Scouler willow – Salix scouleriana

Pronunciation: Say-liks skow-ler-ee-on-uh

Leaf: Alternate, simple, distinctly obovate, 3 - 5 inches long, margins usually entire but may have a few wavy teeth, edges rolled under, often arranged in a fan-like fashion at the ends of twigs, dark green above, paler and maybe reddish hairy below.

Flower: Species is dioecious; 1 - 2 inches long, fuzzy catkins, yellowish white, appearing in spring with the leaves.

Fruit: Small (¼ inch), long-pointed, hairy capsules in oblong clusters; each capsule contains numerous small fuzzy seeds.

Twig: Slender, yellowish brown to red, may have some fuzz; red buds are large and pointed, with a single cap-like scale.

Bark: Gray to gray-brown, smooth with diamond shaped lenticels when young, later becoming shallowly fissured and scaly.

Form: Large shrub but often a small tree with a single, upright trunk and round crown, reaching 25 feet.

Looks like: pussy willow - Bebb's willow - Sitka willow - Mackenzie’s willow

Salix scouleriana - Scouler willow Latin name or Celtic "sal" (near) and "lis" (water) / after naturalist Dr. John Scouler