UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 316 { 
1 
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Contribution from the Forest Service 
HENRY S. GRAVES, Forester 
JWTVJl. 
Washington, D. C. 
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 
December 20, 1915 
WILLOWS: THEIR GROWTH, USE, AND 
IMPORTANCE. 
By George N. Lamb, Forest Examiner. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Introduction 1 
The tree and its forms 2 
Soil, moisture, and light 7 
Susceptibility to injury 7 
Life history of the black willow 9 
Characteristics of willow wood 26 
Uses of willow wood 27 
Page. 
Use of willow trees for protection 37 
Planting willows 43 
Cultivation and care 48 
Cutting 48 
Cost of growing willows 49 
Yield from willow plantations 50 
INTRODUCTION. 
There are in the United States and Canada from 80 to 100 species 
of willows, distributed from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Circle, 
and from tidewater to the tops of the highest mountains. They 
range from a tiny plant a few inches high to forest trees 4 feet in 
diameter and 140 feet in height. All the shrubbery species are useful 
as soil cover, forage, or basket material. Scarcely more than a 
dozen, however, are of prime economic importance. Of these, six are 
species imported from Europe: The basket willows, which are the 
American green willow (Salix amygdalina) , the Lemley willow (Salix 
pentandra), and the purple willow (Salix purpurea), and three tree 
willows, the white willow (Salix alba), the crack willow (Salix fragilis), 
and the weeping willow (Salix babylonica). There is only one native 
tree species of wide distribution and importance, and this, the black 
willow (Salix nigra), is found from coast to coast and from the Lakes 
to the Gulf. It reaches tree size over most of this range, attaining 
its maximum development in the lower Mississippi bottom lands. 
The other native species of economic importance are Salix amyg- 
daloides, Salix cordata, and Salix Jluviatalis, which are primarily 
eastern and central species, and Salix lasiandra, Salix laevigata, Salix 
lasiolepis, and Salix fendleriana, the western tree willows. 
8210°— Bull. 316—15 1 
