page_title: Salix caprea
section_title: Cultivation and uses
hierarchical_section_title: Salix caprea / Cultivation and uses
caption_attribution_description: A simple willow whistle.
context_page_description: Salix caprea, known as goat willow, pussy willow or great sallow, is a common species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia.
context_section_description: A small number of cultivars have been selected for garden use. The most common is S. caprea 'Kilmarnock', discovered by James Smith, with stiffly pendulous shoots forming a mop-head; it is a male clone. A similar female clone is S. caprea 'Weeping Sally'. As they do not form a leader, they are grafted on erect stems of other willows; the height of these cultivars is determined by the height at which the graft is made. Plants can also be grown from greenwood cuttings, which make attractive creeping mounds. Hardwood cuttings are often difficult to root.
  Both tannin and salicin can be extracted from goat willow bark. The tree is not considered a good source of timber, as its wood is both brittle and known to crackle violently if burned.
  As with the closely related Salix discolor (American pussy willow), it is also often grown for cut flowers. See Pussy willow for further cultural information, which apply to both species.
  In Scandinavia it has been fairly common to make willow flutes from goat willow cuttings.
  In Germany, Hungary, north of Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine, the just opened catkins, are used like the olive branches on Palm Sunday.
caption: A willow flute
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