Goat willow

Salix caprea

Height usually 8-12 m, but may be up to 20 m, bole up to 1 m diameter. Deciduous. Crown is domed. Bark is pale grey, becoming orange within fissures, smooth. Leaves are egg-shaped, broader towards base, dark to grey-green, 5-10 x 3-6 cm.

What habitats does it normally live in?

European. Widespread. Wide range of soils. Grown as a garden tree.

What are its young like?

Flowers appear before leaves in spring - female catkins green, male catkins silver-grey tinged with yellow, 3 cm. Fruit ripens in May/June, with many woolly seeds on female catkins ("pussy willows"), 3-7 cm.

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