Withy

For people with the surname, see Withy (surname).
A pollarded willow with a crop of withies ready for harvest
Cutting and stacking withies[1]
Drying withies

A withy or withe (also willow and osier) is a strong flexible willow stem, typically used in thatching, basketmaking, gardening and for constructing woven wattle hurdles.[2][3][1] The term is also used to refer to any type of flexible rod of natural wood used in rural crafts such as hazel or ash created through coppicing or pollarding.

Several species and hybrid cultivars of willows (often known as osiers) are grown for withy production; typical species include Salix acutifolia, Salix daphnoides, Salix × mollissima, Salix purpurea, Salix triandra, and Salix viminalis.[4]

Places such as Wythenshawe and Withy Grove (both in Manchester) take their names from the willow woods and groves that grew there in earlier times. The Somerset Levels remain the only area in the UK growing basket willow commercially.

  1. ^ a b Life on the Upper Thames by H. R. Robertson (1875), chapters II-IV
  2. ^ BBC Inside Out - Thatching Terminology, BBC, January 12, 2004
  3. ^ Wattle Hurdles, Parsons & Sons
  4. ^ Meikle, R. D. (1984). Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland. BSBI Handbook No. 4. ISBN 0-901158-07-0.