Willow

Botanical

by Alison Syme

Drooping lazily over waterways, shading gardens, guarding hedgerows―the willow tree is a poetically formed plant, but also a practical one. For millennia, the wood of the willow has been used for baskets, furniture, fences, and toys, while finding its place in the watercolors of Monet, Shakespearean tragedies, Hans Christian Andersen, and  The Lord of the Rings . Telling the willow’s rich and multilayered tale, Alison Syme explores its presence in literature, art, and human history.
 
Syme examines the manifold practical uses of the tree, discussing the application of its bark in medicines, its production as an energy crop that produces biofuel and charcoal, and its employment for soil stabilization and other environmental protection schemes. But despite all the functional uses of willows, she argues, we must also heed the lessons they teach about living, dying, and enriching our world. Looking at the roles that willows have played in folklore, religion, and art, she parses their connections to grief and joy, toil and play, necessity and ornament. Filled with one hundred images,  Willow  is a seamless account of the singular place the willow holds in our culture.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Lloyd Downey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rather unusual book devoted to the willow (Salix) genus and I found that there are between 350 and 500 separate species. Why the huge range? ...Well they are apparently very hard to classify because of hybridisation and local variation. I found the book a mixture of fascinating ....especially the early chapters on natural history and handicraft.....and somewhat boring...... when it came to art and the willow. Not sure that I needed several pages of text to describe a picture (that was more or less self-explanatory). But I did learn a lot about willows and their place in history. I don't think we have any native willows in Australia.....I just checked it out and there is a tree called the Australian Native Willow...also commonly called "Wilga". It has long thin leaves ...presumably why it has this name but it doesn't belong to the Salix family of true willows. I remember my father drawing my attention to the rather attractive fragrant smell of the crushed leaves of the Wilga tree, once when we were on a trip near Tottenham NSW. Interestingly enough the NSW Department of Primary industry says of the Salix species that this plant is a weed of national significance and must not be sold anywhere in NSW. (It invades waterways and blocks slow moving waters...most rivers in Australia are pretty slow moving). Despite the prohibition there still seem to be willows in abundance and I have my own fond recollections of climbing in willow trees and reclining in their shade ....making bows and arrows from willow branches and having a spectacular fall when the branch that I was hanging onto......high in the tree snapped with a loud crack and I plunged earthwards at a frightful speed. Somehow I managed to release my grip on the wayward branch and grasp another on the way down. This one held or I might not be writing this today. I also recall cooling, night swims with a group of friends in the canals around Griffith ...when the heat of the day had receded somewhat ...and hauling ourselves out of the water with the aid of the willow tree roots ...which were no doubt on their way to form that impenetrable mat that the Dept Primary Industry was so concerned about.
I was well aware of the medicinal properties of willow bark and how it was the original source of salicylic acid (aspirin) but not really so aware of the importance of polling of willows in Europe. I was well aware of polled cattle (no horns) but had not connected the polling of willow trees with the same term. The polled willows ...which certainly make the trees seem ugly in the winter and were a source of inspiration for the likes of Arthur Rackham's rather frightening figures in his illustrations of fairy tales....are a major resource for handicrafts and for farmers of old. In fact, I think, we might have had a wooden rake made up from polled willows when I lived in Spain.
All in all, a fairly satisfying book. Maybe a bit too encyclopaedic in some ways .....kind-of listing ad nauseam some of the aspects of willows. But happy to give it 4 stars.