Salix myrtillacea Seeds | Myrtle Willow
LATIN NAME: Salix myrtillacea
COMMON NAME: Myrtle Willow
Plant Profile
Myrtle willow is a low, prostrate willow of the high mountains of Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan and the western Himalaya, growing between 3400 and 4800 metres. It spreads by rooting stems into a mat twenty to fifty centimetres tall, with small, rounded, blue-green leaves that resemble bilberry foliage.
Catkins appear with the leaves in early summer, and the whole plant turns yellow in autumn. It is one of the woody plants that colonises gravel bars and meltwater seeps above the tree line, where it lies flat against the ground to escape the wind. The stems are reddish when young, and the leaves are covered with fine hairs that trap moisture.
Science & Biotechnology
The species is studied in alpine ecology, since it stabilises ground for other plants on gravel and scree above the tree line. Research on Tibetan willows has looked at how they respond to grazing and to warming, and at their role in the diet of yaks and wild herbivores.
Its chromosome number and hybrid relationships have been examined as part of a wider revision of the genus, which is notoriously difficult because willows cross freely. Its rooting stems make it a useful subject for studies of clonal growth in harsh environments.
Uses & Benefits
In its home range it is cut for fuel and used to bind stream banks and road cuttings. In the garden it suits a rock garden, an alpine trough or a damp bank, where its low, rooting habit makes it a useful ground cover and erosion mat.
The catkins are a source of early pollen for insects at altitude, and the plant’s dense mat shelters small invertebrates among the stones. It is grown by alpine specialists rather than by general nurseries, and it is best sourced from seed collected at altitude.
In alpine collections it is grown in a raised bed or a crevice, where its roots can follow moisture between stones and its stems can lie flat. It is also used in restoration sowings on the Tibetan plateau, where cuttings are planted along eroding gullies to slow water and trap silt during the summer rains.
Growing from Seed
Sow fresh seed at once, since willow seed dies within days; surface-sow on moist compost and keep it wet. Cuttings of young stems root easily in water or damp sand.
Plant out in full sun in moist, gritty, well-drained soil; the plant tolerates cold and wind but not drought or deep shade. Trim after flowering to keep the mat dense, and never let the roots dry out in summer. In a trough, mix leaf mould with grit and keep the compost damp, since the plant will not survive a summer drought in a shallow container.
Our Take
A willow for the rock garden rather than the riverside, low, rooting and tough. It is the plant for a cold, wet, windswept corner where little else will lie down and stay.
Related Reading
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