{"id":300,"date":"2025-09-25T19:51:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T23:51:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/?p=300"},"modified":"2025-09-25T19:51:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T23:51:51","slug":"pussy-willow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/pussy-willow\/","title":{"rendered":"Pussy Willow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns sidebar is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em><em><em><em><em><em><em><em><em><em>Salix discolor<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-intro\">Pussy willow\u2019s silver flowers are called \u201ccatkins,\u201d and closely resemble the fur of a cat. In old English \u201cpuss\u201d means cat, hence the name pussy willow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group boxout has-light-green-background-color has-background is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-12dd3699 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Location<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Take a stroll from the corner of May and Lovell Streets along Larch Lane and see if you can find the pussy willow.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/pussy-willow-leaf.jpg\" alt=\"Pussy Willow Tree leaves\" class=\"wp-image-303\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/pussy-willow-leaf.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/pussy-willow-leaf-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/pussy-willow-leaf-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:4rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull section-intro has-light-warm-gray-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-stretch is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"background-image:url(&apos;https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/pussy-willow-tree.jpg&apos;);background-position:50% 50%;background-size:cover;\" class=\"wp-block-group padded lifted has-white-background-color has-background wp-container-content-69bc4bdf is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:25.625rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group padded has-charcoal-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7e6582fa512280e14869d4acfe869252 is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">History at Hadwen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"intro has-medium-font-size\">Pussy willow was one of the original species planted by Hadwen himself at the Hadwen Arboretum. A newspaper clipping from 1882 shows that Hadwen cultivated six species of willow. One pussy willow is still found in the arboretum today, planted by Clark University volunteers in 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group section is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div style=\"color:var(--clarku-color-green)\" class=\"eyebrow  has-text-align-left\">Keep learning<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Detailed species information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Pussy willow is a deciduous willow shrub in the family Salicaceae native to North America. It is found in the forests and wetlands of southern Canada and in the Great Lakes region and New England. This shrub or small tree typically grows to a height of 20 feet (6 meters). It has broad, green oval-shaped leaves and flowers called catkins which are small, silver-colored, and fur-like in texture. The willow is named after its catkins, which resemble a cat\u2019s fur, hence the name pussy willow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fruit of the pussy willow is a small capsule covered in seeds attached by a soft, down-like structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The pussy willow is commonly found in cool, boreal forests and wetlands. It serves as a common larval host for many species of insects and a crucial source of pollen for bees. Because of the unique, furry catkins, pussy willow is commonly cultivated for flower arrangements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Salix discolor Pussy willow\u2019s silver flowers are called \u201ccatkins,\u201d and closely resemble the fur of a cat. In old English \u201cpuss\u201d means cat, hence the name pussy willow. Location Take a stroll from the corner of May and Lovell Streets along Larch Lane and see if you can find the pussy willow. History at Hadwen [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":303,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trees"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pussy Willow | Hadwen Arboretum | Clark University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/pussy-willow\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pussy Willow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Salix discolor Pussy willow\u2019s silver flowers are called \u201ccatkins,\u201d and closely resemble the fur of a cat. In old English \u201cpuss\u201d means cat, hence the name pussy willow. Location Take a stroll from the corner of May and Lovell Streets along Larch Lane and see if you can find the pussy willow. 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