Click on the images help you identify a black willow.
Form
Small to medium tree, 30 to 60 feet tall, with a broad, irregular crown. The trunk is often twisted and leaning, up to 30 inches in diameter.
Bark
Grayish brown to brownish black, fibrous, deeply furrowed with slightly scaly ridges.
Leaf
Leaves are alternate, simple, 3 to 6 inches long, and 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide, with finely toothed margins. Color is shiny green on both sides, turning light yellow in autumn. Leaves have short stalks, often with conspicuous leaf-like appendages (stipules) at the base.
Fruit (seed)
Fruit consists of capsules containing numerous seeds, grouped in dense, elongated clusters (catkins).
Range
Native to southeastern and east-central Minnesota; hardy to Zone 4a.
Wood uses
Wood is light brown, soft, weak, flexible, and coarse-grained. Sapwood is thin and whitish. Used for fuel, erosion control, ornamental plantings, windbreaks, baseball bats, and charcoal. Large, straight-grained trees are used in the manufacture of artificial limbs.