USA: AL , AR , CT , DE , FL , GA , IL , IN , IA , KS , KY , LA , ME , MD , MA , MI , MN , MS , MO , NE , NH , NJ , NY , NC , OH , OK , PA , RI , SC , TN , TX , VT , VA , WV , WI , DC (NPIN, 2007)
Canada: MB , NB , ON , QC (NPIN, 2007)
Native Distribution: S. New Brunswick and Maine south to NW. Florida, west to S. Texas, and north to SE. Minnesota; also from W. Texas west to N. California; local in N. Mexico; to 5000 (1524 m). (NPIN, 2007)
USDA Native Status: L48(N), CAN(N) (NPIN, 2007)
Flowers The sexes are on different plants. Male flowers are accompanied by 1 or 2 small glands. Female flowers have a small flat gland near the base of the ovary. Each flower is subtended by a scale. Flowers and leaves appear together. Catkins are long and slender, with yellow deciduous scales. There are 3-5 stamens. Stigmas are nearly sessile. (Peattie, 1930) Flowers are slender and upright. (Weeks et al, 2005) There are sharply pointed buds. Catkins are on a long, leafy stalk. (UW, 2009) Bright yellow-green twigs bear yellow-green catkins. Flowers are inconspicuous and arranged in elongate clusters. (NPIN, 2007)
Fruit The capsule is ovate-conic, glabrous (hairless), and light reddish brown. (Peattie, 1930) Fruit is a cluster of capsules that release cottony seeds. (Weeks et al, 2005)
Leaves are narrow and green on both sides. (Hultman, 1978) Young leaves are much unlike the mature ones. Stipules are conspicuous, somewhat persistent, and halfheart-shaped. Young leaves are more or less downy. Mature leaves are lanceolate, long, curved-tapering, acute at base, finely serrate, thin, and bright green. (Peattie, 1930) Leaves are green on both top and bottom, smooth on both sides, and have finely toothed margins. Leaves are simple, very narrow, and elongate. Tips often curve. Often a pair of leafy stipules are at the base of the short leaf stalk. (Weeks et al, 2005) Leaves are usually hanging, narrowly lance-like, with both sides green but paler below, and edges mostly finely toothed and not curled. (UW, 2009)
Stems/branches are black. Branches are long and drooping. (Hultman, 1978) Twigs are round and limber. Twigs are reddish brown to pale orange, at first tomentose (closely covered with downy hairs). (Peattie, 1930) Branching is alternate. Bud with a single greenish brown, reddish, or yellow scale. Buds are small, flat, and somewhat triangular. Twigs are extremely slender and brittle and have various colors similar to the buds. Leaf scars are tiny with 3 bundle scars. (Weeks et al, 2005) Bright yellow-green twigs bear yellow-green catkins. (NPIN, 2007)
Bark is black. (Hultman, 1978) Bark is dark, flat, and scaly. (Peattie, 1930) Bark is dark brownish with thick, wide shaggy plates. MAture bark is dark brown to nearly black with thick, rough, shaggy patches that nearly interlace. Fissures are often deep. (Weeks et al, 2005)
Plant is 3-40'. (Hultman, 1978) Typically 30-40' tall, but can be much larger. (Weeks et al, 2005) Up to 65' tall. (UW, 2009) In the lower Mississippi Valley it attains commercial timber size, reaching 100-140' (30-42 m) in height. (NPIN, 2007)
Flowers are nearly 3" long. (Weeks et al, 2005) Catkins are 1"-3" long. (UW, 2009)
Fruit is 2.5" long. (Weeks et al, 2005)
Stems Trunks are up to 20" in diameter. (UW, 2009) In the lower Mississippi Valley it attains commercial timber size, reaching up to 4" (1.2 m) in diameter. (NPIN, 2007)
Leaves are 3-6" long. (Hultman, 1978) Leaves are up to 5" long. (NPIN, 2007)
