Trunks of this tree, which often occur in clumps of three to five, are crooked and splayed. Crowns are rounded, open and irregular in a mounding form. Bark on large trees is thick, dark brown to black, with deep furrows and wide interlaced ridges, becoming quite shaggy with age. The black willow propagates from seed, underground roots, or from bits of broken branch which may root alongside a stream. It is simple to grow them by pushing a cutting into the ground.
Pores occur singularly or in radial multiples of two or three and are barely visible to the eye.
Rays are very fine, just visible with a hand lens. Black willow is among the softest and lightest of our native hardwoods. The wood has fine, uniform, interlocked grain with little figure or character. It is resilient, flexible and weak but has a very high strength to weight ratio. The wood has no taste or odor.