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Common Name:

General Information

Salix wallichiana is a deciduous tree that can grow up to 5.00 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - China to the Himalayas.

Habitat

Common along streamsides and in shrubberies, 1500 - 3600 metres[]. Mountain slopes, margins of woods and riversides in western China[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	5.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Pollinators	Bees
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

We have very little information on this species and do not know how hardy it will be in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in most parts of the country. It is a fast-growing plant[]. This species hybridizes easily with Salix sinica. Together, they produce many hybrids, with intermediate states, overlapping in their distributions[]. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Succeeds in most soils, including wet, ill-drained or intermittently flooded soils[, ], but prefers a damp, heavy soil in a sunny position[]. Rarely thrives on chalk[].
Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus[]. Although the flowers are produced in catkins early in the year, they are pollinated by bees and other insects rather than by the wind[].
Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[].
A dioecious species - both male and female forms must be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

Inner bark - raw or cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and then added to cereal flour for use in making bread etc. A very bitter flavour, it is a famine food that is only used when all else fails[].
Young shoots - cooked. Not very palatable[].

Medicinal

The fresh bark of all members of this genus contains salicin[], which probably decomposes into salicylic acid (closely related to aspirin) in the human body[]. This is used as an anodyne and febrifuge[].

Other Uses

The stems are very flexible and are used in basket making[, ]. The plant is usually coppiced annually when grown for basket making, though it is possible to coppice it every two years if thick poles are required as uprights.
The twigs are used as toothbrushes[, ].

Propagation

Seed - must be surface sown as soon as it is ripe in late spring. It has a very short viability, perhaps as little as a few days.
Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, late autumn to late winter in a sheltered outdoor bed or planted straight into their permanent position and given a good weed-suppressing mulch. Very easy. Plant into their permanent positions in the autumn.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, early summer to August in a frame. Very easy.