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Common Name: Cricket Bat Willow, White Willow.

Family: Salicaceae 

Known Hazards: None known 

Range: Britain. 

Habitat: Low lying or hilly ground, usually on wet soils. 

Physical Characteristics: A deciduous tree growing to 25m by 10m at a fast rate. It is hardy and is not frost tender. It is in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen in June. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is not self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist or wet soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations: Woodland, Canopy, River Beds.

Edible Uses: Inner bark; Leaves; Tea. Inner bark - raw or cooked.  It can be dried, ground and added to cereal flour for use in making bread etc.  A very bitter taste, it is a famine food that is only used when all else fails.   Leaves and young shoots - raw or cooked.   Not very palatable. They are used only in times of scarcity.

The leaves can be used as a tea substitute.

Medicinal Uses: Disclaimer Anodyne; Antiinflammatory; Antiperiodic; Antiseptic; Astringent; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Febrifuge; Hypnotic; Sedative; Tonic.

Justly famous as the original source of salicylic acid (the precursor of aspirin), white willow and several closely related species have been used for thousands of years to relieve joint pain and manage fevers.

The bark is anodyne, anti-inflammatory, antiperiodic, antiseptic, astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic, febrifuge, hypnotic, sedative and tonic. It has been used internally in the treatment of dyspepsia connected with debility of the digestive organs, rheumatism, arthritis, gout, inflammatory stages of auto-immune diseases, feverish illnesses, neuralgia and headache.   Its tonic and astringent properties render it useful in convalescence from acute diseases, in treating worms, chronic dysentery and diarrhoea. The fresh bark is very bitter and astringent. It contains salicin, which probably decomposes into salicylic acid (closely related to aspirin) in the human body. This is used as an anodyne and febrifuge. The bark is harvested in the spring or early autumn from 3 - 6 year old branches and is dried for later use.

The leaves are used internally in the treatment of minor feverish illnesses and colic. An infusion of the leaves has a calming effect and is helpful in the treatment of nervous insomnia. When added to the bath water, the infusion is of real benefit in relieving widespread rheumatism. The leaves can be harvested throughout the growing season and are used fresh or dried.

Other Uses Basketry; Charcoal; Shelterbelt; String; Wood. Young 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 bark can be used for tying plants.

A fibre obtained from the stems is used in making paper. The stems are harvested in spring or summer, the leaves are removed and the stems steamed until the fibres can be stripped. The fibres are cooked for 2 hours with lye and then beaten with mallets or put through a blender. The paper is red/brown in colour.

A fast growing tree and tolerant of maritime exposure, it can be grown as a shelterbelt.

Wood - elastic, soft, easy to split, does not splinter. Cultivated for its specialist use in making cricket bats and artificial limbs, it is also used for construction, turnery, poles, tool handles etc. Also used to make charcoal.