VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Salix nigra | Black Willow 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Black willow is the largest and only commercially important willow in
North America.  The wood is light, usually straight grained, and
moderately high in shock resistance.  It stains and finishes well but is
relatively undurable [5].  The wood was once used extensively for
artifical limbs because it is lightweight, does not splinter easily, and
holds its shape well [5,8].  It is still used for making boxes and
crates, furniture core stock, turned pieces, table tops, wooden
novelties, doors, cabinets, polo balls, and toys [5,8,15].  Black willow
is also used for pulp [5,8].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Birds eat the buds and flowering catkins of black willow; deer eat the
twigs and leaves; and rodents eat the bark and buds [8,35].  The
yellow-bellied sapsucker feeds on the sap [5,39].  Black willow is
somewhat tolerant of grazing and browsing [39].  Black willow/cottonwood
stands are also commonly used as nesting habitat by some small nongame
bird species [30].


PALATABILITY : 
Palatability of black willlow has been rated as fair for livestock and
deer [7,39].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Black willow has been rated as fair in energy value and poor in protein
value [7].


COVER VALUE : 
Black willow cover values in Utah are rated as follows [7]:

                pronghorn - poor
                elk - poor
                moose - fair
                small mammals - fair
                small nongame birds - good
                upland game birds - good
                waterfowl - fair


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Black willow was commonly used in soil stabilization projects in early
efforts at erosion control.  Its flood tolerance and the ease with which
it establishes from cuttings continue to make it an excellent species
for reducing erosion of streambanks, bars, and islands [5,8,18,39].
Post-sized willow cuttings have been rooted for use in flood projects to
prevent gullies from forming [5].

Seeds lose viability rapidly if stored at room temperature.
Refrigerated storage of moistened seeds for no longer than 1 month is
recommended.  Commercial seed is not usually available [39].  Planted
seedlings or cuttings should be protected from livestock, beavers, small
rodents, and rabbits.  Hardware cloth placed around individual plants
will protect them from rodents and rabbits.  Livestock should be
excluded by fencing the entire area, and firebreaks should surround the
revegetated area.  Additionally, the area around each tree should be
kept free of weeds [18].  To reduce competition densities greater than
494 to 556 trees per acre (200-225 trees/ha) should be avoided [18].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Ancient pharmacopoeia recognized the bark and leaves of willow as useful
in the treatment of rheumatism [5].  Pioneering settlers boiled the bark
of black willow for its purgative and vermin-destroying powers [40].  In
1829, the natural glucoside, salicin, which is closely related
chemically to aspirin, was isolated from willow [5].  Black willow was
once used as a source of charcoal for gunpowder [8].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Thinning:  To increase yields and reduce mortality of black willow,
stands should be thinned as soon as economically feasible; thinning
should continue at 5-year intervals [5,28].  Spacing between trees after
thinning should average about 21 times the mean stem diameter of 10
inches (25.4 cm).  This results in a 17.5 feet (5.3 m) spacing [5].

Insects and Disease:  The forest tent caterpillar (malacosoma disstria),
the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar), the cottonwood leaf beetle
(Chrysomila scripta), the willow sawfly (Nematus ventralis), and the
willow leaf beetle (Plagiodera versicolora) partially or occasionally
completely defoliate willow trees, reducing growth but seldom causing
death.  The cottonwood borer (Plectrodera scalator) attacks black willow
and may kill by girdling the base.  Top and branch rot account for 86
percent of the cull in willow.  Leaf rust, fungus scab, and black canker
can cause leaf and shoot destruction of black willow seedlings [5,39].

Because of its weak wood and shallow roots, black willow is susceptible
to breakage and windthrow [39].

Related categories for Species: Salix nigra | Black Willow