Willow id please

[Guest]

3 different trees. I thought they were the same but different stages. A week later it appears I am wrong. I am sure one is a grey willow just don't know which as gurgle shows both being called that. Any ideas?



Thank you as always

[mothhawk]

It's hard to tell. I think the first one could be grey willow.
Do the pics on this site help?

[Guest]

TY Mothhawk that is perfect. Pic 1 has grey willow in foreground goat willow at the back. Pic 2 is goat willow, pic 3 is grey willow.

To think I have spent a while trying to figure that out

TY again

[mothhawk]

It shows how well I look at pictures. I was studying the green catkins in pic one and never even noticed the goat willow catkins behind. Doh.

[mothhawk]

They are both just pussy willows to me. I've just looked up both and it seems to me the easiest way to distinguish them is by bud colour:

grey - identified in winter by: red hairless narrow buds are pressed close to the twig.
goat - identified in winter by: the greenish-brown rounded hairless buds are only slightly pressed close to the twig

or leaf shape:
grey - the leaves are oval and are at least twice as long as they are wide.
goat - the leaves are oval. They are hairless above, but with a felty coating of fine grey hairs underneath, and have a pointed tip which bends to one side.

Then I read that they hybridise happily, so I guess that throws everything out.