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Salix discolor
Also called Glaucous Willow, American Pussy Willow, Large Pussy Willow, Lowland Pussy Willow
Salix discolor, the American pussy willow, is a fast-growing deciduous shrub or small tree native to northern North America, grown for its silky spring catkins and cut stems. It is a member of the willow family and prefers cool, moist conditions with full sun.
Salix discolor, the American pussy willow or glaucous willow, is a species of willow native to North America, one of two species commonly called pussy willow.
It is native to the vast reaches of Alaska as well as the northern forests and wetlands of Canada (British Columbia east to Newfoundland), and is also found in the northern portions of the contiguous United States (Washington east to Maine, and south to Maryland).
Like other willows, it contains salicin, and was used by Native Americans as a painkiller.
As with the closely related Salix caprea (European pussy willow), it is also often grown for cut flowers.
Male flowers provide pollen for bees, and it is a popular larval host, supporting the Acadian hairstreak, black-waved flannel moth, cecropia moth, Compton's tortoiseshell, cynthia moth, dreamy duskywing, eastern tiger swallowtail, elm sphinx, imperial moth, Io moth, modest sphinx, mourning cloak, polyphemus moth, promethea moth, red-spotted purple, small-eyed sphinx, twin-spotted sphinx, and viceroy.
Siberian Violet Willow · White willow · Salix alpina · Arctic willow · Eared willow · Peking Willow · Goat Willow · Olive Willow · Salix excelsa · Narrowleaf willow · Salix fargesii · Crack Willow
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Salix discolor 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.
