{{Short description|Species of willow}} {{Redirect |Grey sallow |the moth with this name |Psaphida grandis{{!}}''Psaphida grandis''}} {{Use British English|date=January 2021}} {{Speciesbox |status = LC |status_system = IUCN3.1 |status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{Cite iucn |title=''Salix cinerea'' |author=Lansdown, R.V. |name-list-style=amp |article-number= e.T19620468A19621296 |date=2014 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T19620468A19621296.en |access-date=11 April 2024}}</ref> | image = Salix cinerea Habitus in spring Germany.jpg | image_caption = ''Salix cinerea'' subsp. ''cinerea'', Germany | genus = Salix | species = cinerea | authority = L. | range_map = Salix cinerea range.svg | range_map_caption = Distribution map }}
'''''Salix cinerea''''' ('''common sallow''', '''grey sallow''', '''grey willow''', '''grey-leaved sallow''', '''large grey willow''', '''pussy willow''', '''rusty sallow'''<ref>{{cite web|title=Queensland Government Fact Sheet|access-date=24 April 2019|url=https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/media/Html/salix_cinerea.htm}}</ref>) is a species of willow native to Europe and western Asia.<ref name=rdm>Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. {{ISBN|0-901158-07-0}}.</ref><ref name=kic>Christensen, K. I., & Nielsen, H. (1992). Rust-pil (''Salix cinerea'' subsp. ''oleifolia'') - en overset pil i Danmark og Skandinavien. ''Dansk Dendrologisk Årsskrift'' 10: 5-17.</ref>
The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 10, with a ranking of second place, for most nectar production (nectar per unit cover per year) in a UK plants survey conducted by the AgriLand project which is supported by the UK Insect Pollinators Initiative.<ref name=Pollinators>{{cite web|title=Which flowers are the best source of nectar?|publisher=Conservation Grade|url=http://www.conservationgrade.org/2014/10/which_flowers_best_source_nectar/|access-date=2017-10-18|date=2014-10-15|archive-date=2019-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214024659/http://www.conservationgrade.org/2014/10/which_flowers_best_source_nectar/}}</ref>
==Description== thumbnail|left|upright|Close-ups of Salicaceae flowers
It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing 4–10 metres (13–30 ft) tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, 2–9 cm (1–{{frac|3|1|2}} in) long and 1–3 cm ({{frac|1|2}}–{{frac|1|1|2}} in) broad (exceptionally up to 16 cm long and 5 cm broad), green above, hairy below, with a crenate margin. The flowers are produced in early spring in catkins 2–5 cm long; it is dioecious with male and female catkins on separate plants. The male catkins are silvery at first, turning yellow when the pollen is released; the female catkins are greenish grey, maturing in early summer to release the numerous tiny seeds embedded in white cottony down which assists wind dispersal.<ref name=rdm/><ref name=kic/>
==Taxonomy== The closely related species ''Salix atrocinerea'' <small>Brot.</small>, which overlaps in distribution in France, Belgium, Netherlands, England and Ireland, is considered by some authors as the subspecies ''S. cinerea oleifolia'' <small>(Gaudin) Macreight</small>. '' S. atrocinerea'' differs from ''S. cinerea'' in that it is taller (reaching up to 15 metres), has a deeply furrowed bark, dark red-brown hairs beneath the leaves, smaller stipules, and is earlier deciduous.<ref name=rdm/><ref name=kic/> Despite the coexistence of these two nomenclatures, the main taxonomic databases regard ''S. cinerea oleifolia'' as synonym of ''S. atrocinerea''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Salix cinerea subsp. oleifolia (Gaudin) Macreight |website=Plant of the World Online|access-date=25 September 2024 |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/77083742-1?_gl=1*haz52u*_ga*MjA2MDMzMDMyNS4xNzI1NTQ1MTI2*_ga_ZVV2HHW7P6*MTcyNzI1Njg3MS4zLjEuMTcyNzI1NjkyOC4wLjAuMA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Salix atrocinerea Brot. |website=WFO Plant List|access-date=25 September 2024 |url=https://wfoplantlist.org/taxon/wfo-0000928979-2024-06?matched_id=wfo-0000931140&page=1}}</ref>
==Ecology== thumb|''Salix cinerea'' seeds on a birch tree branch Grey willow grows in wetlands, moist depressions, ditches, embankments, banks of stagnant or slow-moving water bodies, and forest edges, where it encounters low-lying damp situations with waterlogged and nutrient-poor soils. ''S. cinerea'' is a pioneer species that rapidly colonizes disturbed sites.<ref>Isebrands, J. G., & Richardson, J. (Eds.). (2014). Poplars and willows: trees for society and the environment. CAB International and FAO. {{ISBN|9781780641089}}</ref>
A common herbivore of ''Salix cinerea'' is ''Phratora vulgatissima'', which prefers and is more common on female plants.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|title=Plant-sex-biased tritrophic interactions on dioecious willow|author=Kabir, Faisal MD|date=2015-04-19|journal=Ecosphere|volume = 5|issue = 12|pages = art153|doi=10.1890/ES14-00356.1|author2=Moritz, Kim K|author3=Stenberg, Johan A.|doi-access=free}}</ref> ''Anthocoris nemorum'', a natural enemy of ''Phratora vulgatissima'', is also more common on ''S. cinerea''.<ref name=":0"/>
==Invasive species== ''Salix cinerea'' is an invasive species in New Zealand and is listed on the National Pest Plant Accord, which means it cannot be sold or distributed. ''S. cinerea'' is also highly invasive in south-eastern Australia,<ref>Cremer, K. W. (2003) Introduced willows can become invasive pests in Australia. Biodiversity, 4, 17-24.</ref> with the entire genus listed as a Weed of National Significance. The species was introduced to stop erosion along riverbanks, but has since caused worse erosion over time by widening and shallowing invaded streams.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons}} * {{Commons-inline}} * {{Wikispecies-inline}} * {{PFAF|Salix cinerea}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q157540}} {{Authority control}}
cinerea Category:Flora of Ukraine Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Flora of the Channel Islands