Salix caprea
caprea = goat
Pussy Willow, Sallow, Goat Willow or Big Momma Willow
A large shrub or small tree from 15-40ft that grows wild in Western Europe and all the way East to China and Japan. In Japan it is called S. bakko, which translated means Big Momma Willow! Leaves are much broader than most willows. Flower buds are shiny chestnut brown and open to much-prized catkins that are soft, silky and silvery to 3in long; they are produced early in the year long before the leaves develop. Male flowers turn yellow with pollen, whereas the female catkins become green. A non-fussy shrub that will grow anywhere with dry to moist soil. This species has naturalized in parts of the Province of Quebec. Hardy to Zone 3.
USES: ornamental shrub, prune regularly to keep a steady supply of young shoots that provide the most flowers; bring cut stems indoors for early bouquets
Male catkins popping out of the many buds, great cut-stems in March.
Female catkins with fluffy seed heads that will blow away and, if lucky, will land in just the right place to germinate. The foliage is reticulate, which means with netted veins, but much rounder than the similar S. bebbiana. We don't have a female caprea plant.
Internet photo, photographer unknown
A mature plant growing wild in Europe covered in buds and flowers!
A mature tree in the Albuquerque Botanic Garden, New Mexico.
Rather a lot of bloom don't you think! Mid-February.
Undersides of the leaves
are glaucous (blue-green).
photo courtesy Graham Calow
Salix caprea by a pond in Tenafly NJ in late March.
The distinctive red flower buds of Salix caprea covered with fine hairs, as are the stems and leaf petiole. A show almost equal to the flowers, with all winter to enjoy these touches of color in the dreary days of winter! Mid-October
Young leaves of Salix caprea with their distinctive
reticulate venation and crinkled edges. Mid-May
Flower bud development: late October left, calyx splitting center and right mid-April.
The way the calyx splits is one of the characteristics of the Goat Willow.
right: A macro shot of the Goat Willow catkins showing the anthers escaping from their furry bed to allow insects access!
Photo by Brian Johnston
The anthers are pinish-orange when they first appear, but as soon as the pollen appears they turn golden-yellow. Photo in late March.
A fabulous specimen of Salix caprea by a pond in Tenafly NJ in late March.
above: a beautiful shaped
specimen by the same pond.
middle: gray-green bark on a mature plant.
left: deer damage caused by male deer rubbing off the fur coating on their new antlers.
WillowWorld
of Michael Dodge