Pacific Willow

February 5, 2022July 4, 2023
Broadleaf tree, Native to BC
by dhir

Last updated May 24, 2023. All photos by the author.

I think most people are familiar with weeping willows, those majestic specimens seen in parks and yards, with long cascading branches. I read online that these trees likely originated in China and were introduced to Europe in the 1700s.

So I was very surprised when on a walk I observed this yellow-twigged tree and found out that it is a non-weeping native species of willow. And then came more surprise when I learned that we have 20+ native willow species in British Columbia! Worldwide, there are more than 400 species of willow, and many hybrids, so making a 100% positive identification in a park is difficult, however, going by the location I am fairly certain I found Pacific willow trees.

Photos from late January. At this time of year there are no leaves, flowers, or fruits on the trees. What is noticeable about Pacific willow (*Salix lasiandra*) is its vibrant yellow vertical shoots.

Driving down the highway in winter, I noticed trees that seemed to be glowing, their bright yellow shoots a pleasant distraction from the drab brown and grey of the other deciduous barks around them. What are those? I wondered.

A few weeks later I figured it out while walking near a lake.

Even from a distance, it is easy to tell that you are looking at Pacific willows.

Each horizontal rough brown-barked branch had a multitude of vibrant yellow stalks reaching vertically towards the sky.

Going by the lichen, these branches are at least a few years old. Notice the alternate arrangement of leaf buds.

Pacific willow is described as “a large shrub or a small tree” 20 to 60 feet tall. This specimen seems to be near the maximum.

If you’re not sure of the tree’s identification, look around for the remains of last year’s leaves. Willow leaves are long and narrow, tapered to a point and not-quite-symmetrical, 5-12 cm long, with toothed edges and hairs on the paler underside.

More fallen leaves on a boardwalk. Green in the spring and summer, yellow in the fall, these leaves are turning brown as they decompose.

Other native willows you may find include Hooker’s willow, Scouler’s willow, and Sitka willow. The introduced golden weeping willow (Salix x sepulcralis ‘Chrysocoma’) is very commonly planted in parks and yards. This tree grows up to 20 m tall and has descending rather than ascending golden twigs.

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UPDATE MAY 2023:

This week walking around Deer Lake I notice these interesting growths on the willow trees. I can also now include photos of non-decaying leaves. Notice that the tops of the leaves are shiny and green while the undersides are fuzzy and pale.

I believe these pointy growths are the fertilized flowers of the pacific willow. This website has good photos of willow flowers. Willows are dioecious, meaning a tree has male flowers or female flowers. The photo above is of a female tree and the fruit will ripen and release seeds in cottony fluff later in the spring or early summer. The unopened male flowers are commonly known as “pussy willows” and the opened flowers (both male and female) are “catkins”. See this website from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for more on willow flower buds and flowers (there’s a short video at the bottom of that webpage).

The branches and twigs tend to grow up and outwards, I am holding this branch down for better lighting. Do you see the brown spider on the branch?

The new woody growth is still bright yellow. I am pulling the branch down to get better lighting. Notice the contrast between the shiny green upper surface and the hairy under surface of the leaves.

Looking up, you can see how the new growth goes towards the sun, unlike the weeping willows we are more familiar with.

From a distance, I would not have known this was a willow in the foreground because I am more familiar with the weeping kind. Pacific willow has a more upright growth pattern.

Indigenous People had many uses for willow trees. Some uses: dry twigs could be used as the components in friction fire-starters; the wood could be used for hide-stretchers, barbecue sticks, fish traps, and cleaning teeth; burning wood was used for smoking meat; willow bark was used for weaving and making ropes.

So head outside this week (late May) and look for the interesting fruit on female willow trees. No fruit? Maybe it’s a male tree.

BOOKS I READ:

“Salix lucida spp lasiandra” Vancouver Tree Book: a Living City Field Guide, by David Tracey, Pure Wave Media, 2016, p. 180.

“Salix species (willows), Willow Family (Salicaceae).” Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest Third Edition, by Arthur R. Kruckeberg and Linda Chalker-Scott, Greystone Books, 2019, pp. 93-94.

“Willow.” Luschiim’s Plants a Hul’q’umi’num’ (Cowichan) Ethnobotany, by Luschiim Arvid Charlie and Nancy J. Turner, Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, British Columbia, 2021, pp. 118-119.

“Willows.” Plant Technology of First Peoples in British Columbia, by Nancy J. Turner, Royal British Columbia Museum, 2019, pp. 198-202.