SALIX alba

'White Willow'. A familiar native species of water meadows and riversides. A large, elegant tree of conical habit, with slender branches, drooping at the tips. The lanceolate, silky-hairy leaves occur in great, billowy masses, creating a characteristic silvery appearance from a distance. The slender catkins appear with the young leaves in spring. A vigorous, fast-growing tree, much planted in moist, sandy areas.(2)