{"id":21454,"date":"2023-03-08T12:43:41","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T16:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=21454"},"modified":"2025-07-31T11:49:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T15:49:46","slug":"intro-to-trees-of-indiana-black-willow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/intro-to-trees-of-indiana-black-willow\/","title":{"rendered":"Intro to Trees of Indiana: Black Willow"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DrawingThe classic and trusted book “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” by T.E. Shaw was\u00a0published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.\u00a0\u00a0Nearly 70 years later, the publication has\u00a0been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources,\u00a0Indiana 4-H<\/a>, and\u00a0the\u00a0Indiana Department of Natural Resources<\/a>, and reintroduced as “An Introduction to Trees of Indiana.”<\/p>\n

The\u00a0full publication<\/a>\u00a0is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.<\/p>\n

Each week, the Intro to Trees of Indiana web series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book,\u00a0paired with an\u00a0ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester\u00a0Lenny Farlee<\/a>\u00a0to help visualize each species as it stands in the woods.\u00a0Threats to species\u00a0health\u00a0as well as\u00a0also\u00a0insight into the wood provided\u00a0by the species, will be provided\u00a0through additional resources as well as the\u00a0Hardwoods of the Central Midwest<\/a>\u00a0exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available.<\/p>\n

This week, we meet Black willow or\u00a0Salix nigra<\/em>. The black willow is one of several species of willow in Indiana, but it is the only tree-sized willow in the state.<\/p>\n

This species has long, narrow leaves with short leaf stems, which are held alternately on slender, flexible\u00a0twigs. Willows have a single scale covering the bud, which helps differentiate them from other species. The finely toothed leaves are medium green in the spring, changing to yellow-green in the fall.<\/p>\n

The bark on young trees is smooth, but may be warty or feature some flaking. In old trees, the bark\u00a0features prominent, light gray vertical flakes.<\/p>\n

Black willows, which grow 50 to 70 feet tall, prefer moist or wet soils and often are found growing along streams or in other wetland areas. This species can tolerate alkaline soil, clay soil, occasional flooding and road salt.<\/p>\n