Leaf:  Alternate, simple, pinnately veined; blades narrowly lanceolate, usually curved to one side, long-pointed at the tip, rounded or tapering at the base; 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 cm) long and 3/8 to ¾ inch (7.5 to 18 cm) wide; finely toothed along the edges; hairless or nearly so, dark green, and shiny on the upper surface; light green and smooth or hairy on the veins of the lower surface; leafstalks short, often surrounded at the base by a pair of green leaf-like stipules.

Flower:  Male and female flowers borne on separate trees; flowers are tiny, green, crowded in elongated catkins, 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.5 cm) long; with yellow hairy scales; at end of leafy twigs; appearing as the leaves begin to unfold.

Fruit:  Several narrow, cone- or flask-shaped reddish-brown capsules, 1/8 to 3/16 inch (3 to 5 mm) long, crowded in elongated clusters; hairless; containing many small, cottony seeds; borne on catkins; capsules split on maturity; maturing June to July.

Twig:  Slender, orange-brown to olive-green, smooth; with a bitter aspirin taste; leaf scars alternate, U-shaped, with 3 bundle traces; buds small, oblong, reddish-brown, up to 1/8 inch (3 mm) long, covered by one bud scale; terminal bud absent.

Bark:  Dark brown to gray-black, rough, deeply furrowed into forking ridges, forming elongated, vertical, rather tight scales.

Form:  Medium to large tree up to 90 feet (27 m) tall; 1 or more massive, straight and usually leaning trunks of diameter up to 3 feet (0.9 m); crown usually round-topped, but sometimes irregular; upright branches.

Discussion

Black willow wood is lightweight, usually straight-grained, soft, and not as strong as many other woods, though fairly shock-resistant.  It takes a stain well, but it is not very durable.  Black willow grows to commercial size in the lower Mississippi Valley where it may be harvested for millwork, furniture, doors, cabinetwork, boxes, barrels, toys, flooring, crates, fuel, and pulpwood. Because it is lightweight, doesn't splinter easily, and holds its shape well, it was once used for making artificial limbs.   

Birds eat the buds and flowers, deer eat the twigs and leaves, and rodents eat the bark and buds.  The yellow-bellied sapsucker feeds on the sap.  Black willow also provides nesting sites for some nongame birds.

Pioneers burned willow wood to make charcoal for gunpowder.

Growing along rivers and other bodies of water, the black willow serves to prevent erosion and lessen flood damage.  Poles and mats made from black willow branches have been used as part of the construction of levees and as riverbank protection to prevent similar damage.

Distinguishing Characteristics

The narrow lance-shaped leaves which are green on the lower surface and which have many fine teeth along the edges distinguish this willow from other willows in Illinois.

Distribution

New Brunswick across to Ontario, south to Texas, east to Florida.

Images

Click each small picture to see a larger image.
 

October, 2002 MS	October, 2002 LD	October, 2002 LD
March, 2003	March, 2003	March, 2003

Location

N 39.26996°     W -89.89221°
At the southeast corner of the pond, Loveless Park, South Locust Street, Carlinville, Macoupin County, IL.

Copyright

Photos © 2002 Lacy Davis and Mike Schafer II, Carlinville High School, linke@carlinvilleschools.net

References

Robert H. Mohlenbrock, Forest Trees of Illinois, 1996, Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

George D. Fuller and E. E. Nuuttila, Forest Trees of Illinois, 1955, Illinois Department of Conservation.

Elbert L. Little, Field Guide to Trees:  Eastern Region, 1980, Alfred A. Knopf.

Virginia Tech, Black Willow Fact Sheet
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/snigra.htm

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/salnig/value_and_use.html

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