Common names: Purple willow 

Irish name:  

Latin name: Salix purpurea 

Family: Salicaceae 

Origin: Possibly a native species. 

Tree type: Deciduous broadleaf tree 

How it Looks

Shape, twigs, bark 

The purple willow can either grow as a multi-stemmed shrub or as a small tree that can reach a height of up to 5 meters. Young shoots appear glossy reddish-purple, which fades to a yellow, grey colour with age. The twigs are hairless, slender, tough, and very flexible.  Older parts of the tree are greyish, smooth, yellowish internally, and have a very bitter taste. 

Buds 

Buds are arranged opposite or sub-opposite along the twig. They are elongated in shape, yellowish or reddish in colour, and sometimes appear frosted due to a white powder-looking substance known as pruinose. The buds have a single bud scale. 

Leaves 

The leaves are arranged opposite or sub-opposite along the twig. They are long and narrow, varying in size from 2-8 cm long and 0.5-3 cm wide. They have a glossy dark green upper surface and are a paler blue-grey underneath. The leaves turn black when dried. The margins can sometimes be serrated in the upper half of the leaf. The leaf stem (petiole) is usually very short. 

Flowers  

As in all willows, male and female flowers appear as catkins on different plants, known as dioecious. The catkins on the purple willow appear before the leaves in March or April, sometimes into May. They are found in opposite or sub-opposite pairs along the twig and are erect, often curved, and narrow cylinder-shaped, between 1.5-3 cm long and 0.3-0.7 cm wide. 

The catkins are densely flowered, with each flower usually having 2 or 3 small leaf-like bracts at its base, although not always. Each male flower has two stamens 2-4 mm long, which are fused and appear as one. The anthers start dark, then purple-orange, and then yellow with pollen. Female flowers have small, green, hairy ovaries about 1-1.5 mm in diameter, a very short and indistinct style, and brown, reddish stigmas. Insects pollinate the female catkins. 

Fruits 

Once pollinated, the female catkins develop seeds in narrow capsules, each measuring up to 4 mm long. When ripe, the seed capsules split open to release tiny seeds in woolly tufts dispersed long distances by the wind. Like many willow species, the purple willow can propagate by lowering its branches to the ground and developing roots. 

Similar species 

Willows, in general, are challenging to identify as their appearance can vary from tree to tree, and they commonly hybridise. This can cause uncertainty even amongst experienced botanists.   

Where to Find it

In Ireland, the purple willow is common along river margins and on wet ground. It is often planted but is considered native to Ireland due to its distribution far from cultivated areas. It grows in woodland marshes and fens, on hillsides and by ponds, streams, and rivers. Outside of Ireland, purple willow is found throughout most of Europe, though absent from Scandinavia and much of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 

Cultural Importance

History | Myth, Legend and Folklore | Arts and Literature 

History 

Burnt material unearthed at Mesolithic (c. 8000-4000 BC) and Neolithic (c. 4000-2500 BC) period archaeological sites in Co. Tyrone in 2006-2007, demonstrates that early communities on the Island of Ireland were burning willow for various reasons as far back as 8400 years ago. Additional evidence from archaeological sites in the Irish midlands and Wicklow, indicate that willow continued to be used for fuel for different purposes, such as cooking and industry, from the Neolithic through to the Medieval period (c. 400-1600 AD).  

Willow was also used to make a type of rope or binding in antiquity. Hammer stones excavated at the Bronze Age (c. 2500-800 BC) mining site at Mount Gabriel, Co. Cork were found bound to a wooden handle with willow withies or rods. In the ancient Irish texts from the early Medieval period, there are also numerous references to the use of willow withies for tying up livestock.   

Along with other wood species, willow was used in Ireland during the Bronze Age and Iron Age (c. 800 BC – 400 AD) in the construction of wooden trackways that allowed people to traverse bogs and access their resources. Similarly, finds from archaeological excavations at Islandbridge in Dublin show that willow was used to make post and wattle fences during the late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age period. This type of wickerwork was also used in the construction of houses, scallops for thatching and other domestic items, such as wicker baskets for carrying turf, potatoes and seaweed; practices which continued into later periods. Before the invention of plastic, willow baskets were the only available and practical containers for transporting and storing bulky items. It is likely that Willow, amongst other trees, was carefully managed and coppiced specifically for these everyday needs, especially from the Medieval period onwards.  

Willow was also valuable for making objects. For instance, an Iron Age mallet made of willow was found deposited within a bog trackway during archaeological excavation at Edercloon, Co. Longford. It is possible that the mallet had originally been used to construct the trackway. In addition, Methers – Irish medieval ceremonial drinking vessels on which the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) MacCarthy Cup is styled – were sometimes carved from willow. As were harps – the 14th century Brian Boru Harp, now housed in Trinity College Dublin, is made from willow. 

