FLOWERS.—April, with the leaves; dioecious; borne in crowded, slender, pubescent catkins 2-3 inches long; calyx 0; corolla 0; scales yellow, villous both sides; stamens 5-9; ovary oblong-conical, with stigmas nearly sessile.
FRUIT.—May; 1-celled, globose-conical capsule, 1/4 inch long, containing many minute seeds which are furnished with long, silky, white hairs.
WINTER-BUDS.—Terminal bud absent; lateral buds broadly ovoid, gibbous, lustrous, dark brown, 1/8 inch long.
BARK.—Twigs glabrous, lustrous, dark orange or red-brown becoming darker orange-brown; thick and brown on old trunks, irregularly fissured into flat, connected ridges.
WOOD.—Light, soft, weak, close-grained, light brown, with thick, whitish sapwood.
DISTRIBUTION.—Common throughout the state.
HABITAT.—Banks of streams.
NOTES.—Hybridizes freely with other willows, making its identification difficult.