Salix alba
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID6440369a507fc831555504 |
| Scientific name | Salix alba |
| Authority | L. |
| First published in | Sp. Pl. : 1021 (1753) |
Ethnobotanical Use Top
Suggest a correction!
Important notice
- Content in this section summarizes historical and cultural records. It is not medical advice.
- Do not use plants for self-treatment. Safety, efficacy, and appropriate use are not established here.
- Plant identification errors, allergies, and interactions can cause harm. Consult qualified professionals for health questions.
- Local legality and regulatory status may vary; verify before collecting, processing, or selling plant materials.
Salix alba, or white willow, has long been prepared as infusions, decoctions, tinctures, macerations, and poultices for aches, fevers, and digestive upset. In Europe, the bark has been decocted as a bitter tea to calm pains and lower fevers; Grieve, 1931; ESCOP, 1999. Across the Middle East and North Africa, Ibn Sina in the Canon of Medicine describes a willow bark decoction for fever and rheumatic pains, while Avicenna’s Materia Medica records the same preparation. In the Americas, Finck, 1917, lists willow bark tea among frontier remedies, and Duke et al., 2005, document contemporary preparations as teas for colds, fevers, and rheumatic complaints. In East Asia, the Compendium of Materia Medica (Ben Cao Gang Mu) mentions willow bark decoctions for headaches and “hot” fevers; numerous regional pharmacopoeias continue to approve the bark for mild pain and antipyretic use (e.g., European Herbal Monographs). Topically, macerated bark infusions and poultices were historically applied to wounds and inflamed joints (Grieve, 1931), and European herbalists still recommend such macerates as compresses for bruises and sprains.
One practical preparation is a gentle bark decoction often described as a “tea” for everyday aches and fevers. Simmer 2–3 g of chopped or powdered bark in 250 ml of water for 15 minutes, then let cool and sip up to three cups a day. Because willow contains natural salicylates, people allergic to aspirin, those taking anticoagulants or NSAIDs, and those with active ulcers or liver disease should avoid it; children, nursing mothers, and anyone with Reye‑syndrome risks should not use willow bark tea.
A 1:5 ethanol tincture (bark to 45–55% alcohol, weight to volume) is also common in herbal practice. Macerate 200 g of bark in 1 liter of alcohol for 2–4 weeks, shaking daily, then strain; typical doses are 1–3 ml up to three times a day. For a stronger product, a 1:3 (w/v) tincture in 70% alcohol is widely used in the United States and Europe (Winston & Kuhn, 2008; ESCOP, 1999). Safety cautions mirror those for the decoction.
Well‑established constituents include salicin and related salicylate glycosides (the main precursors to salicylic acid), plus flavonoids and proanthocyanidins that support anti‑inflammatory and antioxidant activity in this species (ESCOP, 1999; Duke et al., 2005; PDR for Herbal Medicines, 2001). These compounds help explain traditional fever‑relieving and pain‑easing effects. Modern work continues to evaluate willow bark’s analgesic potential and standardized extracts are commercially available, while many practitioners still make the same bark decoctions and tinctures their ancestors prepared.
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
Short-rotation energy wood and pulpwood logs from fast-grown stands; veneer/plywood blanks and furniture components; sawn boards for interior joinery; fiberboard and particleboard; paper, packaging, tissue, and hygiene products; charcoal for art and filtration.
Industrial and craft applications:
Furniture and joinery components made from sawn or veneer wood; turned wooden items, moldings, and interior paneling; fiberboard and particleboard from chips and flakes; craft charcoal for drawing; agricultural and horticultural stakes from poles. Kraft and sulfite pulping of chips and short-rotation fiber, yielding pulp for packaging, printing, and tissue grades; non-wood fiber systems may use chipped material. Wood pellets and chips for heat and power from coppice plantations; suitability reflects low basic density, small, diffuse-porous anatomy, and moderate lignin.
Food and beverages (non-medicinal):
Furnishings, implements, and packaging from wood or wood fibers; barks and wood are not reported as edible food ingredients.
Colorants and tanning:
Vegetable tannins extracted from bark are used for leather tanning; commercial extract from Salix spp. bark is available and used in vegetable-tanned leathers. Wood and bark may yield brown to buff natural dyes for wool, cotton, and leather; hue is influenced by mordant and pH.
Wood and fiber:
Straight-grained, pale sapwood with narrow growth rings; lightweight and low basic density favor cutting, planing, and chipping for pulp and panel products; diffuse-porous structure supports smooth machining and finishing. Bark fibers provide vegetable tannin. Fiber for pulp, fiberboard, and packaging grades.
Fragrance and cosmetics:
No documented uses of Salix alba for fragrance or cosmetic components are established in trade references.
