Field Guide: Trees and Shrubs

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Pussy Willow
You found Pussy willow (Salix discolor).
It grows as a shrub or small tree (7). The leaves are 2-5 inches long and are lance-shaped. The leaves are shiny green above and whitish underneath (12). It produces silky, furry catkins in the late winter and early spring before the leaves grow. The fruit are long capsules that appear in the early spring.