Osier

From Encyclopediak

Osier, 0' zher, or Basket-Willow, a low, bushy shrub of the Willow Family, whose twigs, on account of their toughness and pliability, are widely used in basketry. The shrub is a native of Europe but is frequently found in the United States on low ground and along the banks of streams, where its growth forms a close thicket. The wood is light and soft and covered by a light green, bitter-tasting bark. The leaves, like those of all willows, are long and narrow in color they are light green and in some climates they are evergreen. The flowers, which appear before the leaves, are often the earliest spring blossoms. There are two kinds of flowers one of these is borne in short, scaly heads, not at all conspicuous the other, rather more attractive, is borne in fluffy catkins with bright yellow, protruding stamens. These flowers depend upon insects to pass the pollen on to the seed-bearing flowers and so are provided with honey-bearing cells and have a slight fragrance. The fruit is a pod, which opens by splitting in halves, disclosing many small seeds, bearing tufts of cottony down.