it is a shrub 1 - 2 m high (over 4 m in the shade), densely finished with thin branches
the crown is spherical in shape
smooth, grey bark on stems
Buds
erect in a spiral, ovate-conical, slightly flattened, leafy 2 - 3 mm large (floral up to 5 mm)
covering scale is one, reddish-brown to yellow-brown, sparsely hairy at first, later glabrous
Shoots
annual growths are thin, (angular), first hairy, later balding, greenish-brown to reddish
two-year-old and older branches are after peeling the bark with noticeable strips !
Leaves (assimilation organs)
leaves are simple, invertedly ovate (to oblong-inverted ovate) indistinctly serrated along the edge, often wavy, the tip of the blade curved to twisted outwards
the leaves are 3 - 5 x 1.5 - 3 cm in size, the petiole is up to 1 cm long
they are wrinkled on the upper side, the vein is depressed and they are almost bare
they are greyish-green on the underside, scattered hairy with distinctly protruding venation, with 6 - 10 (11) pairs of lateral veins
the bracts are relatively large, heart-shaped, evergreen (eared willow)!
Flowers
it is dioecious tree species
flowers are catkins
it blooms in IV - V, before foliage
Fruits – seeds
the fruit is a capsule
the seed is Downy Achene
Extension
almost all of Europe except the northern part of Scandinavia and southern Europe, in the east it extends to the territory of Western Siberia
in Slovakia scattered throughout the territory, rarer in hills, rarely in lowlands (occurrence mainly on peat sands)
Ecology
it inhabits habitats on acidic and mineral-poor subsoils
it grows mainly in moist to peaty meadows (also on peat bogs), on the edges of forests
Significance
soil protection and to some extent also aesthetic (with leaves)