This is not a preferred ornamental since the lifespan is moderate and the wood is susceptible to physical damage. (Weeks et al, 2005) Large trees are valuable in binding soil banks, thus preventing soil erosion and flood damage. Mats and poles made from Black Willow trunks and branches can provide further protection of riverbanks and levees. One of the lightest of all Eastern hardwoods, it is extremely weak in a structural sense. Yet it has a compliant strength. When nails are driven into it, black willow does not split. It is also a shade tree and honey plant. Ornamental uses include Fall conspicuous foliage, fast growing status, and shade trees. Medicinal uses include preparations of the bark of the roots that is intensely bitter and used to be an ingredient of spring tonics to purge the blood. Other uses include the numerous uses of the wood for millwork, furniture, doors, cabinetwork, boxes, barrels, toys, and pulpwood. During the American Revolution, the wood of black willow (and of other willows) was made into fine charcoal, which was then used to make gunpowder. The young stems are very flexible and are used in basket and furniture making. The twigs can be split in half lengthways, sun-dried and used as the foundation of coiled basketry. The plant is usually coppiced annually when grown for basket making. (NPIN, 2007)
Native American uses included the following. Various preparations of bark, roots, and leaves were used to check bowels, make the hair grow, as a poultice, for fever, for lost voice, for hoarseness, for "feebleness" due to thin blood, for stomach gas, for headaches, and on sprains and bruises. Bark and branches were used to construct various tools and containers. (UM, 2009)
Salix nigra, the black willow, is a species of willow native to eastern North America, from New Brunswick and southern Ontario west to Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Texas.[2]
Salix nigra is a medium-sized deciduous tree, the largest North American species of willow, growing to 10–30 m (35–100 ft) tall, exceptionally up to 45 m (148 ft), with a trunk 50–80 centimeters (20–30 in) diameter. The bark is dark brown to blackish, becoming fissured in older trees, and frequently forking near the base.[3] The shoots are slender and variable in color from green to brown, yellow or purplish; they are (like the related European Salix fragilis) brittle at the base, snapping evenly at the branch junction if bent sharply. The foliage buds are 2–4 millimetres (1⁄16–3⁄16 in) long, with a single, pointed reddish-brown bud scale. The leaves are alternate, long, thin, 5–15 centimeters (2–6 in) long and 0.5–2 centimeters (1⁄4–3⁄4 in) broad, usually somewhat falcate, dark, shiny green on both sides or with a lighter green underside, with a finely serrated margin, a short petiole and a pair of small stipules. It is dioecious, with small, greenish yellow to yellow flowers borne on catkins 2.5–7.5 centimeters (1–3 in) long in early spring at the same time as the new leaves appear. The fruit is a 5 millimeters (3⁄16 in) capsule which splits open when mature to release the numerous minute, down-covered seeds. The leaves turn a lemon yellow in the fall.[3]
Salix nigra is native to eastern North America, from New Brunswick and southern Ontario west to Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Texas.[2] It is also found in parts of Mexico, both south and west of the Rio Grande. It has also been introduced along streams in the state of Utah.[4] Salix nigra grows best in areas of full sun and wet or moist soils.[5] Thus, it is typically found along streams and in swamps.[6][7][8]
Black willow is part of the Salicaceae, the willow family.[9] The accepted name for black willow is: Salix nigra Marshall. Marshall, the "Father of American Dendrology",[9] first described this taxon in 1785.
