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.
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