PURPLE BASKET WILLOW 



By C. D. Mell 



INTRODUCTION 



'N EFFORT has been made in this paper to compile information dealing 

 with the commercial value of the purple willow {Salix purpurea L.) 

 and its most important varieties and hybrids commonly planted for the 

 production of rods used in making furniture and basket ware. The success 

 of a basket willow plantation depends upon the kinds planted as well as upon 

 the system of management. The purple willow is more generally cultivated 

 in this country than any other variety and yields material that is highly 

 esteemed by the consumers of willow rods. In northern New York, Michigan, 

 Wisconsin, and Minnesota it forms more than 90 per cent of the willows 

 grown. A number of experiments with the purple willow were made by the 

 Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, for the purpose of 

 determining the most suitable system of management. Numerous private 

 holts throughout the eastern Central States were also investigated with a 

 view to determine the varieties grown and to ascertain their soil and climatic 

 requirements. The suggestions offered in this paper are therefore based partly 

 upon the practical results of several years' tests in the experimental holt 

 at Arlington, Virginia, and partly upon suggestions furnished by experienced 

 growers in this country and abroad. 



A great many common names have been given to this willow, and therefore 

 it was considered advisable to select a name which should be given preference 

 in future references. Although French osier is most commonly used by a large 

 number of growers of basket willows, especially in New York State, it has 

 been decided that a translation of the botanical name is more descriptive and 

 appropriate. In order that the reader may determine what willow is referred 

 to under the term purple willow, the following vernacular names are added 

 which are often used by growers to designate this species: stone willow, com- 

 mon stone willow, Welsh willow, crab willow, osier, red osier, French osier, 

 green-leaf osier, French willow, purple willow, common purple willow, bitter 

 purple willow, and common basket willow. 



BOTANICAL CHARACTERS 



Purple willow has very distinct characters by which it may be readily 

 recognized. The leaf blades are oblong to lanceolate or sometimes apatulate 

 and broadest above the middle where they are more or less distinctly serrate; 

 below the middle they are alway.s entire. On the upper surface they are very 

 smooth, of a rich shining purple and somewhat glaucous; on the under surface 

 they are light-bluish green and often show a yellowish midvein. They are 

 from two to four inches long and from one-fourth to three-fourths inch 

 wide, and are sometimes arranged opposite on the slender, smooth and 

 somewhat reddish (when young) shoot. The leaves of nearly all varieties of 

 this group of willows turn black in drying. The petioles are very short and 

 without glands. The stipules vary from linear to semi-linear, toothed, and 



280 



