salicaceae FAMILY

Salix × fragilis vitellina

Salix × fragilis vitellina

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthFast

Salix fragilis vitellina is a very cold-hardy plant, able to tolerate temperatures down to around -25°c when fully dormant. Succeeds in most soils, including wet, ill-drained or intermittently flooded soils[1], but prefers a damp, heavy soil in a sunny position[2]. Rarely thrives on chalk[2] and dislikes poor thin soils[3]. Very tolerant of maritime exposure and atmospheric pollution[4, 3]. This is a hybrid species involving Salix alba and Salix euxina; it includes both male and female forms. There are many named cultivars that are grown either to provide material for basket making or as ornamental plants, where they are valued especially for their attractively coloured bark[5]. The cultivar 'Basfordiana' is used for basket making[6]. Trees respond well to coppicing or pollarding[3]. Best planted into its permanent position as soon as possible, trees respond badly to transplanting unless they are moved regularly[2]. Trees cast a relatively light shade, but their root system is rather aggressive and can cause problems with drains[2]. A very important food plant for the caterpillars of many species of butterflies[7] and a good bee plant, providing an early source of nectar and pollen[8]. The female of this sub-species has been cultivated for its very tough stems that are used as tie rods in basket making[9, 6]. This species is used commercially in papermaking[10]. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus, especially S. fragilis, to which it is closely related[8]. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[2]. A dioecious species - both male and female forms must be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Propagation

This is a hybrid species and seed does not generally brred true. Willow seed is very small and light, and has a very short viability, perhaps as little as a few days in some species. It must be surface sown as soon as it is ripe. In nature the seed only germinates in disturbed soils in an open situation. In nursery conditions, sow the seed in a tray in a moderately sunny position and keep the soil moist. Germination is usually quite rapid - prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow on until large enough to plant out. Plants generally establish better if planted out whilst quite small. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth or older can root at almost any time of the year, though late autumn is considered best as this produces a better balance of root and stem growth the following spring[11]. Plant them in a sheltered outdoor nursery bed or straight into their permanent position and give them a good weed-suppressing mulch. Most species are very easy. Plant into their permanent positions in the following autumn. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, early to mid summer in a frame. Very easy. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Salix+%C3%97+fragilis+vitellina>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Planting Native Trees and Shrubs. — Beckett. G. and K. · Jarrold · 1979 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent guide to native British trees and shrubs with lots of details about the plants.
  4. [4]Shelter Trees and Hedges. — Rosewarne experimental horticultural station. · Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food · 1984 · ISBN - ↩︎A small booklet packed with information on trees and shrubs for hedging and shelterbelts in exposed maritime areas.
  5. [5]The application of scientific names to plants in cultivation: Salix vitellina L. and related taxa (Salicaceae) — Belyaeva I.V. et al · 2018 · ISBN 2309-6500 ↩︎
  6. [6]Willows. — Warren-Wren. S. C. · David & Charles; Newton Abbot. · 1972 · ISBN - ↩︎A readable guide to the willows.
  7. [7]Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. — Carter D. · Pan · 1982 · ISBN 0-330-26642-x ↩︎An excellent book on Lepidoptera, it also lists their favourite food plants.
  8. [8]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  9. [9]Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th edition. — ? ↩︎It contains a few things of interest to the plant project.
  10. [10]Plant Fibres for Papermaking. — Bell. L. A. · Liliaceae Press · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎A good practical section on how to make paper on a small scale plus details of about 75 species (quite a few of them tropical) that can be used.
  11. [11]New Trees — Grimshaw J.; Bayton R.; Wilks H. · Kew Publishing; London · 2009 · ISBN 1842461737 ↩︎Provides comprehensive botanical descriptions and horticultural commentary on over 800 tree species that have been introduced to cultivation in recent decades.
  12. [12]Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. — Chiej. R. · MacDonald · 1984 · ISBN 0-356-10541-5 ↩︎Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
  13. [13]Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest. — Schofield. J. J. · Alaska Northwest Books; Alaska · 2003 · ISBN 0882403699 ↩︎A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.
  14. [14]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  15. [15]The Useful Plants of Great Britain. — Johnson. C. P. ↩︎Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.
  16. [16]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  17. [17]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  18. [18]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  19. [19]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
  20. [20]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  21. [21]Edible and Medicinal Plants. — Launert. E. · Hamlyn · 1981 · ISBN 0-600-37216-2 ↩︎Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
  22. [22]The Herb Book. — Lust. J. · Bantam books · 1983 · ISBN 0-553-23827-2 ↩︎Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
  23. [23]The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. — Mills. S. Y. ↩︎An excellent small herbal.
  24. [24]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  25. [25]A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. — Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. · Houghton Mifflin Co. · 1990 · ISBN 0395467225 ↩︎A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
  26. [26]Earth Medicine, Earth Food. — Weiner. M. A. · Ballantine Books · 1980 · ISBN 0-449-90589-6 ↩︎A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
  27. [27]Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. — Triska. Dr. · Hamlyn · 1975 · ISBN 0-600-33545-3 ↩︎Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.
  28. [28]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.