Whispering Willow

This small shrub grows up to 1 foot (30.5 cm) tall and lives for around 46 years. It is very resistant to disease but is susceptible to destructive insect infestation.

It has several slender, wavy stems covered in rough, gray bark, and the wood inside is pale brown.

The branches are short and thin with thousands of twigs that and are covered with large amounts of huge, asymmetrical, leaves with serrated edges. The leaves themselves are a shade of gray-green that gradient shifts to aquamarine at the top, sturdy and waxy.

In mid-spring it produces many balls of medium-sized, red blossoms with slender, pointed petals with a trumpet-shaped floral cup. They detach easily and have an intensely strong scent that smells like a newborn baby.

In early winter small pleated fruits ripen. The rough lilac skin is stretchy and inedible, and the slightly crunchy white flesh is sour and syrupy. The cream seeds are small and are scattered throughout the fruit.