Grey willow
Salix atrocinerea
Family · Salicaceae · Harmless
The tree that tells you where the water is. A line of willows seen from afar draws a watercourse even when the bed is dry on the surface.
Streams and ditches · Fields and pasture · Uplands
Also known asgrey sallow
How to tell it
Oval leaves, dull green above with rusty hairs beneath, visible against the light. Furry catkins before the leaves, in late winter. Always beside water.
What it is confused with
Alder
Alnus glutinosa
They share the riverbank. Alder has a round leaf with a blunt cut-off tip and small woody cones in winter; willow has an elongated leaf and furry catkins.
Open sheet →What it is for
Willow bark contains salicin, the compound behind the historical origin of aspirin, and was used in folk infusions. That is history, not an indication: none of it should be prepared at home.
With documented traditional uses. Not a therapeutic indication and not a dose.