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Salix caprea
Also called Pussy Willow, Sallow, Great Sallow, Hoary Willow
Goat willow is a fast-growing deciduous shrub or small tree, native to Europe and Asia, grown for its early silvery catkins. It is a water-loving willow that is easy to grow from seed or cuttings, though pure plants are hard to root from hardwood cuttings.
Salix caprea, known as goat willow, pussy willow or great sallow, is a common species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia.
A small number of cultivars have been selected for garden use. The most common is S. caprea 'Kilmarnock', discovered by James Smith, with stiffly pendulous shoots forming a mop-head; it is a male clone. A similar female clone is S. caprea 'Weeping Sally'. As they do not form a leader, they are grafted on erect stems of other willows; the height of these cultivars is determined by the height at which the graft is made. Plants can also be grown from greenwood cuttings, which make attractive creeping mounds. Hardwood cuttings are often difficult to root.
Both tannin and salicin can be extracted from goat willow bark. The tree is not considered a good source of timber, as its wood is both brittle and known to crackle violently if burned.
S. caprea occurs both in wet/damp environments, such as riverbanks and lake shores, and in drier sites, wherever bare soil becomes available due to ground disturbance.
Siberian Violet Willow · White willow · Salix alpina · Arctic willow · Eared willow · Peking Willow · Pussy willow · Olive Willow · Salix excelsa · Narrowleaf willow · Salix fargesii · Crack Willow
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Salix caprea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
