PACIFIC WILLOW
salix lasiandra

• also known as Western Black Willow, Black Willow, Yellow Willow, Waxy or Western Shining Willow
• 'lasiandra' is from two Greek words; 'lasios' for hairy or wooly and 'andros' for male (refering to the hairy stamens)

UNIQUE FEATURES:

• long pointed leaves
• bark is rich in tannins and salicin (a substance similar to asprin)

LOCATION:

• throughout the lower half of the province
• lower elevations
• along streams, lakes, swampy places and damp slopes

SIZE:

• 5 to 12 metres tall, up to 40 cm in diameter
• one of the tallest willows
• trunk is short, crooked or leaning with upright limbs producing an open, rounded crown

FRUIT:

• thick catkins at the tips of the stalks
• about 5 cm long
• at maturity, bright yellow turning to fuzzy white "cotton"

LEAVES:

• 5 to 10 cm long with finely toothed edges
• long thin, pointed with a sideways twist
• shiny, dark green or yellow-green with a whitish underside

BARK:

• blackish, furrowed and cross seamed
• branches are smooth, shiny and reddish or yellow-brown

WOOD CHARACTERISTICS:

• pale brown, brittle, soft

USES:

• modern - whistle
• traditional - bark: twisted into string for fishing nets, chewed for relief of sore throats, boiled with water for tonics, ashes applied to wounds