The North American native Pussy Willow is a member of the widely distributed and variegated Willow (Salix) Family. It’s Latin name is Salix discolor. Most people who live in regions where Pussy Willow grows will recognize its fuzzy catkins emerging in early spring, heralding the end of winter.
Allergy sufferers and honeybees will be able to tell you when this is happening, as Pussy Willow is dioecious (regenerates by cross-pollination between male and female flowers on separate trees) and has a very active pollination method, using both insects and wind. Male catkins are a golden color, while female catkins are more of a green. The catkins are popular for making flower arrangements, especially the golden male catkins. If you would like to cheer up your home before spring arrives, it is common to take a cutting of a Pussy Willow twig and force it to bloom in a cup of warm water inside before its fellow catkins emerge outside.
If you are trying to identify Pussy Willow any other time of year, it may be a little more difficult due to the wide range of identifying characteristics, but it is doable. For instance, in trying to identify Pussy Willow by height, different sources claim it reaches 20 ft (Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Trees, Eastern Region; Little, 1980, p 332), up to 25 ft (Trees of North America; Brockman, 1968, p 80), up to 30 ft, even up to 35 ft.
Look at the structure of the branches, the bark, and the leaves. Pussy Willow’s structure is often that of a shrub, but it sometimes classified as a small tree, the difference being that a small tree has one distinguishable trunk, whereas a shrub has many main branches reaching up from the ground. After approaching the suspected Pussy Willow, grab the end of a nubile twig and slowly bend it downward and then towards itself. Willows’ branches are very pliant, and will not break as readily as most other species of tree or shrub. For this reason, Willows are often used to make baskets, along with other creations that require such pliant stability.
Older branches of Pussy Willow will be a dull gray in color, while newer twigs will be brown to reddish-brown. This helps in identifying Pussy Willow in winter, as the many varieties of Willow have a wide range of bark colors at this time.
Arrangement of the leaves on the branches is simple and alternate, which means that there will be one leaf on its own small stem (also called a petiole) on one side of the branch, and then another on the other side of the branch a short distance away. This pattern will continue up the branch, instead of leaves being directly across from the each other in pairs.
Leaves of the Pussy Willow are green on top and white on the bottom, 1.2 to 5.1 inches long, and 2 to 5 times longer than they are wide. The edges of the leaves are toothed (almost like the blade of a serrated knife), starting partway up from the base to the tip of the leaf (Petrides, pp 265 and 338). The “midrib” or center vein of the leaf is yellow (Brockman, pp 80-81). The green top color morphs from a lime green in spring, changes to medium green in summer, and is finally a yellowish green just before dropping in the fall. The leaves and twigs start out hairy in early spring, but typically lose their fuzziness as time passes (Little, p 332).
There is another type of Willow, Salix caprea, that is called Pussy Willow, but it is native to Europe. Another of its common names is Goat Willow, which is not a common name of Salix discolor. It may be difficult to tell the difference between the two, but Salix discolor has a more prominent leaf tooth pattern than Salix caprea (Petrides, p 338), and the leaves of Salix caprea are larger than most Willows.
Pussy Willow is not only important to honeybees, it also attracts butterflies, and is an important forage for many types of animals, such as cattle, moose, ducks, and rodents. Humans have a number of uses for Pussy Willows; aside from using it to make honey, baskets, and floral arrangements, as mentioned above, we also use Pussy Willow for landscaping, erosion control, reclaiming disturbed ground, and as a medicine.
Willow in general grows mainly in wetlands, and can grow well in many different types of soil. This is part of what makes it popular for landscaping, and this in addition to its far-spreading root system and quick growth rate make it useful for erosion control. Pussy Willows are naturally one of the first emerging plants on disturbed ground,especially if it is water-logged, and will usually reach maturity within five years, with a life-span of about 35 years.
When growing Willow for decoration, a fresh twig cutting can be simply put into the ground (cut-end down) and it will grow. Growing various types of Willow makes a garden spectacular in winter as the bark on the different varieties changes into a marvelous array of colors. Pussy Willow is doubly attractive, as in addition to its reddish colored bark, it has its lovely catkins.
Willows have many recorded folk medicinal properties. However, Willow has the distinction of being called the Aspirin Plant, used early in contemporary medicine’s history to isolate Salicin. Salicin was eventually used to develop the pharmaceutical Aspirin that we still use today. However, Salicin is present in the bark of most, if not all, Willow varieties, including Pussy Willow. By chewing a twig or making a tea out of the bark, one can take advantage of its mild pain-relieving properties.
Pussy Willow can be found in the Northern Hemisphere, although it is difficult to draw distinct boundaries for the limits of its region of growth. It is likely that you will be able to find it if you live in Southern Canada and the Northern United States, especially in wetland areas. If you think you have found some Pussy Willow and are intending to use it medicinally, please be sure to identify it positively before use, as many plants have dangerous look-a-likes. Wait for the catkins to emerge, compare it to pictures, and if you still have doubts, consult an expert (perhaps an herbalist or a botanist at a nearby college). If you are sure that you have Pussy Willow, then you can look forward to enjoying it all year round for a multitude of reasons.
