Goat or Pussy Willow
Latin Name : Salix caprea
![](https://priestgate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Salix-caprea-male-flowers_RDBimage-940x705.jpg)
Early Spring Male Flower
Thing about the Goat or Pussy Willow is that the trees are either male or female. The opening image is of a male flower – the one that produces the pollen.
![](https://priestgate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Salix_caprea_Pussy_Willow_female_flower_shutterstock_583671676-940x627.jpg)
Pussy Willow Buds
…. and this is the flower bud which encloses the female flower….
….which looks like this when it opens
![](https://priestgate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Salix_caprea_female_flower_shutterstock_1744177307-940x702.jpg)
Once the flowers have done they’re thing, then the leaves emerge, as illustrated below.
![](https://priestgate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Salix_caprea_foliage_shutterstock_1708698148-940x628.jpg)
…. and the final image shows ‘Pollarded’ Goat Willow trees growing alongside a field ditch. Note how brightly coloured the hundreds of vigorous new growths are. Grown in this way these colourful shoots really show up on a sunny winter’s day.
![](https://priestgate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Salix_caprea_pollards_shutterstock_1950419692-940x627.jpg)