Winter twig

(male catkins)

(female catkins)

The leaves are oval, alternate and up to 12 cm long. They are approximately 1.5-2 times as long as broad, dull green and thinly hairy above but densely white-hairy below. They have a prominent network of veins and an undulate, bluntly toothed margin. The leaf-stalks are 8-25 mm long, with a pair of small, ear-shaped, leaf-like stipules where they join the stem, though these soon fall off.

ID check

Goat Willow is a deciduous shrub or small tree, with a rough fissured bark, up to 10 m high. It branches from the base to form an open, rounded crown. A willow which often grows well away from water, in oak-ash woods and hedgerows on neutral and lime-rich soils.

Male and female flowers are in catkins which appear before the leaves on separate trees (dioecious) in March or April.

The catkins are 2-3 cm long and are erect on the stem. The oval male catkins are densely hairy with blackish scales and a mass of bright yellow anthers. The female catkins are longer, greener and more slender.

The stems below the bark on young twigs are marked by vertical lines (striae).

Facts

• The male catkins are full of nectar and pollen, which provides food for early bees.

• The leaves are eaten by the caterpillars of Common Quaker, Sallow Kitten and Puss Moths.

• When the opening of the male catkins coincides with Palm Sunday, branches may be used to decorate churches in Britain