Herb: Eared Sallow


Latin name: Salix aurita


Family: Salicaceae (Willow Family)



Medicinal use of Eared Sallow:

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.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Shrub

Height:
2.5 m
(8 1/4 foot)

Flowering:
April


Scent:
Scented
Shrub

Habitat of the herb:

Damp woods, heaths, rocks by streams and on moors etc, on light acid or slightly basic soils, to 780 metres.

Other uses of Eared Sallow:

Plants have an extensive root system and are used to stabilize waste tips and old slag heaps. The seeds are very light and so can travel some distance in the wind. The plant is therefore able to find its way to areas such as cleared woodland where the soil has been disturbed. Seedlings will grow away quickly, even in exposed conditions and the plant will provide good shelter for the establishment of woodland plants. Thus it makes a good pioneer species and, except in wetter and moorland-type soils, will eventually be largely out-competed by the other woodland trees. Its main disadvantage as a pioneer plant is that it has an extensive root system and is quite a greedy plant, thus it will not help as much in enriching the soil for the other woodland plants as other pioneer species such as the alders, Alnus species.

Propagation of the herb:

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, November to February in a sheltered outdoor bed or planted straight into their permanent position and given a good weed-suppressing mulch. Plant into their permanent positions in the autumn. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, June to August in a frame.

Cultivation of Eared Sallow:

Damp woods, heaths, rocks by streams and on moors etc, on light acid or slightly basic soils, to 780 metres.

Known hazards of Salix aurita:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.