Twigs: Rather stout, brownish gray, sometimes with a coating of pale, wooly down. Buds blunt-pointed, dull, seldom curved, often wooly.
Fruit: Similar to [quaking aspen]. Flowers, in the form of hanging [catkins], appear before the leaves in the spring, as is the case with quaking aspen.
General: Bark similar to that of [quaking aspen], but usually darker. A small to medium-sized tree; short-lived. Most common in southern Pennsylvania. Wood used chiefly for paper pulp.
BLACK WILLOW
(Salix nigra)
Leaves: Simple, alternate, long and narrow, short-stemmed, sharp pointed, fine teeth on the margin, average length 3″; dark green above, much lighter below. The stipules (“small leaves” at the base of leaf-stems of the main leaves) remain through most of the summer.
Twigs: Slender, brittle at the base, bright reddish brown to orange-green. Buds covered by a single scale, small, cone-shaped, sharp-pointed.
Fruit: Small brown [capsule], ¼″ long, borne in long hanging clusters; ripens in May or June. Each tiny seed surrounded by tufts of long silky hair.
General: Bark thick, dark brown, separating into broad, flat plates or ridges as the tree grows older. A small to medium-sized tree. Only native willow which grows to a fair size. Found mainly in moist situations. Often several trunks arise from the same root system. Weeping willow (S. babylonica) and brittle willow (S. fragilis) are introduced trees often planted for ornamental purposes.
