Salix myrsinifolia
myrsine‑leaved willow

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Dark-leaved willow (Salix myrsinifolia) is a rapid-growing, dioecious willow that occurs as either a small shrub or a small tree, showing high variability across environments (Nissinen et al., 2018). It is native throughout northern and central Europe and extends eastward into western Siberia (Mirski et al., 2017; Nissinen et al., 2018). Dark-leaved willow thrives in humid, nutrient-rich habitats, including wetlands, riparian margins, and moist forest edges (Mirski et al., 2017; Nissinen et al., 2018). Its rapid growth and flexible form allow it to establish well in boreal landscapes. 

Like many willows, it is valued for erosion control, restoration planting, and biomass production. Its salicylate content, which it produces as a chemical defence against consistently high herbivore pressure, also makes it of interest for ecological and pharmaceutical uses and chemical-property studies (Nissinen et al., 2018). 

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Acknowledgements

This distribution map has been developed by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (partly based on the EUFORGEN map) and released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0)

Caudullo, Giovanni; Welk, Erik; San-Miguel-Ayanz, Jesús (2017). Chorological maps and data for the main European woody species. figshare. Collection. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.2918528

 

The following experts have contributed to the development of the EUFORGEN distribution maps:

Fazia Krouchi (Algeria), Hasmik Ghalachyan (Armenia), Thomas Geburek (Austria), Berthold Heinze (Austria), Rudi Litschauer (Austria), Rudolf Litschauer (Austria), Michael Mengl (Austria), Ferdinand Müller (Austria), Franz Starlinger (Austria), Valida Ali-zade (Azerbaijan), Vahid Djalal Hajiyev (Azerbaijan), Karen Cox (Belgium), Bart De Cuyper (Belgium), Olivier Desteucq (Belgium), Patrick Mertens (Belgium), Jos Van Slycken (Belgium), An Vanden Broeck (Belgium), Kristine Vander Mijnsbrugge (Belgium), Dalibor Ballian (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Alexander H. Alexandrov (Bulgaria), Alexander Delkov (Bulgaria), Ivanova Denitsa Pandeva (Bulgaria), Peter Zhelev Stoyanov (Bulgaria), Joso Gracan (Croatia), Marilena Idzojtic (Croatia), Mladen Ivankovic (Croatia), Željka Ivanović (Croatia), Davorin Kajba (Croatia), Hrvoje Marjanovic (Croatia), Sanja Peric (Croatia), Andreas Christou (Cyprus), Xenophon Hadjikyriacou (Cyprus), Václav Buriánek (Czech Republic), Jan Chládek (Czech Republic), Josef Frýdl (Czech Republic), Petr Novotný (Czech Republic), Martin Slovacek (Czech Republic), Zdenek Špišek (Czech Republic), Karel Vancura (Czech Republic), Ulrik Bräuner (Denmark), Bjerne Ditlevsen (Denmark), Jon Kehlet Hansen (Denmark), Jan Svejgaard Jensen (Denmark), Kalev Jðgiste (Estonia), Tiit Maaten (Estonia), Raul Pihu (Estonia), Ülo Tamm (Estonia), Arvo Tullus (Estonia), Aivo Vares (Estonia), Teijo Nikkanen (Finland), Sanna Paanukoski (Finland), Mari Rusanen (Finland), Pekka Vakkari (Finland), Leena Yrjänä (Finland), Daniel Cambon (France), Eric Collin (France), Alexis Ducousso (France), Bruno Fady (France), François Lefèvre (France), Brigitte Musch (France), Sylvie Oddou-Muratorio (France), Luc E. Pâques (France), Julien Saudubray (France), Marc Villar (France), Vlatko Andonovski (FYR