A catalog of Native North American Plants: Salix nigra

Salix nigra

Common name: Black willow

Salix nigra, the black willow, is a species of willow native to eastern North America, from New Brunswick and southern Ontario west to Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Texas.

It is a medium-sized deciduous tree, the largest North American species of willow, growing to 10–30 m. The bark is dark brown to blackish, becoming fissured in older trees, and frequently forking near the base. The leaves are alternate, long, thin. dark, shiny green on both sides or with a lighter green underside, with a finely serrated margin. Black willow roots are very bitter, and have been used as a substitute for quinine in the past. Ethnobotanical uses of black willow by various Native American tribes include basketry, and treatment of fever, headache, and coughs.  The bark of the tree contains salicylic acid, a chemical compound similar to aspirin 

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