The narrow elliptical (and for all practical purposes, linear) foliage of Purpleosier Willow exhibits a bicolor effect in the breeze, with its blue-green uppersides contrasting nicely with the silvery-green undersides of the leaves. This shrub is also known by the common names of Basket Willow (for the ability of its stems to be woven into baskets) and Blue Arctic Willow (for the blue foliage color and cold hardiness to zone 3).