Salix caprea – Goat Willow – Sallow

General Information Common Name  Goat Willow, Sallow Scientific Name  Salix caprea Sun Tolerance  Full Sun Height  8 - 10 m (26-33 ft) Spread  6 -8 m (20 - 30 ft) Growth Rate  Fast Bloom Time  Spring Color  Green, Flower Color  Yellow Type  Tree Native  USA, Asia, Europe.

Classification Kingdom  Plantae – Plants Subkingdom  Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division  Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants Class  Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons Subclass  Dilleniidae Order  Salicales Family  Salicaceae – Willow family Genus  Salix L. – Willow Species  S. caprea

Salix caprea – Goat Willow – Sallow

Salix caprea common name is Goat Willow also know as Sallow is native to Europe and western and central Asia. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree, it grows 8–10 m (26–33 ft) in height, some time it grows up to 13 m (43 ft). Goat Willow (so called because goats readily browse it) is a pleasant small tree, well known for the early appearance in spring of its silver (female) or golden (male) catkins or ‘palm’, followed by oval, not slender, leaves. Other names for it are Sallow and pussy Willow.

The twigs are smooth and reddish-brown, and carry round yellow-green winter buds concealed in single scale which becomes weather-reddened towards the top. The oval leaves, 1-2 inches long, have a wavy margin and a pointed tip. They are lighter and hairy on the underside, and have two prominent stipules – little leaflets – at the base of the stalk.

The sexes are never on the same tree. The female catkins begin to appear in January or February as attractive silvery-downy flower heads. The erect male catkins have showy golden anthers which open in March. The seeds are small and hairy.

The bark is smooth, greenish-brown at first, becoming dark brown on older trees. The wood is pale cream to pinkish-brown, and woolly, but it is rarely used. Like other willows, Sallow coppices with much vigor. It is a very pretty component of mixed broad-leaved woodland and of some usefulness as a natural pioneer species, being able to establish itself on all types of waste ground.

Salix caprea – Goat Willow – Sallow

Salix caprea Leaves

Leaves of Goat Willow

Salix caprea – Goat Willow Leaves

Flowers of Goat Willow 

Salix caprea Flowers

Flowers of Salix caprea 

Salix caprea – Goat Willow – Sallow

Salix caprea – Goat Willow – Sallow

 Goat Willow with seeds cotton

Salix caprea – Goat Willow – Sallow

Salix caprea Bark

The Bark of Goat Willow

Salix caprea – Goat Willow – Sallow

Salix caprea – Goat Willow – Sallow

Salix caprea – Goat Willow – Sallow

Salix caprea – Goat Willow – Sallow

Salix caprea – Goat Willow – Sallow