The Black Willow is a disheveled-looking tree with many branches and long narrow leaves (usually 3-5 inches in length and 3/8-3/4 inches wide). Its lance-shaped leaves have round or V-shaped bases, saw-toothed edges and are shiny. The bark is dark brown or black with deep furrows and there are one or more leaning trunks that make up the tree. The tree is anywhere from 10 to 40 feet tall and is normally found on banks of streams and in flood plains. Nation-wide, it grows in damp soil from Minnesota south to Florida and Texas, usually in groves with other willows or cottonwoods, but rarely with other trees. Black Willows can be seen from all the boardwalks in our wetlands.

The yellow flowers, which appear in April and May, are on long catkins growing from the tips of twigs.

Furniture and, in pioneer days, gun powder was made from this tree. In nature, one of its functions is to hold soil in on banks, preventing erosion.