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Common Name:

General Information

Salix x mollisima undulata is a deciduous shrub that can grow up to 6.00 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

A hybrid of garden origin, S. triandra x S. viminalis.

Habitat

Not known in a truly wild situation.

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	6.00 m
Pollinators	Bees
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

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[].
This form is quite similar to S. triandra[].
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[].
Plants are rarely bisexual[], but they are usually dioecious and then male and female plants must be grown if seed is 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. A valuable species[]. 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.

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. This is a hybrid species and it will not breed true from seed.
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.