Properties relevant to use:
Bark tannin type (condensed) and moderate content support leather tanning; low basic density and diffuse-porous wood enable efficient pulping and panel processing; moderate lignin and relatively high holocellulose support kraft/sulfite yield.
Standards and regulation:
Bark tanning extracts and leather comply with leather industry standards; pulp and paper conform to national and ISO/ASTM grade specifications (e.g., ISO brightness/viscosity tests). Wood for bioenergy may be regulated under national sustainability/forestry codes; no specific species regulation beyond general timber and wood-energy standards is documented.
Sustainability and sourcing:
Widely cultivated in short-rotation coppice across Europe; short harvest rotations (3–5 years) and coppicing promote rapid regeneration and biomass yield. Stewardship follows regional forestry and biomass sustainability rules; plantations typically minimize chemical inputs.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Salix caerulea | Sm. | Engl. Bot. 34: t. 2431 (1812) |
| Salix pameachiana | Barratt | Salices Amer. : 16 (1840) |
| Salix pallida | Salisb. | Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton 394. 1796 [Nov-Dec 1796] |
| Salix regalis | hort. ex Wesm. | Bull. Congr. Bot. Bruxelles : 280 (1864) |
| Argorips alba | (L.) Raf. | Alsogr. Amer. : 13 (1838) |
| Argorips cerulea | (Sm.) Raf. | Alsogr. Amer. : 13 (1838) |
| Salix alba f. ovalis | Wimm. | Salic. Eur. : 18 (1866) |
| Salix alba subsp. caerulea | (Sm.) Rech.f. | Oesterr. Bot. Z. 110: 338 (1963) |
| Salix alba var. denudata | Wimm. & Grab. | Fl. Siles. 2(2): 361 (1829) |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | golden willow |
| English | white willow |
| Spanish | sauce blanco |
| Spanish | arcazon |
| Spanish | arcazón |
| Spanish | azaoz |
| Spanish | balaquera |
| Spanish | blina |
| Spanish | salguero blanco |
| Spanish | salzo |
| Spanish | sandisa |
| Spanish | sarache |
| Spanish | sauce blanco salado |
| Spanish | sauce real |
| Spanish | sauce relucinete |
| Spanish | sauce triste |
| Afrikaans | witwilger |
| Arabic | الصفصاف الأبيض |
| Arabic | صفصاف أبيض |
| Arabic | صفصاف |
| Arabic | خلاف |
| Arabic | اسبيدار |
| Azerbaijani | ağ söyüd |
| azb | آغ سؤیود |
| Belarusian | Вярба |
| Belarusian | Белалоз |
| Belarusian | Вярба звычайная |
| Belarusian | Вятла |
| Belarusian | Вярба белая |
| Bulgarian | Бяла върба |
| Bulgarian | бяла върба |
| Catalan | salze blanc |
| Catalan | saulic |
| Catalan | saule |
| Catalan | saule blanc |
| Catalan | vimera |
| Catalan | vimetera groga o belga |
| Czech | vrba bílá |
| cv | Йăмра |
| Welsh | helyg gwyn |
| Welsh | helyg gwynion |
| Welsh | helyg wen |
| Welsh | helygen wen |
| Danish | hvid-pil |
| Danish | hvidpil |
| German | silberweide |
| German | silber-weide |
| German | gelbe weide |
| German | saule blanc |
| Greek | Ιτέα η λευκή |
| Greek | λευκή ιτιά |
| Estonian | hõberemmelgas |
| Estonian | hõbepaju |
| Basque | sahats zuri |
| Basque | zume zuri |
| Persian | بید سفید |
| Finnish | valkopaju |
| Finnish | valkosalava |
| French | saule blanc |
| Irish | saileach bhán |
| Galician | salgueiro branco |
| Gujarati | ઇંગ્લીશ વીલો |
| Hebrew | ערבה לבנה |
| Hindi | इंग्लिश विलो |
| Croatian | bijela vrba |
| Upper Sorbian | běła wjerba |
| Hungarian | fehér fűz |
| Armenian | Ուռենի սպիտակ |
| Indonesian | dedalu putih |
| Italian | salice bianco |
| Italian | salice da pertiche |
| Japanese | セイヨウシロヤナギ |
| Georgian | წნორი |
| Kabyle | tafsent |
| Kazakh | Ақтал |
| Kannada | ಇಂಗ್ಲೀಷ್ ವಿಲೋ |
| Korean | 흰버드나무 |
| Cornish | helyk gwynn |
