Salix purpurea goes by many names, basket willow and purple osier among them, and the species name is a direct reference to those distinctive purplish male flowers and the young stems that flush with the same hue in spring. The blue-green foliage is genuinely ornamental, cooler in tone than most willows and handsome against stone or water. At just 1 to 2 feet tall at maturity, this is one of the smallest willows available, a low mounding presence suited to stream margins, rain gardens, and naturalized wet areas where something fine-textured and cold-hardy is needed.

It thrives in zones 4 through 8 but prefers cool summers, and North Carolina represents roughly its southern limit in the eastern United States. Like most willows, it can spread into colonies over time, which makes it well suited for erosion control along lake shores and stream banks, exactly the application that first brought it into North America. Cutting the plant to the ground every three to five years restores vigor and keeps the growth fresh. It is dioecious, requiring both male and female plants to set seed, and serves as a larval host for the Viceroy butterfly.