The population of most of our country believes thatwillow is a tree, but now it is often called willow. It occurs in almost every corner of our homeland, near water bodies and in river valleys, along roads and in the forest. In addition, the ability to quickly and easily take root, as well as rapid growth, allow the plant to be widely used for urban greening. In this article we will tell you clearly and clearly about the willow plant: what a tree, its qualities and properties.
What is it called?
The names of this plant are many, and they allinvented by the people who subtly noticed its features. Unlike ordinary people, botanists do not know such a tree - willow. For them, this is one of the varieties of plants belonging to the genus Willow, in which there are about 300 species. But the people who loved this tree, gave him a lot of very different names, however, willows are those plants that are located on the banks of water bodies or near the water, but willows are considered to be shrubs or trees growing in drier conditions. People living in different regions of Russia came up with many names for willow:
- rakita;
- turned red;
- molokitnik;
- nonsense;
- slut;
- the wind.
As a rule, saying that willow is a tree,By this they mean willow species such as holly, white, goat and lupine. All these varieties under favorable conditions can grow up to 30 meters in height.
Botanical features
Разбираясь в вопросе о том, верба - это дерево or shrub, let's look at the characteristics of plants that we call willows. All willows, as well as other representatives of willow, have a long root system capable of sprouting to a depth of 15 meters. The person uses this feature by planting various willows along the river banks, thereby strengthening the coastline and preventing soil erosion. Young willow plants really look more like shrubs than trees. But over time, growing, a thin sprout turns into a large tree, the trunk diameter of which can reach 1.5 m and which is covered with gray, strongly cracked bark. The hue of the bark depends on age. So, a young willow is a tree with a light gray trunk, but an older plant will have a dark color.
Areal
Willow is a tree widespread inEuropean part of our country and grows in the south of Western Siberia, in Central Asia and the Caucasus. It is quite often found in the floodplains of such large rivers as the Urals, Volga, Vol, Kuban, Dnieper and Don and forms willow forests there. Usually both willow and several other species of willow grow together, forming among themselves various hybrids.
Optimal conditions
Well wetted areas with acidic soils,plenty of water - these are the conditions willow tree prefers. Its description will be incomplete, if not to mention that this plant is the first to actively develop abandoned or unused tracts of land. In the forests, however, quite rarely, you can find this tree growing next to other species. A distinctive feature of willow - in contact with water or land, its branches rather quickly take root. Due to this, trees grow rapidly and form entire forests occupying vast areas.
Willow tree: description and features
As noted above, the plant forms a fairly powerful root system, which, moreover, is strongly branched and forms adventitious roots.
- not picky about soils;
- well tolerated environmental pollution;
- resistant to most diseases and pests;
- winter hardy.
Folk signs
Ancient Slavic tribes that wereit makes no difference whether willow is a tree or shrub, it was dedicated to one of the supreme gods, Perun, and was called the “Perun 'vine”. The plant associated with such a powerful being was endowed with mystical and magical properties. Many household items were made from this tree. Small children were bathed in a decoction. Willow twigs in the house prevented the machinations of the dark forces against the owners, and stuck in the ceiling - protected from lightning. To obtain a bountiful harvest, it was decided to scatter the buds of this tree over the beds, also sticking separate branches in the field to protect the crops from inclement weather and ward off rodents. In the spring, for the first time expelling cattle into the field after winter, they did this with willow branches to protect animals from diseases, to help them grow and produce healthy offspring. In the barn there was also a place for this plant, which, according to popular belief, could save cattle from diseases. With the adoption of Christianity, part of the pagan rites and rituals became a new religion. Due to the absence of palm trees in our climate, one of the main Christian holidays (the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem) has acquired a new symbol - willow twigs with full buds.
Healing properties
In folk medicine, the bark of willow, as well asother trees of the willow family, used in the treatment of various infectious diseases. In the XIX century, the French researcher Leroux isolated from it a substance such as salicin. In the future, scientists were able to synthesize it, which allowed us to create acetylsalicylic acid, better known to us as aspirin.
Today, a decoction of willow bark is used whenrheumatism of the joints and gout. The infusion prepared from leaves and bark helps with various skin diseases. It is important to remember that pregnant women any infusions, decoctions and drugs with any components of willow categorically contraindicated.