| lb | bannweid |
| Lithuanian | baltasis gluosnis |
| Lithuanian | saule blanc |
| Latvian | baltais vītols |
| mdf | Акша каль |
| Macedonian | бела врба |
| Malayalam | വില്ലോമരം |
| myv | Ашо каль |
| Norwegian Bokmål | hvitpil |
| Norwegian Bokmål | hengepil |
| Norwegian Bokmål | kvitpil |
| Dutch | schietwilg |
| Dutch | witte wilg |
| os | Урс хæрис |
| Polish | wierzba biała |
| Portuguese | salgueiro-branco |
| Portuguese | salgueiro branco |
| Romansh | salesch alv |
| Romanian | salcie albă |
| Russian | Ива белая |
| Russian | ветла |
| Russian | ива серебристая |
| Russian | ива белая |
| Yakutian | Талах |
| Samogitian | baltglousnis |
| Slovak | vŕba biela |
| Slovenian | bela vrba |
| Albanian | shelgu i bardhë |
| Serbian | Бела врба |
| Swedish | vitpil |
| Swedish | guldpil |
| Swedish | gulpil |
| Swedish | saule blanc |
| Swedish | silverpil |
| Swedish | vanlig vitpil |
| Telugu | ఇంగ్లీష్ విల్లో |
| Turkish | ak söğüt |
| tt | Өянке |
| tyv | Ак-тал |
| udm | Тӧдьы бадь |
| ug | ئاق سۆگەت |
| Ukrainian | Верба біла |
| Ukrainian | верба біла |
| vec | salež da manech |
| vep | vauged raid |
| Chinese | 白柳 |
Subspecies (abbr. subsp./ssp.) Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Salix alba subsp. micans | (Andersson) Rech.f. | Oesterr. Bot. Z. 110: 338 (1963) |
Varieties (abbr. var.) Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Salix alba var. caerulea | (Sm.) W.D.J.Koch | Syn. Fl. Germ. Helv. 644. 1837 [1-7 Oct 1837] |
| Salix alba var. vitellina | (L.) Stokes | Bot. Mat. Med. 4: 506 (1812) |
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!
No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
-
Africa click to expand
-
Northern Africa
- Algeria
- Libya
- Morocco
- Tunisia
-
Northern Africa
-
Asia-temperate click to expand
-
Arabian Peninsula
- Yemen
-
Caucasus
- North Caucasus
- Transcaucasus
-
China
- China North-central
- Inner Mongolia
- Qinghai
- Tibet
- Xinjiang
-
Middle Asia
- Kazakhstan
- Tadzhikistan
- Turkmenistan
- Uzbekistan
-
Siberia
- Altay
- Krasnoyarsk
- West Siberia
-
Western Asia
- Afghanistan
- Cyprus
- East Aegean Islands
- Iran
- Iraq
- Lebanon-Syria
- Palestine
- Turkey
-
Arabian Peninsula
-
Asia-tropical click to expand
-
Indian Subcontinent
- Pakistan
- West Himalaya
-
Indian Subcontinent
-
Australasia click to expand
-
Australia
- New South Wales
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
-
Australia
-
Europe click to expand
-
Eastern Europe
- Baltic States
- Belarus
- Central European Russia
- East European Russia
- Krym
- North European Russia
- Northwest European Russia
- South European Russia
- Ukraine
-
Middle Europe
- Austria
- Belgium
- Czechoslovakia
- Germany
- Hungary
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Switzerland
-
Northern Europe
- Denmark
- Finland
- Great Britain
- Ireland
- Norway
- Sweden
-
Southeastern Europe
- Albania
- Bulgaria
- Greece
- Italy
- Kriti
- Romania
- Sicilia
- Yugoslavia
-
Southwestern Europe
- Corse
- France
- Portugal
- Sardegna
- Spain
-
Eastern Europe
-
Northern America click to expand
-
Eastern Canada
- New Brunswick
- Ontario
- Québec
-
North-central U.S.A.
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Wisconsin
-
Northeastern U.S.A.
- Connecticut
- Indiana
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- New Hampshire
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- West Virginia
-
Northwestern U.S.A.
- Colorado
- Idaho
- Montana
-
Southeastern U.S.A.
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- District Of Columbia
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia
-
Southwestern U.S.A.
