Black Willow

Given plenty of sunshine and wet enough soil, black willow will grow almost anywhere in the Atchafalaya Basin. You can easily find yourself surrounded by entire forests of black willow. Tolerant of flooding, the tenacious and limber tree is known to fashion its own footing, weaving alongside or arching over water if it needs to. Wherever water flows, willows follow. In fact, the sideways spread of a well-established willow can often far exceed its height. Like all willows, the black willow, Salix nigra, loses its long, lance-shaped leaves every autumn, leaving behind only a gray skeleton for the winter, then sprouting new leaves in the spring.