Australian Willow Identification Guide

Key Identifying Features

The Australian Willow (Geijera parviflora), also called wilga, is a small to medium evergreen tree, 25-35 ft tall, with a slender trunk and a dense, weeping, rounded crown. Despite the common name it is not a true willow (Salix) and is not related to one - it belongs to the citrus family (Rutaceae). The graceful drooping branches and narrow leaves give it the willow look, but it is far tougher and more drought-tolerant.

• Habit: finely textured, fountain-like canopy with pendulous branch tips
• Evergreen with a soft, airy appearance
• Drought- and heat-hardy, common in dry Southwest U.S. landscapes

Leaves & Stems

Leaves are simple, narrow and lance-shaped (linear), roughly 3-6 inches long and only about a quarter inch wide, tapering to a fine point. They are a dull olive to medium green, leathery, and hang gracefully from the drooping branches. A defining trait: crushed foliage gives off a light resinous or citrus-like aroma, reflecting the plant's Rutaceae heritage and the presence of oil glands (hold a leaf to the light to see tiny translucent dots). Young stems are slender, flexible and greenish, maturing to gray-brown bark that becomes finely furrowed.

Flowers & Fruit

Flowers are small, creamy-white to greenish, about 1/4 inch across, borne in loose terminal clusters (panicles), usually in late winter to spring. They are not showy but are mildly fragrant. The fruit is a small black or dark drupe roughly the size of a peppercorn. Neither flower nor fruit is a strong ornamental feature - the tree is grown chiefly for its weeping form and toughness.

How to Tell It Apart from Look-Alikes

• True weeping willow (Salix babylonica): has wider, finely toothed leaves, prefers wet soil, drops leaves in winter, and has no citrus scent. Australian Willow is evergreen, narrow-leaved, and aromatic.
• Pepper tree (Schinus molle): also weeping and aromatic, but has compound (pinnate) leaves with many leaflets, plus pink berries - very different leaf structure.
• Olive (Olea europaea): silvery, not weeping, with paired leaves and a non-weeping habit.

The combination of evergreen + narrow simple leaves + weeping habit + faint citrus oil scent is essentially unique among common landscape trees.

Where You'll Find It

Native to the dry inland woodlands of eastern Australia, it is widely planted as a street and parking-lot tree in hot, dry climates (California, Arizona, Texas) where it tolerates drought, wind, heat and poor soils. Look for it in low-water Mediterranean-style gardens.

Quick ID Checklist

• Evergreen tree 25-35 ft with weeping, fountain-shaped crown
• Narrow, lance-shaped leaves 3-6 in long, dull green, leathery
• Crushed leaves smell faintly resinous/citrusy (oil-gland dots)
• Small creamy-greenish flower clusters; tiny black drupes
• Thrives in hot, dry, low-water settings