- Arizona
- California
- Nevada
-
Western Canada
- Saskatchewan
-
Eastern Canada
-
Southern America click to expand
-
Southern South America
- Argentina Northwest
- Chile Central
-
Southern South America
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000929085 |
| UNII | V8UV0R324S |
| Flora of Alabama | 5474 |
| Canadensys | 9066 |
| USDA Plants | SAAL2 |
| UConn | 443 |
| Tropicos | 28300135 |
| INPN | 119915 |
| Flora of Italy | 186 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:776974-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-5001521 |
| Plantarium | 32959 |
| Missouri Botanical Garden | 286791 |
| PFAF | Salix alba |
| Open Tree Of Life | 164209 |
| Observations.org | 7389 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 75704 |
| NBN Atlas | NBNSYS0000003859 |
| Nature Serve | 2.152740 |
| IUCN Red List | 203465 |
| IPNI | 776974-1 |
| iNaturalist | 54841 |
| GBIF | 5372513 |
| Freebase | /m/02zfch |
| WisFlora | 4941 |
| EPPO | SAXAL |
| Elurikkus | 6999 |
| Calflora (Californian flora) | 7260 |
| US Library of Congress | sh85116812 |
| USDA GRIN | 32674 |
| Wikipedia | Salix_alba |
| CMAUP | NPO3277 |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
| Title | Authors | Publication | Released | IDs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commodity risk assessment of Tilia cordata and Tilia platyphyllos plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 03-May-2024 |
|
||||||
| Unleashing the promise of emerging nanomaterials as a sustainable platform to mitigate antimicrobial resistance | Rahman S, Sadaf S, Hoque ME, Mishra A, Mubarak NM, Malafaia G, Singh J | RSC Adv | 01-May-2024 |
|
||||||
| Phytochemicals from Bark Extracts and Their Applicability in the Synthesis of Thermosetting Polymers: An Overview | Szmechtyk T, Małecka M | Materials (Basel) | 30-Apr-2024 |
|
||||||
| Plant cultural indicators of forest resources from the Himalayan high mountains: implications for improving agricultural resilience, subsistence, and forest restoration | Haq SM, Khoja AA, Waheed M, Pieroni A, Siddiqui MH, Bussmann RW | J Ethnobiol Ethnomed | 24-Apr-2024 |
|
||||||
| Cell-TIMP: Cellular Trajectory Inference based on Morphological Parameter | Raj P, Gupta H, Anantha P, Barman I | bioRxiv | 22-Apr-2024 |
|
||||||
| Effects on keratinocytes of the traditional combination of herb extract (Royal Oji Complex) implicated the improvement of young children's skin moisture and barrier | Trinh TT, Choi JH, Yang J, Kim WH, Chien PN, Le LT, Ngan‐Giang N, Nga PT, Nam S, Heo C | Skin Res Technol | 14-Apr-2024 |
|
||||||
| Exogenous application of salicylic acid ameliorates salinity stress in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) | Hanif S, Mahmood A, Javed T, Bibi S, Zia MA, Asghar S, Naeem Z, Ercisli S, Rahimi M, Ali B | BMC Plant Biol | 11-Apr-2024 |
|
||||||
| Checklist of Macrofungi Associated with Nine Different Habitats of Taburno-Camposauro Massif in Campania, Southern Italy | Zotti M | J Fungi (Basel) | 09-Apr-2024 |
|
||||||
| The influence of tree genus, phylogeny, and richness on the specificity, rarity, and diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi | Tedersoo L, Drenkhan R, Abarenkov K, Anslan S, Bahram M, Bitenieks K, Buegger F, Gohar D, Hagh‐Doust N, Klavina D, Makovskis K, Zusevica A, Pritsch K, Padari A, Põlme S, Rahimlou S, Rungis D, Mikryukov V | Environ Microbiol Rep | 04-Apr-2024 |
|
||||||
| Pest categorisation of Lepidosaphes malicola | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Gonthier P, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Grégoire J, Malumphy C, Antonatos S, Kertesz V, Papachristos D, Sfyra O, MacLeod A | EFSA J | 27-Mar-2024 |
|
||||||
| Odonata Assemblages in Urban Semi-Natural Wetlands | Vilenica M, Brigić A, Štih Koren A, Koren T, Sertić Perić M, Schmidt B, Bužan T, Gottstein S | Insects | 20-Mar-2024 |
|
||||||
| Apple crown and collar canker and necrosis caused by Cytospora balanejica sp. nov. in Iran | Azizi R, Ghosta Y, Ahmadpour A | Sci Rep | 19-Mar-2024 |
|
||||||
| Green solution to riparian pollution: Populus alba L. potential for phytoremediation and bioindication of PTEs along the Sava river | Miletić Z, Jonjev M, Jarić S, Kostić O, Sekulić D, Mitrović M, Pavlović P | Heliyon | 18-Mar-2024 |
|
||||||
| Harmony in nature: understanding the cultural and ecological aspects of plant use in Ladakh | Angmo K, Adhikari BS, Bussmann RW, Rawat GS | J Ethnobiol Ethnomed | 14-Mar-2024 |
|
||||||
| Saving the local tradition: ethnobotanical survey on the use of plants in Bologna district (Italy) | Chiocchio I, Marincich L, Mandrone M, Trincia S, Tarozzi C, Poli F | J Ethnobiol Ethnomed | 12-Mar-2024 |
|
Phytochemical Profile Top
Add a new one!
Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |