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Pods 4–10 inches long, brownish black, thick, leathery, with 3–5 seeds seeds blackish, rounded, flattened, ¾ inch long, very hard shelled, in a sweet, sticky pulp pods fall to the ground unopened in late winter. Greenish white, about ¼ inch long male and female flowers separate or on the same tree, in clusters.įruits October, persisting through winter. Twigs are short, blunt, contorted, reddish brown, hairy, later grayish brown, smooth pores numerous, orange buds barely protruding from a silky-lined cavity.įlowers May–June. Leaves are alternate, compound, 1–3 feet long, 1–2 feet wide, with 5–9 branches each branch with 7–14 leaflets leaflets ¾–3 inches long, 1–1½ inches wide, broadest at or below the middle, margin lacking teeth, tip abruptly pointed upperside dark green underside paler, smooth.īark is gray to brown, shallow-grooved, with scaly ridges that curl away on one edge from the trunk. In old-time Ozark dialect, the phrase "keep close to the willows" meant "to be conventional, conservative, or modest" it apparently came from the habit of skinnydippers staying close to the trees to avoid being seen by passersby.Kentucky coffee tree is a medium tree with stout, blunt branches forming a narrow, rounded crown. Some willows are prone to diseases, too, so do some research before planting, and think carefully about placement. Their roots are notorious for invading sewer lines. Many willows have ornamental value, but their fast growth causes weak, brittle wood. Willows are planted to prevent erosion, as wind breaks, for bioremediation, and reclamation of severely impacted sites such as mines and quarries. Misbehaving children, in the past, were often disciplined by application of a willow switch. Willow wood has been used for packing crates, palettes, furniture, cricket bats, and paper pulp. Some willows have usable lumber, which tends to be rather soft but resistant to warping and splitting. This is one reason we must protect and conserve ecosystems and species worldwide. When you think of the tremendous medicinal value of these plants, you must acknowledge that there may be many more important drugs "hidden" in plants that medical science simply has not yet discovered. Salicylic acid is also used in acne, psoriasis, wart, and callous treatments, and also in some dandruff shampoos and toothpastes. It remains one of the most-used medicines in the world. Then, a few years before 1900, the German company Bayer developed this compound as a commercial pain reliever, naming it "aspirin," which was the world's first mass-marketed drug. In the middle 1800s, scientists first synthesized acetylsalicylic acid, a biochemical derivative of salicylic acid. The basic ingredient of aspirin, salicylic acid, originally came from willow bark (the chemical name comes from salix, the Latin word for willow).
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Although we often rely on leaves to indicate the tree species, there are several other clues available to us in the winter, if only we know what to look for Remember to look up, down, and all around, and. Willows have an extremely long history for medicinal uses, being used to treat fevers, aches, skin conditions, and headaches, and as an anti-clotting agent. The ability to identify trees in the winter is a valuable skill that will strengthen your tree identification ventures throughout the year. There are additional willows that are exotic cultivated species, including weeping willow ( S. babylonica), but these are not known to survive for long out of cultivation. (Catkins are a particular type of flower cluster: spikelike, often cylindrical, sometimes pendulous, rather tightly packed clusters of unisexual flowers.) Willow catkins are often hairy.įruits are capsules (often conical and brown or reddish) that develop in the female catkins each capsule is filled with tiny seeds, often with hairs at the base.Ībout 12 species of willows grow naturally in Missouri, including at least 2 that were introduced from outside our borders. Male and female flowers develop in separate catkins on separate plants (each willow tree bears either male catkins, or female catkins, but not both). Twigs are famously slender, tough, and flexible, hence the phrase "bend like a willow." Many willows can be grown from cuttings by simply sticking a willow branch into the soil. Many willows are fast-growing, water-loving species. Wood is often brittle, weak, and prone to breakage in ice and strong winds. Most Missouri species have alternate leaves. Leaves have short stems and are usually narrow and long (lance-shaped or linear), with a rounded base and pointed tip, usually with teeth along the margin. Willows are deciduous shrubs and trees in the genus Salix.