Ohio Trees

Bulletin 700-00

Salix – Willow

Willows are deciduous trees and shrubs bearing buds with a single scale. Leaves are borne alternately and have toothed or entire margins. Flowers are dioecious and borne in catkins. Fruit is a capsule, bearing seeds with basal hairs.

Key to Salix Species

Description of Species

White Willow–Salix alba

The white willow is a large tree, growing 70—100 feet in height with a trunk diameter of 3—4 feet. The trunk is short and stout with large, irregular branches dividing near the ground and slanting upwards into a irregular and broad, open crown. The white willow grows along streams and in most soils. It is important commercially as a timber tree and for pulpwood, charcoal, and basketry.

White Willow

Leaves are white with silky hairs beneath, at least along the midrib. Leaves are 1 1/2—4 inches (4—10 cm) long. Petiole is glandular. Bark on stem and branches is light gray to greenish-brown when young. Branches are often pendulous but not as strongly pendulous as the weeping willow.

Peach-Leaf Willow

There is a cultivar, Vitellina, known as ‘Golden Osier,' or yellow willow. The description of this tree is very similar to the white willow except the twigs and smaller branches are bright yellow while young. Twigs gradually change to yellowish-brown. Another clone, ‘Vitellina Tristis,' also has the yellow twigs, but they are more pendulous.

Peach-Leaf Willow–Salix amygdaloides

Peach-leaf willow is quite abundant in northern Ohio but rare in the southern region. As with most willows, the peach-leaf willow in usually found along streams, ponds, and old, abandoned channels. This willow is a small tree with rough, brown, scaly bark. Branches and twigs are smooth and shiny. Twigs are shiny and reddish-brown or orange in color.

Leaves are dark green above and paler beneath. Leaves are narrow, peach-like, and 3 1/2—4 3/4 inches (9—12 cm) long. Petiole is 1/4—3/5 inch (6—15 mm) long and is glandular. Flowers are monoecious and open in April or May. Fruit is a brown capsule on female trees.

Babylon Weeping Willow

Babylon Weeping Willow–Salix babylonica

A common willow planted for ornamental and specimen purposes, it is a short-trunked tree with an open, broad-spreading crown and long, pendulous branches. In older specimens, the drooping, slender branches sway low, sweeping the ground lightly but noticeably. No other tree has a more graceful, weeping habit.

Leaves are narrow, 1/3—3/5 inch (8—15 mm) wide and 3 1/4—6 1/2 inches (8 1/2—16 1/2 cm) long. Foliage is dark green above and grayish-green beneath. The petiole is 1/8—1/4 inch (3—6 mm) long and glandless. Stipules are usually absent. Leaves are glabrous when mature. Branches are yellow to light brown in winter and conspicuous.

Flowers are monoecious and open in April or May. Fruit is a brown capsule on female trees. Most weeping willows in the United States are male clones and thus produce no fruit. Despite the lack of sexual reproduction this plant has escaped cultivation. Twigs falling from a tree can be carried to a new location by running water where the twig roots and initiates a new plant.

The Wisconsin weeping willow (Salix 3blanda) is more hardy than the Babylon weeping willow. Cold-hardy cultivars and species are preferred for ornamental plantings, especially in northern Ohio.

Wisconsin Weeping Willow–Salix 3blanda

The Wisconsin weeping willow is a hybrid between Salix babylonica and Salix fragilis. This hybrid is a weeping tree 25—30 feet in height with a widespreading crown, and long, loosely hanging branches. Twigs and smaller branches are brownish-green and brittle at the base.

Leaves are 3/5—4/5 inch (15—20 mm) wide and 3 l/4—6 inches (8 1/2—15 cm) long. Foliage is dark green or bright green above and bluish-green beneath. Petioles are 1/5 —1/2 inch (5—13 mm) long. Stipules are present. Lateral veins diverge at an angle of 45° or less from the midrib. Flowers are monoecious and open in April or May. Fruit is a brown capsule on female trees.

