Pussy Willows are so underrated. Growing in wet ground by rivers, canals and lakes, their tangle of roots help to bind the soil and stops the ground slipping. But this winter was so wet that many willows suffered in the floodwaters.
Willows have also been used for weaving into baskets, wickerwork furniture and even coffins. And the wood of fast-growing willows is being used for biomass burning to generate electricity.
We also owe a huge debt to willows for giving rise to the world’s most widely used medicine. The ancient Egyptians and many other old civilisations used willow bark for rheumatism and headaches, and in 1763 Edward Stone, a vicar from Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, made the first scientific study of the effects of powdered willow bark when he treated patients suffering from rheumatic fever.
The pussy willow has long been admired for its strong, spreading, upright stems, colorful autumn leaves, and the purplish-brown catkins