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Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Salix caprea — goat willow

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Facts

Salix caprea is native to Europe and Asia and is introduced to New England.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, forests

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Characteristics

Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
Connecticut
Growth form
  • the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
  • the plant is a tree
Leaf type
the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
Leaves per node
there is one leaf per node along the stem
Leaf blade edges
  • the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
  • the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
Leaf duration
the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
armature on plant
the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Leaf blade length
50–130 mm
Leaf blade width
25–80 mm
Leaf stalk
the leaves have leaf stalks
Fruit type (general)
the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
Bark texture
  • the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
  • the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
Twig winter color
  • brown
  • gray
  • yellow
Bud scale number
there is one scale on the winter bud, and it covers the scale like a cap
Show all characteristics

  • Buds or leaf scars

    Bud scale number
    there is one scale on the winter bud, and it covers the scale like a cap
    Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
    NA
    Collateral buds
    there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
    Superposed buds
    there are no superposed buds on the branch

  • Flowers

    Carpels fused
    the carpels are fused to one another
    Enlarged sterile flowers
    there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
    Flower petal color
    NA
    Flower symmetry
    there is only one way to evenly divide the flower (the flower is bilaterally symmetrical)
    Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
    NA
    Hypanthium present
    the flower does not have a hypanthium
    Inflorescence position
    the inflorescences grow on the twigs
    Inflorescence type
    the inflorescence is an ament (catkin; slender, usually pendulous inflorescence with crowded unisexual flowers)
    Number of pistils
    1
    Ovary position
    the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
    Petal and sepal arrangement
    the flower lacks sepals and petals
    Petal appearance
    NA
    Petal fusion
    NA
    Sepal appearance
    NA
    Sepal cilia (Ilex)
    NA
    Sepal tip glands
    NA
    Sepals fused only to sepals
    NA
    Stamen number
    1 or 2
    Stamen position relative to petals
    NA
    Stamens fused
    the stamens are not fused to one another

  • Fruits or seeds

    Berry color
    NA
    Fruit type (general)
    the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
    Fruit type (specific)
    the fruit is a capsule (splits along two or more seams, apical teeth or pores when dry, to release two or more seeds)
    Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
    NA
    Wings on fruit
    there are no wings on the fruit

  • Glands or sap

    Sap color
    the sap is clear and watery
    Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
    NA

  • Growth form

    Growth form
    • the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
    • the plant is a tree

  • Leaves

    Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
    • the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
    • the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
    Leaf blade base shape
    the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
    Leaf blade edges
    • the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
    • the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
    Leaf blade edges (Acer)
    NA
    Leaf blade flatness
    the edges of the leaf are curled under
    Leaf blade hairs
    • at least some of the hairs on the leaf blade are reddish-brown, and they do not have glands
    • the hairs on the leaf blade are different from the choices given
    • the leaf blade has tangled or woolly-looking hairs, without glands
    Leaf blade length
    50–130 mm
    Leaf blade scales
    there are no scales on the leaf blades
    Leaf blade shape
    • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
    • the leaf blade is oblanceolate (lance-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
    • the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
    • the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
    Leaf blade texture
    • the leaf blade is coriaceous (has a firm, leathery texture)
    • the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
    Leaf blade translucent dots
    there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
    Leaf blade width
    25–80 mm
    Leaf duration
    the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
    Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
    NA
    Leaf midrib glands
    the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
    Leaf stalk
    the leaves have leaf stalks
    Leaf teeth
    • the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)
    • the leaf blade margin is crenate (with rounded teeth) or crenulate (with tiny, rounded teeth)
    • the leaf blade margin is undulate (wavy), but does not have teeth
    Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
    NA
    Leaf type
    the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
    Leaves per node
    there is one leaf per node along the stem
    Specific leaf type
    the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  • Place

    Habitat
    terrestrial
    New England state
    Connecticut
    Specific habitat
    • edges of forests
    • forests
    • man-made or disturbed habitats

  • Scent

    Plant odor
    the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor

  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Aerial roots
    the plant has no aerial roots
    Bark texture
    • the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
    • the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
    Branch cross-section
    the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
    First-year cane (Rubus)
    NA
    Pith shape
    the outline of the pith in a twig is roughly round
    Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
    NA
    Twig winter color
    • brown
    • gray
    • yellow
    Wings on branch
    the branch does not have wings on it
    armature on plant
    the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns

Wetland status

Occurs in wetlands or non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FAC)

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
present
Maine
absent
Massachusetts
absent
New Hampshire
absent
Rhode Island
present
Vermont
absent

Conservation status

None

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

8.  Salix caprea L. E

goat willow. CT. Roadsides, forest fragments, near dwellings.

8×30. Salix caprea × Salix viminalis → Salix ×‌sericans Tausch ex Kern. is a rare willow hybrid in New England known from MA, ME. It is sometimes referred to by the name S. ×‌smithiana Willd. (9 ×30), but that name properly refers to the hybrid betweenS. cinerea and S. viminalis (a hybrid that has not been documented in New England). It has lanceolate to broad-lanceolate leaf blades that are mostly 13–30 mm wide (vs. oblong to suborbicular and 25–80 mm wide in S. caprea and narrow-lanceolate to narrow-elliptic and 5–15 (–25) mm wide in S. viminalis). This hybrid is further characterized by dense gray tomentum on the abaxial blade surface, precocious flowering, and dark floral bracts that are densely pubescent.

Native to North America?

No

Sometimes confused with

Salix cinerea:
decorticated wood of 1- to 4-year-old branches with many prominent ridges, some longer than 20 mm, and capsules 5-5.6 mm long (vs. S. caprea, with decorticated wood smooth, with small points, or with a few short ridges generally shorter than 10 mm, and capsules 6-12 mm long).
Salix humilis:
leaf blades mostly 0.3–2.3 cm wide, 2.3–9 times as long as wide, often with some red-brown hairs intermixed with the white hairs, and stems 0.3–3 m tall (vs. S. caprea, with leaf blades 2.5–8 cm wide, 2–3 times as long as wide, pubescent with only white hairs, and stems 8–15 m tall).

Family

Salicaceae

Genus

Salix