The other way the tree reproduces is with a seed crop, which female trees can produce each year. As a tree that lives on the edge of waterways, its branches are purposefully brittle and as they break off, then they can be moved by the water and can sprout and take root at later points on the waterway. ![]() The tree has a rather gnarled and chaotic appearance due to its growth habit–many young suckers and branches grow out of the tree and then, as the floods come, the branches break off and can take root anywhere along the waterway. Learning basket weaving from downed black willow Black willow prefers to grow at or just above the water level, where it is happily subjected to seasonal floods. Black willow reaches heights of 100 feet or more and can get 3-5 feet thick when old. Black Willow is shade intolerant and prefers wet areas along streams, rivers, lakes, and swamps. An ancient Black Willow is quite a sight to behold! The Black Willow is often found as a solitary tree, growing as a single tree or in small groups of Black Willow Trees. Ecologyīlack Willow is North American’s largest native willow species, with over 100 native willow species growing here (and nearly 300 willow species globally). For information on how to work with trees spiritually, you can see my Druid Tree Working series including finding the face of the tree, seeking the grandmother trees, tree relationships, communicating on the outer planes, communicating on the inner planes, establishing deep connections with trees, working with urban trees, tree energy, seasonal workings, and helping tree spirits pass. Other trees in this series include Tamarak, Dogwood, Spruce, Spicebush, Rhododendron, Witch Hazel, Staghorn Sumac, Chestnut, Cherry, Juniper, Birch, Elder, Walnut, Eastern White Cedar, Hemlock, Sugar Maple, Hawthorn, Hickory, Beech, Ash, White Pine, Black Locust, and Oak. In this series, I explore the magic, mythology, herbal, cultural, and divination uses, with the goal of eventually producing a larger work that explores many of our unique trees located on the US East Coast (which I hope to have completed by early 2022–so you will be seeing a lot more tree posts!) For my methods using ecology, the doctrine of signatures, and human uses, you can see this post. This post is part of my Sacred Trees of Eastern North America series–here you can learn about the many wonderful trees upon our landscape. A true North American tree, the Black Willow is a delightful tree to get to know and work with! A second area where Black Willow is native is scattered throughout California and New Mexico. It is native to all of Eastern North America, from the lower edge of Maine the entire way to the top of Florida, and across into Texas and into the upper midwest. The Black Willow is also known as the Swamp Willow, Sauz, Dudley Willow, or the Gulf Black Willow. ![]() The Black Willow is an incredible tree, the largest Willow native to North America, and a great tree to get to know. ![]() When the stream waters would rise, sometimes they would look like they were wading there, branches swaying in the current. They looked like gnarled old women, sitting by the edge of the stream, their long branches swaying gently in the wind. Although we lived on a busy crossroads in town, the stream and willows in the backyard were a quiet place, guarded by those three old willows. One of my earliest memories was of three ancient black willow trees that were down by a little creek where I lived.
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