In contrast, it reminds Englishmen of the willow bats used in playing cricket, their national game. To a Hollander, it means wooden shoes. To young Americans, however, it means pussy willows in early spring, willow whistles and fishing poles. Willows grow rapidly and abundantly in moist soils and along the edges of water throughout most of the United States and in many other parts of the world.
Willows are plant pioneers, able to live on raw new soil wherever there is water.
Also, because their tiny silky-haired seeds are borne long distances by wind, they were probably the first woody plants to gain a foothold in this region when it was uncovered by the melting of the glaciers. Dwarf willows are found on the Barren Lands beyond the Arctic Circle. Most willows range in height from a few inches to 20 or 30 feet. Certain alpine species, at maturity, are not more than an inch or so in height. Both are ornamental shade trees.