Virginia Tech Dendrology

goat willow Salicaceae Salix caprea L. Listen to the Latin Link to this fact sheet symbol: SACA22
Leaf: Alternate, simple, elliptical to oblong, serrate, 2 to 5 inches long, blue-green above, pale fuzzy white below.
Flower: Species is dioecious; catkins, both males and females very fuzzy, pinkish-gray, 1 to 2 inches long, appearing in late winter or very early spring.
Fruit: Small, brown capsules in clusters 2 to 2 1/2 inches long, each containing many small fuzzy seeds, ripen in late spring.
Twig: Slender, green or red, may be fuzzy, buds purple-red with a single cap-like scale.
Bark: Gray-brown, initially smooth, becoming split and shallowly furrowed or scaly.
Form: Small tree or multi-stemmed shrub up to 25 feet.
 Looks like: pussy willow
flower twig map
Additional Range Information: Salix caprea is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material © 2019 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information