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Salix alba vitellina - Golden Willow Here are two pictures of Salix alba vitellina, Yellow Willow showing the growth to July.
Picture of Salix alba vitellina in June
Close up picture of Salix alba vitellina in March JPR Environmental is happy for you to download and copy these images for your own use should you want. However, we would ask you to credit us as the source of the image. Description Golden willow is a tall graceful tree which generally grows to between 10 and 25 m tall, though occasionally they will top 30m. The trunk is usually well developed with the principal boughs and branches ascending at a sharp angle to form a pointed or truncated crown, or a number of pointed “turrets”. The bark is deeply fissured and greyish-brown in colour. The year old twigs of Salix alba vitellina are its most distinguishing characteristics as they are bright yellow or orange making them very conspicuous in the winter months. Leaves are similar to those of Salix alba being lanceolate-acuminate and between 5 and 10 cm long and about 1cm wide though they are more glabrescent and the upper surface of the lamina soon becomes bright lustrous green. Male and female catkins appear in late April and early May and can be differentiated from those of Salix alba as they have longer catkin-scale and more thinly pubescent. Distribution Salix alba vitellina is not considered native even though it is well established across Britain and Ireland. It is commonly seen around Osier (Salix viminalis) grounds and was once principally used for basket making, though its chief value nowadays is as an ornamental. Apart from Salix babylonica hybrids, it is probably the most popular willow in gardens. It is heavily pruned each year to produce long, bright barked growth for winter colour. Click here to purchase cuttings of Salix alba vitellina. |
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