This alien is sometimes grown for ornamental use as a "pussy willow" by florists. Most of the records mapped here may not be from truly naturalized plants. The coll. from HICK (MUR) appears to represent an escaped plant, identified as ssp. oleifera (Sm.) Macreight by Clark et al. (2005). S. cinerea can be difficult to distinguish from discolor; see FNA 7 for details.