White Willow redirects here. See White Willow for the Norwegian band. Golden Willow redirects here. See Golden Willow for information on the horse of that name. Salix alba (White Willow) is a species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia.Meikle, R. D. (1984). Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland. BSBI Handbook No. 4. ISBN 0-901158-07-0.Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9. The name derives from the white tone to the leaves. It is a medium-sized to large deciduous tree growing up to 10-30 m tall, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter and an irregular, often leaning crown. The bark is grey-brown, deeply fissured in older trees. The shoots in the typical species are grey-brown to green-brown. The leaves are paler than most other willows, due to a cov