Willows are cracking trees to study

11:06am Monday 17th March 2008

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WHEN I wrote recently about our native trees, I was taken to task for not mentioning the willow.

This is actually a group name for several species and the fact that they frequently interbreed adds further to the confusion. In times gone by the willows were of great economic importance.

They grow quickly and branches which are cut grow again. This was often done by a method called pullarding and the flexible twigs were woven into baskets, forces and even the walls between the rooms of the houses. The twigs, called wattle, were filled with daub - mud and straw, often mixed with horse dung!

Weeping willows were once planted for ornamental purposes, close to water. One major industry involved the production of cricket bats.

All willows are typified by having a long thin shape, but even these vary enough to cause confusion.

What is a sure sign are the dangling male catkins, yellow with pollen and a feature of early spring.