Goodding’s Black Willow

Goodding’s black willow, known by its scientific name Salix gooddingii as well as Goodding’s willow, is a common native tree that grows throughout the State of California and the southwestern United States and northern Mexico,  in moist or  wetland areas in many types of habitat from mountains to desert. It is a common riparian species. It grows in an upright form to a height of 15-40 feet and a maximum width of about 25 feet, but will reach a length of 100 feet when curved or bent. It has thick, furrowed, shreddy bark and many thin branches. The leaves are up to 5.5 inches long, generally lance-shaped, and finely serrated along the edges. The young leaves are coated in hairs. The inflorescence is a catkin of flowers up to 3,3 inches long.
It has a moderate growth rate and is moderately long-lived. It is deciduous, growing dormant in the winter, with active growth during the spring and summer. Flowers are green and bloom in the early spring. Leaves are medium green. It tends to grow in streamsides, at elevations from below sea level to 2,000 feet. It performs in a wide variety of locations, from the South Coast to the Central Valley and perennial streams in desert areas.
This tree’s natural settings include streamsides, marshes, seepage places, washes and meadows. It is known to survive under conditions offering annual precipitation from 2.4 inches to 62.3 inches, and summer precipitation from 0.15 inches to 2.68 inches.
It has demonstrated the ability to survive a winter in which the coldest average monthly temperature reached 17.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
It tolerates some alkalinity and salinity as well as generally poor water quality, as long as adequate moisture is present. Due to its size and water requirements, this is not a common garden tree but is useful in restoration projects, bioswales, and other constructed wetlands. Like other willows it is an important wildlife plant.
Plants in the genus Salix are host to a wide variety of pollinators including several butterflies, including  the dreamy duskywing, the viceroy, Lorquin’s admiral, Wiedemeyer’s admiral, the mourning cloak, the western tiger swallowtail, the sylvan hairstreak, various moths, and some gall-forming wasps. Some birds, such as the Least bell’s vireo and the southwetern willow flycatcher, prefer to nest in large, dense willow thickets.
From calscape.org and Wikipedia

Leave a Reply