In-Depth Description
Pussy Willow’s familiar, soft, silky, silvery-gray, furry catkins appear before leaf emergence in late winter. These catkins purportedly resemble the pads on a cat’s paw, hence the common name, Pussy Willow. This is a dioecious species (male and female catkins appearing on separate trees). Male trees produce the showy display of silky-gray catkins while female trees produce smaller, less attractive, greenish catkins. This historic native provides an early-season harvest for songbirds, waterfowl, and small mammals. It also attracts butterflies; and is a larval host for Mourning Cloak and Viceroy butterflies. It has been recognized by pollination ecologists (Xerces Society) as having special value by attracting large numbers of native bees.
