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| Life form: |
| Deciduous shrub or tree (3-5 m) |
| Stems: |
| Multi-stemmed shrub that can grow as tall as 15 m; greyish, rough bark; new growth reddish-brown |
| Leaves: |
| Large, oval; upperside is bare or hairy, usually dark green and the underside is nice velvet SHAGGY |
| Flowers: |
| Dioecious; male trees catkins, pinkish gray and woolly; female trees produce smaller greenish catkins |
| Flowering Period: |
| April, May |
| Fruits: |
| Capsule is sessile, elongated and gray-green, 5-10 mm long containing numerous minute seeds embedded in fine cottony hairs.
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| Habitat: |
| Throughout the country; riverbanks and lake shores |
Derivation of the botanical name:
Salix, Latin name for the willow and meaning "to leap or spring" in reference to its fast growth.
Caprea, a wild she-goat.
- The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
Salix caprea, Goat Willow, is thought to come from the first known illustration of the species in Hieronymus Bock's 16th-century Herbal (1498 - 1554), where the tree is shown being eaten by a goat. Hieronymus Bock (Latinised Tragus) was a German botanist, physician, and Lutheran minister.
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