BARK.—Twigs pubescent, yellow-green, often reddish, becoming glabrous, lustrous, brown; thick, gray on the trunk, smooth in young trees, very rough, irregularly scaly-ridged in old trees.
WOOD.—Light, soft, tough, close-grained, red-brown, with thick, whitish sapwood.
NOTES.—A native of Europe and Asia, where it is a valuable timber tree. Hardy throughout the state and of very rapid growth. Thrives in rich, damp soil. Easily grown from cuttings. The twigs are very brittle at the base and are easily broken by the wind, hence the name Brittle Willow.
Weeping Willow. Napoleon’s Willow
1. Winter twig, × 1.
2. Portion of twig, enlarged.