Brittle (Crack) Willow–Salix fragilis

A native tree of Europe, the brittle willow is generally distributed along streams all over Ohio. Branches are smooth and olive green in color. Branches are very brittle. When the branches are broken, they snap or crackle, thus the name "crack willow." Branches are upright and not pendulous. Brittle willows are planted for ornamental purposes.

Leaves are 2 1/2—6 1/2 inches (6—16 1/2 cm) long. Foliage is shiny above and light or bluish-green beneath. The petiole is 1/4—1 inch (6—25 mm) long and glandular. Flowers are monoecious and open in April or May. Fruit is a brown capsule on female trees.

Shining Willow–Salix lucida

The shining willow is a shrub or small tree up to 20 feet in height. Branches are yellow to light brown, smooth, and shiny. Generally distributed in northern and central Ohio and rare in southern and eastern portions of the state, the shining willow is beautiful along streams, swamps, and ponds.

Foliage is 2 3/4—4 3/4 inches (7—12 cm) long and shiny on both sides. Leaves have caudate leaf bases and are ovate to lanceolate in outline. Petioles are glandular. Twigs are shiny and yellowish-brown in color. Flowers are monoecious and open in April or May. Fruit is a brown capsule on female trees.

Black Willow–Salix nigra

The black willow is native along streams throughout the state. It rarely grows over 50 feet in height and is frequently found singly or in clumps along water courses. In the winter, the bright, reddish-brown or golden, naked twigs are quite conspicuous. The tree is as broad as tall but does not have pendulous branches.

The leaves are 2 1/4—4 3/4 inches (5 3/4—12 cm) long and less than 1/2 inch (13 mm) wide. The tips are tapered and the margins are finely toothed. The leaves are bright green on both sides, turning pale yellow in early autumn. The petiole is not glandular. Leaves are linear with a lanceolate outline. Twigs are yellow and slightly hairy when young.

Black Willow

Male and female flowers are borne on separate trees. The fruit is a pod, bearing numerous, minute seeds which are furnished with long, silky down, enabling them to be carried long distances by the wind.

The bark is deeply divided into broad, flat ridges that separate into thick, platelike scales. On older trees, the bark becomes very shaggy. It varies in color from light brown tinged with orange to dark brown or nearly black. The wood is soft, light, and weak.

Laurel Willow

There are many species of willows that are not easily recognizable. All willows are valuable for checking soil erosion along stream banks and should be extensively grown for this purpose. A high grade of charcoal used in the manufacture of gunpowder is obtained from willow wood. Willow lumber is the chief wood used in the manufacture of artificial limbs.

Laurel Willow–Salix pentandra

A beautiful willow that has escaped cultivation from Europe, the laurel willow can reach 60 feet in height but is usually half that size. The tree has an oval outline when small but spreads with age, becoming as broad as it is tall.

The foliage is the most handsome of the willows. Leaves are 1 1/2—4 3/4 inches in length (4—12 cm) and shiny above. The leaf base is rounde, or heart-shaped. Leaves have acuminate tips and are oblong to lanceolate in outline. Foliage is mostly dark green and shiny above with light pale green undersides. Petioles are glandular.

Bark is light to dark gray, rough, and fissured in older trees. Branches are shiny, smooth, and brown-green in color. Twigs are sticky. Flowers are attractive in spring with bright yellow catkins in April or May.

Almond-Leaf Willow–Salix triandra

Similar to the peach-leaf willow, the almond-leaf willow is smaller, reaching no more than 40 feet in height. Branches and twigs are reddish-brown to olive green and not brittle at the base. Bark is dark brown, thick, and furrowed. Bark is ridged and separates into scaly flakes.

Leaves are 2—4 inches (5—10 cm) long and lance-shaped, with a pointed tip and rounded base. Leaves have toothed margins. Foliage is shiny, dark green above and smooth, light or bluish-green beneath. Petiole is 1/4—1/2 inches (6—13 mm) long.