**133/N-Tree Talk-Goat Willow.

There are numerous different species & varieties of willow in England, but the differences many of them are not very marked.  Most willows  like a moist soil, the damper the better & usually  to be found in water meadows or along river  banks with their roots almost  in the water.  The male & female flowers  grow on separate trees.   The first signs of them are furry, silvery tufts breaking out of some of the buds in  the  spring.   The male  flowers  become erect  brushes of golden-tipped stamens while the female flowers are erect  green stems studded with numerous pointed green capsules. When ripe  these capsules burst open & a thick mass of white cotton protrudes, the small seeds each being attached to a cottony filament.   When the tree is in full seed it looks as though it were dotted with little tufts of cotton-wool.