Macedonia), Dragi Pop-Stojanov (FYR Macedonia), Merab Machavariani (Georgia), Irina Tvauri (Georgia), Alexander Urushadze (Georgia), Bernd Degen (Germany), Jochen Kleinschmit (Germany), Armin König (Germany), Armin König (Germany), Volker Schneck (Germany), Richard Stephan (Germany), H. H. Kausch-Blecken Von Schmeling (Germany), Georg von Wühlisch (Germany), Iris Wagner (Germany), Heino Wolf (Germany), Paraskevi Alizoti (Greece), Filippos Aravanopoulos (Greece), Andreas Drouzas (Greece), Despina Paitaridou (Greece), Aristotelis C. Papageorgiou (Greece), Kostas Thanos (Greece), Sándor Bordács (Hungary), Csaba Mátyás (Hungary), László Nagy (Hungary), Thröstur Eysteinsson (Iceland), Adalsteinn Sigurgeirsson (Iceland), Halldór Sverrisson (Iceland), John Fennessy (Ireland), Ellen O'Connor (Ireland), Fulvio Ducci (Italy), Silvia Fineschi (Italy), Bartolomeo Schirone (Italy), Marco Cosimo Simeone (Italy), Giovanni Giuseppe Vendramin (Italy), Lorenzo Vietto (Italy), Janis Birgelis (Latvia), Virgilijus Baliuckas (Lithuania), Kestutis Cesnavicius (Lithuania), Darius Danusevicius (Lithuania), Valmantas Kundrotas (Lithuania), Alfas Pliûra (Lithuania), Darius Raudonius (Lithuania), Robert du Fays (Luxembourg), Myriam Heuertz (Luxembourg), Claude Parini (Luxembourg), Fred Trossen (Luxembourg), Frank Wolter (Luxembourg), Joseph Buhagiar (Malta), Eman Calleja (Malta), Ion Palancean (Moldova), Dragos Postolache (Moldova), Gheorghe Postolache (Moldova), Hassan Sbay (Morocco), Tor Myking (Norway), Tore Skrøppa (Norway), Anna Gugala (Poland), Jan Kowalczyk (Poland), Czeslaw Koziol (Poland), Jan Matras (Poland), Zbigniew Sobierajski (Poland), Maria Helena Almeida (Portugal), Filipe Costa e Silva (Portugal), Luís Reis (Portugal), Maria Carolina Varela (Portugal), Ioan Blada (Romania), Alexandru-Lucian Curtu (Romania), Lucian Dinca (Romania), Georgeta Mihai (Romania), Mihai Olaru (Romania), Gheorghe Parnuta (Romania), Natalia Demidova (Russian Federation), Mikhail V. Pridnya (Russian Federation), Andrey Prokazin (Russian Federation), Srdjan Bojovic (Serbia) , Vasilije Isajev (Serbia), Saša Orlovic (Serbia), Rudolf Bruchánik (Slovakia), Roman Longauer (Slovakia), Ladislav Paule (Slovakia), Gregor Bozič (Slovenia), Robert Brus (Slovenia), Katarina Celič (Slovenia), Hojka Kraigher (Slovenia), Andrej Verlič (Slovenia), Marjana Westergren (Slovenia), Ricardo Alía (Spain), Josefa Fernández-López (Spain), Luis Gil Sanchez (Spain), Pablo Gonzalez Goicoechea (Spain), Santiago C. González-Martínez (Spain), Sonia Martin Albertos (Spain), Eduardo Notivol Paino (Spain), María Arantxa Prada (Spain), Alvaro Soto de Viana (Spain), Lennart Ackzell (Sweden), Jonas Bergquist (Sweden), Sanna Black-Samuelsson (Sweden), Jonas Cedergren (Sweden), Gösta Eriksson (Sweden), Markus Bolliger (Switzerland), Felix Gugerli (Switzerland), Rolf Holderegger (Switzerland), Peter Rotach (Switzerland), Marcus Ulber (Switzerland), Sven M.G. de Vries (The Netherlands), Khouja Mohamed Larbi (Tunisia), Murat Alan (Turkey), Gaye Kandemir (Turkey), Gursel Karagöz (Turkey), Zeki Kaya (Turkey), Hasan Özer (Turkey), Hacer Semerci (Turkey), Ferit Toplu (Turkey), Mykola M. Vedmid (Ukraine), Roman T. Volosyanchuk (Ukraine), Stuart A'Hara (United Kingdom), Joan Cottrell (United Kingdom), Colin Edwards (United Kingdom), Michael Frankis (United Kingdom), Jason Hubert (United Kingdom), Karen Russell (United Kingdom), C.J.A. Samuel (United Kingdom).
 

