Salix alba var. vitellina (L.) Stokes
golden willow
Shoots yellow or orange-yellow. Lvs silky hairy at first, soon glabrous or glabrate.
N.; S.: widespread and sometimes common or very common.
Europe 1883
Riverbanks, lakesides, around ponds and similar habitats.
Most wild material of S. alba can be referred to var. vitellina, sometimes treated at sp. rank as S. vitellina L., and 2 forms can be distinguished in N.Z.
(1) Golden willow or egg yolk willow, so called because of its yellow or orange-yellow twigs, is by far the most common.
(2) cv. 'Britzensis', distinguished by its attractive deep red shoots, is known in the wild only from the banks of the Waimakariri R. north of Christchurch. At this site both sexes are represented and the plants grow with both the golden form of var. vitellina and S. fragilis. `Britzensis' is said to have been derived from var. vitellina and the original plant was ♂, so ♀ plants which are vegetatively indistinguishable from ♂ plants should really have a separate cv. name.
Var. coerulea (Smith) Smith, cricket bat willow, has been reported growing in N.Z., but no specimens from wild plants are known. It is rare in cultivation except in part of Christchurch.
