Why is it called a Pussy Willow?

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asked Nov 19, 2021 in Gardening by 334topi (950 points)
Why is it called a Pussy Willow?

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answered Nov 21, 2021 by BVigdude (980 points)
The reason it's called a pussy willow is because of it's resemblance to cats paws.

At the tail end of winter, fuzzy nubs start to appear along the branches of pussy willows.

These soft silver tufts as well as the plant itself are named for their resemblance to tiny cats' paws, and they feel so much like fur that young children often wonder if they are animals instead of plants.

A pussy willow is the smaller species of the genus Salix (willows and sallows) when their furry catkins are young in early spring.

Pussy willow is a name given to many of the smaller species of the genus Salix when their furry catkins are young in early spring.

These species include: Goat willow or goat sallow, a small tree native to northern Europe and northwest Asia.

Grey willow or grey sallow, a small tree native to northern Europe.

Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus Salix, are around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere

Salix 'Golden Curls' (Willow) is a large shrub or small tree of great ornamental value.

Although the trunk and older branches are upright, forming an oval rounded crown, the younger branches weep gracefully downward, curling and twisting.

Salix alba 'Caerulea' (cricket-bat willow; syn.

Salix alba var. caerulea (Sm.) Sm.; Salix caerulea Sm.) is grown as a specialist timber crop in Britain, mainly for the production of cricket bats, and for other uses where a tough, lightweight wood that does not splinter easily is required.

Most varieties of willows grow best in full sunlight. While some smaller shrub willows grow well in mass plantings as hedges and borders, weeping willows prefer open areas that provide an abundance of light, although they can grow in very light shade.

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