What is the difference between willow and willow?

The problem of the difference between willow and willow is most acute on the eve of the widely celebrated holiday - Palm Sunday, when Orthodox Christians illuminate willow branches with blossoming fluffy flower buds. Of course, the sacred books do not say anything about which branch, except for palm trees, should be illuminated, but the people have a tradition of doing this action with a willow, since other plants in a temperate climate at this time do not yet show any signs of life.

If in villages in the first half of the 20th century it was customary to break off twigs on their own, in our time in cities they are most often bought directly from the church. And here it is easy to make a mistake and acquire a very similar, but still "wrong" branch - a willow branch. How to distinguish the branches of these trees, and the trees themselves from each other - we will talk in this article.

If you look for the difference between willow and willow, it should be borne in mind that any willow is a willow, but not every willow is a willow. That is, pussy willows, which in themselves in different regions can be represented by different biological species, are all representatives of the vast willow family, numbering more than 100 species.

Even professional botanists, together with professional folklorists, will not immediately figure out in which area what name, what species it belongs to. Most often, willow is called a willow, which has another popular name - "krasnotal". However, in some regions, the willow is also called willow, which is often also called shelyuga, goat willow or purple willow. Many species of the family quite easily form hybrids, which introduces additional problems in their definition, and those that are commonly called willows are no exception.

An essential feature for referring to willows is the ecological feature of plants to grow not only along the banks of water bodies, but also at some distance from them.... This is due to the poor seed survival rate of most species without open water. Those willows, the seeds of which do not die, having fallen into the ground damp after the melting of snows and began to be called willows. That is, you can meet a willow both on the banks of a river or lake, and at a distance from them. Late flowering willows grow only on the shore.

It should be noted that seed germination - not the only way of spreading willows, all of them with varying degrees of success can spread vegetatively. A branch buried in or simply sprinkled with earth under favorable conditions can easily take root, eventually forming a new plant. One of the most important conditions is constant moisture, it is for this reason that the vast majority of members of the family grow in humid places.

As already noted, the Willow family is very extensive and diverse, for this reason it is not easy to distinguish willows from other species, for example, by the crown. The opinion has been entrenched among the people that it is necessary to take branches in the spring from those trees whose branches stick up, and the crown has a spherical shape. It is better not to take branches from those trees whose branches are tilted downward, since it is most likely not a willow and, accordingly, having opened, the buds will not give the desired fluffy flowers.

This popular observation, of course, is true, but, like any rule, it has exceptions - there are many species, the branches of which do not bend down, and the crown has a completely spherical shape. A twig of such a willow brought home or illuminated in a church will not bloom like fluffy gray "cats".

A more reliable method is to determine the willow, in addition to the crown and the place of growth, also by the color of the bark. This feature became the fundamental for the popular name of the willow krasnotal. If the thin young twigs of most willows are greenish-gray, then in the red-willow willow they have a reddish-brown tint. The same feature is also present in the purple willow, which again became its most important feature, highlighted by systematic scientists who assigned it such a scientific name.

The rest of the early flowering willow species, popularly called willows, also have, in one way or another, a pronounced reddish color of the shoots.... For example, in Shelyuga, they are rather orange-yellow, but not greenish or gray in any way.

As already noted, pussy willows bloom in early spring, in some regions they can bloom in February. Their flower buds bloom earlier than leaf buds. This significantly distinguishes willows from other willows and serves as another way to accurately identify them. Biologically, this is due to the greater adaptability of willows to wind pollination when the leaves do not interfere with this.

Most of the representatives of the Willow family - early honey plants, and insects are still the main method of pollination. The willows have chosen a different path, therefore they bloom to the foliage and insects.

Due to the fact that wind pollination of other willows is still possible, and also because insects are able to pollinate pussy willow flowers, during prolonged or atypical thaws, when different willows bloom almost simultaneously and there are cross-pollination of closely related species, leading to the appearance of hybrids.

The flower buds of willows, like the shoots, have a reddish tint and are slightly pubescent. In terms of color, they are much darker than the rest of the shoot, which was a consequence of adaptation to low temperatures. The kidney should be warmed up by bright sunlight as soon as possible. In addition, pussy willow buds are larger than those of most willows, as they have to withstand colder temperatures, such as at night.

That feature of flowers, for which the willows are so popular among the people - are silvery-gray villi, as well as an adaptation to flowering at low air temperatures, the villi help to keep the much-needed warmth. All willows are monoecious plants, that is, one plant cannot have male flowers with stamens and female flowers with pistils.

In the rest of the willows, flower buds are similar in color to the color of the bark of the shoots, that is, greenish-brown or gray. The size of the buds, in comparison with pussy willows, is smaller, they also have pubescence. Flowering begins either simultaneously with the opening of leaf buds, or even after it. The flowers of these species can hardly be called beautiful, although, unlike pussy willows, they have brighter elements of a light yellow color.

At the same time, they exude a honey aroma that is barely perceptible to humans. All this taken together makes such tiny inflorescences attractive to insects, and willows are among the first honey plants.

It is clear that leaves will first appear on a willow twig placed in the water, and only then flowers may bloom, completely unlike the fluffy "seals" of the willow.