Salix gooddingii (Goodding's willow) is sometimes considered a variety of S. nigra as S. nigra var. vallicola Dudley; when recognized, this extends the range of S. nigra to western North America. However, the two are usually treated as distinct species.[10] Some other related taxa and synonyms are S. nigra var. altissima, S. nigra var. brevijulis, S. nigra var. longifolia, S. nigra var. marginata, and S. nigra var. wardii.[11]
Another name occasionally used for black willow is "swamp willow", not to be confused with Salix myrtilloides (swamp willow). Other common names include "Goodding willow", "southwestern black willow", "Dudley willow", and "sauz" (a Spanish word).[12]
Salix nigra is dioecious, which means it has separate male and female trees.[13] Flowering may be climate dependent. It flowers during February in the southern part of its range, and flowers until June in the northern parts. These trees are capable of producing seeds when they are around the age of 10 years. The black willow continuously has good seed crops year after year, with only a few failures. The seeds require very specific conditions to germinate. They prefer soil that is very wet or flooded. After they germinate, they can experience excellent growth if they are exposed to high sunlight and copious moisture during the growing season.[14]
Black willow are capable of developing special features related to flood tolerance to help them survive in flooded habitats.[1] Under flooded conditions, black willow develop hypertrophied lenticels and water roots. Black willows are also sensitive to drought conditions. Black willows living in drought conditions experience inhibition of their branch and root growth.[15]
Early season leaves of some species in the Salix genus generally contain denser indumentum than leaves that are produced later in the season. Indumentum refers to hairs that are red or brown in color. Salix have first leaves, which are leaves that grow from the bud, and can also be called leaves that are "preformed". The leaves that form as the branch continues to grow out are called new leaves, or "neoformed".[16]
According to the National Register of Big Trees, the largest black willow tree in the US is in Hennepin, Minnesota. Its height is 63 feet (19 m), circumference is 32 feet (9.8 m) and spread is 73 feet (22 m).
The Marlboro Tree, located in Marlboro Township, New Jersey is certified by the State of New Jersey as the largest known example of this tree in the state. It is about 152 years old and measures 76 feet (23 m) in height and 19.7 feet (6.0 m) in circumference. Five grown people must hold hands to fully encircle the tree.[17]
Black willow roots are very bitter, and have been used as a substitute for quinine in the past.[18] Ethnobotanical uses of black willow by various Native American tribes include basketry, and treatment of fever, headache, and coughs.[19] It was recognized that using the bark and leaves of Salix nigra was useful in treating rheumatism.
The black willow is the only United States native willow species to be used as timber for a variety of different items. Black willow lumber is used in furniture and shipping containers. The largest production site for black willow timber was in Louisiana at its peak during the 1970s.[20]
The wood of Salix nigra is very lightweight. The wood was once used for artificial limbs, such as wooden hands.[21] It is also capable of maintaining its shape, does not splinter very easily, and has a moderately high shock resistance, allowing it to sustain continuous moderate impacts.[21]
It may also be used in environmental restoration. Black willow is very resistant to herbivory, flooding, and is an erosion control tool. Salix nigra is used for marshland stabilization or restoration projects as long as the roots don't penetrate any clay liner that may be in place.[22][23] Salix nigra demonstrated some success as a photodegradation tool.[24] Photodegradation is theorized to work by drawing the target chemical, such as Bentazon, up the roots and stem into the leaves where it is degraded by higher energy radiation provided by the sun.[24]
Black willows are susceptible to diseases such as Crown gall and Cankers. Crown gall is caused by bacteria living in the soil where the black willow is present. When black willow are infected, the bacteria stimulate a quick burst in growth of plant cells. They cause the tree to form tumor-like growths, or "galls" on different parts of the tree such as their roots or on the lower branches. As these galls get bigger, they become hard, woody, brown in color, and corky. Black willows do not normally die from crown galls. However, these galls can cause a disruption in the flow of nutrients throughout the tree and can have its normal growth stunted or slowed down due to this disease. Crown galls are less problematic in soils that are more acidic, thus soil pH can be an important factor in helping to limit this disease.[25]
Black canker disease is caused by the fungus Glomerella miyabeana. This disease starts as spotting on the leaves of the black willow, where it then spreads to the petiole and eventually the twig or branch holding the leaf. It then forms black patches on the stem of the tree that are capable of expanding. Black Willows that are in nutrient-poor locations or that are experiencing poor temporary climate conditions (such as a temporary lack of rainfall or short, drought-like conditions) are considered stressed and very susceptible to the spread of these cankers. Tissue on the black willow that is affected by these cankers will not grow with the rest of the tree, and cracks will begin to form.[26]
Salix nigra, the black willow, is a species of willow native to eastern North America, from New Brunswick and southern Ontario west to Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Texas.
