FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
Slender, reddish-brown twigs; leaves whitish or gray-green beneath.
Synonym(s): Salix amphibia, Salix harbisonii, Salix longipes, Salix nigra, Salix occidentalis, Salix pitcheriana, Salix wardii
Description: Deciduous, large shrub more than small tree.
Leaves: Alternate, lance-shaped or sickle-shaped leaves, finely toothed. Leaf blades whitish beneath. Stipules usually obvious at base of leaves.
Flowers/Fruit: Male and female catkins on separate trees. Fruits 1 cm, brown, flask-shaped, and crowded in long clusters. Flowers and fruits March/April.
Habit and Range: Riverbanks, sandbars, and edges of ponds and lakes. Found chiefly in the Coastal Plain; present but rare in the Piedmont.
COMMON CONFUSIONS:
Salix nigra (black willow) has leaves that are greenish beneath and is usually growing as a few-trunked small tree. S. caroliniana (Coastal Plain willow) has slightly smaller leaves, whitish beneath, usually growing as a multi-stemmed large shrub or small tree. Salix sericea (silky willow) has slightly wider, shorter leaves, with more pronounced teeth, whitish beneath covered with shimmery white hairs.
Click here to view Salix nigra.
Click here to view Salix sericea.
Link to side-by-side comparisons page
