Upcoming tree walk: The Trees of Mount Royal on the Cusp of Spring, this Sunday, details at end of article
I’ve been told that the silver maple is the first to flower in spring. Already, you can see their red buds all over the place just waiting for enough light to open. But seeing these willow buds last weekend in Ottawa made me wonder. As it turns out, the pussy willow, Salix discolore and saule discolore or saule à chatons, in French, is even more of an early bird, often bursting out from under its bud scale around the end of February. Which is important for the first pollinating insects as the pickings of pollen are slim so early in the season.
Like their cousins the poplars, willows are dioecious, meaning that the male flowers, or pollen flowers, are found on separate trees from the female flowers, or seed flowers. The pussy of the pussy willow is, in fact, the immature male flower. I say immature because when the flower is fully developed it will be covered in bright yellow pollen.
The pussy willow, like most of the 62 species of willow found in Canada, is a bush more than a tree, a bush being multi-trunked and, generally, less than 4.5 metres. Found in every province, though not in the territories, pussy willows grow where there is lots of moisture and lots of sun. Riversides, lakesides and wet meadows are safe bets for those seeking to cut a few branches for their first bouquet of native flowers.
The pussy willow photographed above and below grows in the arboretum of Ottawa’s experimental farm in what was originally marshland. Beyond this spindly bush are the big daddies, the black willows, the most common of tree-sized willows that are native to Quebec. Often seen growing along highway ditches, often with a few branches broken, black willows (Salix nigra, saule noir) are easy to identify at this time of year because of the pronounced yellow-orange colour of their naked branches, a colour that is more pronounced than the paler yellow of poplars, also found in the botanical family salicaceae. Salix is a Celtic word meaning: near water.
The black willows, like all willows, have catkins, but they are longer and not as fuzzy as the pussy willow and not yet out of their buds. One of my favourite black willows in Montreal is this one below. It rules over the swamp behind the chalet on Mount Royal at the northwest corner of Olmstead Road as it rises toward to the summit. To the far right, you’ll notice what appear to be the silver scales of the green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Frêne vert) another titan in this interesting collection of trees.
In fact, this corner of the Mount Royal forest is full of treasures; a little further in stands one of the oldest white pines left of what was once a predominantly pine forest. This Sunday’s tree walk will include these trees as well as a nearby collection of the rare shagbark hickory mixed in with the oak forest of the mountain summit. After meeting at the chalet, we will start with the summit forest then work our way down through the sugar maple forest ending with the silver maples of the spring flood plane close to the Georges-Etienne Cartier monument.
Tree Walk: Buds, bark and dried fruit: the trees of Mount Royal on the cusp of spring
When: Sunday, March 15, 2009, 11h – 14h
Start: The chalet of the Kondiaronk Belvedere (the one with all the carved squirrels inside), accessible by #11 bus from the metro mont royal, get off at the stop for the Smith House. We’ll meet inside at a table at the east end of the building.
End: Georges-Etienne Cartier monument on Park Ave.
Bring: a lunch, pen and rubber boots.
Cost: $12
Reservations: bronwynchester@gmail.com, 514-284-7384
5 comments
Thank you again for such a great article. I was especially touched by “One of my favourite black willows in Montreal is…” — I tend to think of trees as interchangeable brown on the bottom and green on top things, but they do indeed have their own history and dare I say it, personality. And now that I think of it, I do have favourites, too, such as the series of wise old trees in a semicicle in Parc Lafontaine.
Do you mean Sunday, March 15?
Yes Jess,
Sorry for the date mix-up.
I live in Northwestern Montana (not that far from the Canadian border) and have been out in the yard of my new house identifying (though it’s a bit early for Montana) exactly what perennials I have. I was delighted to find a large pussy willow bush in my front yard, which has been blooming pussy willows since the end of February. I’m so excited! I have had pussy willows in dry arrangements for years – now I have my own and don’t have to buy them!
I look forward to more articles about how to care for them, how much water, and if they need fertilization at any point in their growth period.
Lucky you. As far as I know, all that pussy willows need is sufficient water and sun. Since they tend to seed themselves or clone themselves from rootstock or fallen branches, those that take root in the right place thrive, and those that don’t don’t.