How Does the Willow Spread Its Seeds? A Detailed Look at Willow Seed Dispersal

Willows rely on the wind to spread their seeds. Willow seeds usually mature from April to May; the seeds are very small and covered with white down, and it is by the drifting of the willow catkins that the seeds are carried far away to take root and sprout.

Common Willow Varieties

1. Weeping willow (Salix babylonica)

Branches slender and drooping; leaves narrowly lanceolate or linear-lanceolate. It has strong vitality and is one of the common tree species, also often used as a street tree in landscaping. It is produced in the Yangtze River basin and the Yellow River basin, cultivated in various places, and introduced and planted in countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

2. Dry land willow (Salix matsudana)

Branches upright or spreading obliquely; leaves widest in the middle, with a rounded or broadly wedge-shaped base. It likes light and tolerates cold, and can grow in both wet and dry land. Its root system is well developed and its wind resistance is strong. It often grows in dry land or wet places, and has not yet been introduced and cultivated artificially.

3. White willow (Salix alba)

The crown is broadly ovate; leaves lanceolate to oblanceolate. Young leaves have silvery-white silky hairs on both sides; mature leaves are usually hairless on the upper side and slightly downy or nearly hairless beneath. The inflorescences are relatively long. It is cultivated in Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet and other provinces and regions.

4. Purple willow (Salix purpurea)

The leaves are small and fine, spindle-shaped, green and smooth; the branches are relatively dense and the plant is hemispherical. The male inflorescences have sparse flowers, and the female flowers have 2 glands. The flowering period is in April. It is distributed in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and other provinces in China.