How do you recognise Goat willow (Salix caprea)?

Leaf

Mathieu MENAND, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0

Goat willow

Salix caprea L.

Also known as: Pussy willow, Great sallow

Family: Salicaceae

5 to 10 m tall

Woodland edges, forest clearings, cool ground

Flowering: March, before the leaves

Full sun

Part shade

Hardy to -15°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Its large silky catkins, the 'pussy willows', are one of the very first signs of spring. Goat willow has thicker shoots and broad, ovate leaves, downy beneath, typical of the early silky catkins, whereas purple willow has slender, flexible shoots, often tinged with purple, and narrow leaves.

🍃 Leaves

Broad, ovate, crinkled above, grey-felted beneath

🌸 Flowers

Large catkins, silvery then bright yellow (the famous 'pussy willows')

🍎 Fruits

Small capsules with cottony seeds

🪵 Bark

Grey, smooth then fissured

🗺️ Distribution

Europe, temperate Asia; common in France at woodland edges and in clearings

🐝 Value for pollinators

Early silvery catkins ('Easter catkins') very nectar-rich, a crucial source of nectar and pollen for bees in late winter

✂️ Horticultural uses

Planted singly for its decorative early catkins, a valued pioneer species for ecological restoration

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No known toxicity

🌱 Known cultivars

'Kilmarnock'

The cultivar 'Kilmarnock' is grafted on a stem and cascades down, with weeping shoots covered in silvery catkins, forming a small umbrella-shaped tree very different from the large upright tree of the wild species. Discovered in the 19th century near Ayr in Scotland and propagated by Thomas Lang of Kilmarnock, it is now almost systematically the form sold in nurseries for small gardens.

⚠️ Look-alike species

Goat willow

Salix caprea

Purple willow

Salix purpurea

Goat willow has thicker shoots and broad, ovate leaves, downy beneath, typical of the early silky catkins, whereas purple willow has slender, flexible shoots, often tinged with purple, and narrow leaves.

Goat willow

Salix caprea

Grey willow

Salix cinerea

Goat willow has broader leaves and shoots that quickly become hairless, whereas grey willow keeps densely greyish-downy shoots and leaf undersides for longer.

🌿 Other Salicaceae to discover

White poplar

Populus alba

Weeping willow

Salix × sepulcralis 'Chrysocoma'

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.