Eared Willow Care

shrub plant, species of the genus Willow (Salix) of the Willow family (Salicaceae).

Shrub 0.5-2 m high, strongly branching. Young branches are pubescent, one-year-olds are glabrous and reddish-brown, and older branches are already dark in color.
The buds are small, reddish, ovoid, glabrous. Stipules are sickle-shaped, dentate. Leaves reach 0.8-4 cm in length and 0.5-3 cm in width, the greatest width is usually just above the middle of the leaf. The top of the leaf is usually folded, the base is wedge-shaped, the edges are coarsely finely toothed or wavy, wrinkled from above, dull green in color, from below with a dense grayish down and a network of clearly visible veins.
Catkins develop earlier than leaves, or simultaneously with them. Male catkins are sessile, short-ovate, 1–2 cm long. Female catkins are located on a short stalk, on which leaflets are present, 2.5–3 cm long. Calyx-shaped cups, monochromatic, hairy, light brown, darker at the apex. Stamens 2, free, hairy. Anthers yellow, nectary 1.
The ovary is ovate-subulate, located on a long stalk, obtuse, silky-hairy. Flowering occurs either before the leaves bloom, or at the same time.