Nature Bulletin No. 222-A   March 19, 1966
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Seymour Simon, President
Roland F. Eisenbeis, Supt. of Conservation

****:WILLOWS

The willow was beloved in olden times as a symbol of sorrow and 
grace. In contrast, it reminds Englishmen of the willow bats used in 
playing cricket, their national game. To a Hollander, it means wooden 
shoes. To young Americans, however, it means pussy willows in early 
spring, willow whistles and fishing poles.

Willows grow rapidly and abundantly in moist soils and along the 
edges of water throughout most of the United States and in many other 
parts of the world. They are a conspicuous feature of the landscape 
along freshwater streams, lakes, ponds and marshes -- sometimes as 
large picturesque trees with gnarled or leaning trunks and open 
feathery crowns; sometimes as dense shrubby borders; or as thickets 
covering many acres. Willows are plant pioneers, able to live on raw 
new soil wherever there is water. Also, because their tiny silky-haired 
seeds are borne long distances by wind, they were probably the first 
woody plants to gain a foothold in this region when it was uncovered 
by the melting of the glaciers. Dwarf willows are found on the Barren 
Lands beyond the Arctic Circle.

Most willows range in height from a few inches to 20 or 30 feet. 
Certain alpine species, at maturity, are not more than an inch or so in 
height. In the Chicago region there are over two dozen kinds, which 
are very difficult for anyone but an expert to distinguish, but only two 
native kinds reach tree size: Black Willow and the Peach-leaved 
Willow. The Golden Willow originated in Europe; the Weeping 
Willow in China where, with its long dropping branchlets, it 
frequently appears in Chinese decorative art. Both are ornamental 
shade trees. The Crack Willow and the White Willow, which become 
the tallest and most valuable of our willows, were also introduced from 
Europe.

In spite of the fact that the fast-growing fine-grained soft wood of the 
willow has little value for lumber, fuel or durability, it has many other 
uses. It does make a fine grade of charcoal for medical or chemical 
uses -- especially gunpowder. Large quantities, 3 inches or more in 
diameter, are cut to make paper pulp. The tough wood of the larger 
logs is used for crates and boxes. Artificial legs are often made of it. 
Further, willows grow readily from cuttings and are often planted as 
windbreaks, as living fences, and to control eroding banks or gullies 
with their dense mats of reddish-orange roots.

Among the many shrubby species, some have special uses. The Basket 
Willow and others called Osiers are cultivated for the manufacture of 
wickerware and wicker furniture. The tough bark of some kinds is 
used as string or twisted into rope. The bitter inner bark is used in 
tanning hides, and formerly for medicinal purposes such as for 
rheumatism, for poultices, and as a substitute for quinine. The 
common Sandbar Willow is woven into large mats placed on stream 
banks and newly constructed earth dams and levees where they quickly 
take root to form a living protection against erosion.

Willows, with their masses of water-loving roots, often do damage by 
clogging tile drains and drainage ditches on f arms . In cities, as street 
trees, they do similar damage to drains and sewers. The male flowers 
are the "pussies" which produce the pollen. The mature female 
flowers, always on separate willows, pop open to release a cloud of 
cottony flying seeds. In spring, honey bees swarm about the flowers for 
early pollen and nectar. Willows are a favorite winter food for rabbits, 
beaver, deer, elk, moose, and also many birds which feed on their 
buds.

Willow switches are sometimes used to tan boys' hides.