About Salix eleagnos Scop.
Salix eleagnos Scop., commonly known as bitter willow, olive willow, hoary willow, rosemary willow, or elaeagnus willow, is a flowering plant species in the willow family Salicaceae. It is native to central and southern Europe, and southwestern Asia. This plant is an erect, bushy deciduous shrub that grows 3 meters (10 feet) tall and 5 meters (16 feet) wide. It produces narrow grey-green leaves that can reach up to 20 centimeters (8 inches) in length, which turn yellow during autumn. Green catkins measuring 3 to 6 centimeters (1 to 2 inches) long emerge alongside the new leaves in spring; male catkins bear yellow anthers. Like all willow species, Salix eleagnos is dioecious. Its specific epithet eleagnos is very often spelled elaeagnos, after Elaeagnus (the genus of silverberries and oleasters), but the original spelling has been accepted as the correct Greek form. Salix eleagnos subsp. angustifolia has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