Genetic summary

Genetic diversity and variation 

Genetic diversity in dark-leaved willow is moderate to high but is typically lower than that of many other willow (Salix) species, possibly because of bottlenecks during glaciation episodes (Mirski et al., 2017). High genetic diversity is consistent with patterns seen in many willows due to obligate outcrossing in dioecious populations, effective long-distance seed dispersal, and high population densities that enhance cross-pollination. Populations of dark-leaved willow contain multiple haplotypes, have high polymorphism, and have most variation occurring within rather than between populations (Cronk et al., 2015; Mirski et al., 2017). Some studies show genetic diversity declines towards higher latitudes, reflecting founder effects and historical postglacial range expansion (Cronk et al., 2015). 

A unique aspect of dark-leaved willow is the presence of both dioecious and trioecious populations. These reproductive forms differ genetically, with dioecious populations having unique haplotypes with distinct diversity patterns compared with trioecious ones (Mirski et al., 2017). Like many willows, populations are typically female biased at roughly 2:1 (Nissinen et al., 2018). 

Genetic distribution and clustering 

Genetic distribution in dark-leaved willow shows clear geographic structuring, with northern submarginal populations containing more haplotypes than southern marginal ones, reflecting historical range dynamics (Mirski et al., 2017). Trioecious populations are more common in southern areas and contain hermaphrodites linked to specific haplotypes. Trioecy can aid colonization through occasional self-fertilization but can reduce genetic variability through inbreeding. Hermaphrodite frequency decreases towards the northern distribution, contributing to subtle but notable genetic clustering in the dark-leaved willow’s range (Mirski et al., 2017). 

Gene flow  

Dark-leaved willow is insect pollinated with wind-dispersed seeds. Insect pollinators generally move pollen over short to moderate distances between nearby individuals. Wind-dispersed seeds can enable much longer-distance gene flow, meaning overall gene flow may be spatially asymmetric and more extensive for seeds than for pollen. 


The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2025.

Further relevant genetic traits

Interspecific taxa dynamics 

Dark-leaved willow can hybridize with other willow species, which is common in the willow genus. While this can cause genetic admixture and shared ancestry, research shows dark-leaved willow is genetically distinct from other willows (Cronk et al., 2015). Hybridization contributes to genetic variability and can blur distributional boundaries, but it has not compromised the species’ core genetic cohesion. 

 

The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2025.

Genetic conservation

Threats 

Research specific to dark-leaved willow is limited, making it difficult to fully assess threats to its genetic diversity. As with many willows, hybridization with related species could potentially dilute local genetic structure, and climatic shifts may alter population dynamics. Although the species is currently expanding its range at approximately 0.8 km per year (Mirski et al., 2017), edge populations may still face reduced genetic diversity due to founder effects. More targeted, species-specific studies are needed to understand these risks. 

Management 

Management strategies are challenging to define because most existing research focuses on the willow genus broadly rather than dark-leaved willow specifically. Preserving habitat connectivity, maintaining diverse populations, and monitoring potential hybrid zones could help support genetic diversity, but further research is necessary to determine effective species-specific conservation measures. 

 

The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2025.

Further reading

NA

References

Cronk, Q., Ruzzier, E., Belyaeva, I., and Percy, D. 2015. Salix transect of Europe: latitudinal patterns in willow diversity from Greece to arctic Norway. Biodiversity Data Journal, 3: e6258. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.3.e6258 

Mirski, P., Brzosko, E., Jędrzejczyk, I., Kotowicz, J., Ostrowiecka, B., and Wróblewska, A. 2017. Genetic structure of dioecious and trioecious Salix myrsinifolia populations at the border of geographic range. Tree Genetics & Genomes, 13(1): 15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-016-1096-6 

Nissinen, K., Virjamo, V., Mehtätalo, L., Lavola, A., Valtonen, A., Nybakken, L., and Julkunen-Tiitto, R. 2018. A seven-year study of phenolic concentrations of the dioecious Salix myrsinifolia. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 44(4): 416–430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-018-0942-4 

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