Salix triandra L.

This minor variant was discovered by William Borrer in Sussex; Sir James Smith, who described it in 1828, identified it with the willow figured as S. triandra in Hoffmann’s Salices (1785), whence the specific epithet. The var. hoffmanniana is found in various parts of Britain, though not commonly. Nearly all the plants are male and may belong to a single clone, though there is no obvious reason why this willow should have been planted, as it is unsuitable for any practical purpose.S. triandra varies in the size and relative width of its leaves, and in the colouring of their undersurface. Plants with the leaves green beneath are considered to represent the typical state of the species; those that have them glaucous beneath are sometimes distinguished as var. discolor Anderss. (or even as a subspecies).

S. medwedewii Dode, shrubby, with very narrow leaves, intensely glaucous beneath, is synonymous with this species (cf. A. K. Skvortsov in Fl. Iranica). It was described in 1908 from plants introduced to France from the Caucasus and could be regarded as a cultivar of S. triandra – cv. ‘Medwedewii’.