Medicinally, different parts of the willow were traditionally used to relieve pain associated with a headache or toothache and general aches and pains. In medieval times, the bark was chewed to release the salicin. Additionally, the bark was boiled in water to create a medicinal syrup that was taken to relieve digestive complaints, reduce joint inflammation, and act as a gargle for sore throats. 

In view of its usefulness in so many areas of life, it is unsurprising that in early medieval Ireland willow was deemed valuable. As a result, it featured in the early Irish tree lists as one of the ‘Commoners of the Wood’. If a person unlawfully damaged or felled one of these trees, they would have to pay a hefty fine in compensation amounting to as much as two milch cows and a three-year-old heifer. The willow was of such significance during this period that it was used to represent the character for the letter ‘S’ in the early Irish Ogham alphabet, taking the following form: 

Furthermore, it was so widespread throughout the country that willow features in many Irish placenames. Examples include Clonsilla or Cluain Saileach in Co. Dublin which translates as meadow of the willow’ and Parknasilla or Páirc na Saileach in Co. Kerry, which means ‘the field of the willows’ Co. Kerry. 

Willow has been similarly valued by different cultures across the world for various purposes, including for its medicinal uses and in the construction of different types of wickerwork. As in Ireland, Willow bark has also been used medicinally throughout the world for thousands of years to treat various ailments. For example, the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Greeks used it to treat pain, inflammation and fever.  

Myth, Legend and Folklore 

Willow is traditionally associated with themes of life, fertility, good luck and protection, and often connected with water and milk. In Irish folklore, it was seen as good luck to take a rod of willow, or as it was better known, a ‘sally rod’, with oneself on a journey. Likewise, wrapping a sally rod around a milk churn was believed to guarantee good butter or encourage the butter to form. Additionally, it was believed that willow charcoal could cause hair to regrow on an animal where it had previously gone bald. On account of its flexible nature, there was also the belief that hanging willow over one’s door would cause the inhabitants of the house to dance uncontrollably. 

In Scotland, willow rods were used as ‘Bride’s Wands’ at the time of the Bride’s Eve festival in February. In different parts of England, hanging willow over one’s door was thought variously to bring good luck to the house, and to protect against witches. 

Willow also features in the Irish myths. For example one story tells of how the King of Leinster, Labhraidh Loingseach’s ears were long like those of a horse, a fact that he kept hidden except from his barber who was sworn to secrecy. Developing an illness as a result of holding in this secret, the young barber whispered the secret to a local willow tree in order to get it off his chest. However, the tree is later cut down to make a harp that is played in the royal court, whereupon the harp sings only the words ‘Labhraidh Loingseach has horse’s ears!’, thus spreading the secret throughout the kingdom. 

Willow has multiple associations with milk and water in folklore and legend. Similarly, it is associated with the river Goddess Bóinn who was described in the myths as a great cow whose milk flowed in the river that we know today as the River Boyne. 

Arts and Literature 

The willow features frequently in literature. In early Irish poetry, the poet Suibhne Geilt refers to the tree as the ‘bright cheerful sallow’. It also features in a Medieval Irish Bardic poem in which Iubhdán, King of the Leprechauns, refer to it as a noble tree. The willow often crops up in later works such as the plays of William Shakespeare. More recently, it is cast in a negative light in the Harry Potter books in the form of the malevolent ‘Whomping Willow’. 

Perhaps one of the most famous homages to the willow in the arts is the William Morris pattern ‘Willow Boughs’, which he designed in 1887 and continues to adorn wallpaper and fabrics all over the world. 

Willow also features in songs, such as the Medieval folk song and carol, the ‘Bitter Withy’. 

Value to Wildlife

Although small, purple willow is significant to wet habitats and associated with various organisms. Underground, these willows form relationships with fungi, where the fungi's roots surround the plant’s roots, and a mutually beneficial exchange of nutrients occurs.  

As this tree prefers to grow in wet areas, its roots are great for stabilising wet banks and waterside habits. It flowers early in spring, providing an important source of pollen and nectar for early emerging pollinators. Thanks to its shrubby habit, many birds nest in purple willow foliage. A huge range of insects feed on its leaves, including the Eyed Hawk Moth and the Herald Moth. The stems and branches provide habitat for many different types of mosses and lichens. 

Threats

Like other willows, purple willows are susceptible to watermark disease caused by the bacteria Brenneria salicis. Although this bacterium has not yet been recorded in Ireland, it has reached parts of the UK and has the potential to make its way over. The bacteria cause branches to die back and red leaves to develop in other parts of the crown, eventually killing the tree if left untreated. 

Uses

Willows have been valuable to humans for their medicinal purposes. The painkiller aspirin is derived from salicin, a compound found in the bark of all Salix species. They are popular for fencing, hedging and traditional crafts such as basket making. They are also valuable for ecological restoration in that they stabilise riverbanks and prevent soil erosion, protect against flooding and rehabilitate contaminated land by processing contaminants such as heavy metals.     

References

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