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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Salix discolor''
| image = Salix discolor (USDA).jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Shoot with leaves
| status =
secure
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Malpighiales]]
| familia = [[Salicaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Willow|Salix]]''
| species = '''''S. discolor'''''
| binomial = ''Salix discolor''
| binomial_authority = [[Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg|Muhl.]]
}}
'''''Salix discolor''''' ('''American Pussy Willow'''<ref name=grin>Germplasm Resources Information Network: [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?102704 ''Salix discolor'']</ref>) is a species of [[willow]] native to [[North America]], one of two species commonly called [[Pussy Willow]].
[[Image:pussy willow branch.jpg|thumb|left|Branch with catkins in early spring]]
It is native to the northern forests and wetlands of [[Canada]] ([[British Columbia]] east to [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]]) and the northeastern contiguous [[United States]] ([[Idaho]] south to [[Wyoming]], and east to [[Maine]] and [[Maryland]]).<ref name=grin/><ref name=bc>Plants of British Columbia: [http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Salix+discolor ''Salix discolor'']</ref><ref name=boreal>Borealforests: [http://www.borealforest.org/shrubs/shrub44.htm ''Salix discolor'']</ref>
It is a weak-wooded [[deciduous]] [[shrub]] or small [[tree]] growing to 6 m tall, with brown shoots. The [[leaf|leaves]] are oval, 3-14 cm long and 1-3.5 cm broad, green above and downy grey-white beneath. The [[flower]]s are soft silky silvery [[catkin]]s, borne in early spring before the new leaves appear, with the male and female catkins on different plants ([[plant sexuality|dioecious]]); the male catkins mature yellow at [[pollen]] release. The [[fruit]] is a small [[capsule (fruit)|capsule]] 7-12 mm long containing numerous minute seeds embedded in cottony down.<ref name=bc/><ref name=boreal/>
===Cultivation and uses===
Like other willows, it contains [[salicin]], and was used by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]]s as a [[analgesic|painkiller]].<ref name=boreal/>
As with the closely related ''[[Salix caprea]]'' (European Pussy Willow), it is also often grown for cut flowers. See [[Pussy Willow]] for further cultural information and uses.
==References==
<References/>
[[Category:Salicaceae]]
{{tree-stub}}
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Salix discolor''
| image = Salix discolor (USDA).jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Shoot with leaves
| status =
secure
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Malpighiales]]
| familia = [[Salicaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Willow|Salix]]''
| species = '''''S. discolor'''''
| binomial = ''Salix discolor''
| binomial_authority = [[Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg|Muhl.]]
}}
'''''Salix discolor''''' ('''American Pussy Willow'''<ref name=grin>Germplasm Resources Information Network: [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?102704 ''Salix discolor'']</ref>) is a species of [[willow]] native to [[North America]], one of two species commonly called [[Pussy Willow]].
[[Image:pussy willow branch.jpg|thumb|left|Branch with catkins in early spring]]
It is native to the northern forests and wetlands of [[Canada]] ([[British Columbia]] east to [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]]) and the northeastern contiguous [[United States]] ([[Idaho]] south to [[Wyoming]], and east to [[Maine]] and [[Maryland]]).<ref name=grin/><ref name=bc>Plants of British Columbia: [http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Salix+discolor ''Salix discolor'']</ref><ref name=boreal>Borealforests: [http://www.borealforest.org/shrubs/shrub44.htm ''Salix discolor'']</ref>
It is a weak-wooded [[deciduous]] [[shrub]] or small [[tree]] growing to 6 m tall, with brown shoots. The [[leaf|leaves]] are oval, 3-14 cm long and 1-3.5 cm broad, green above and downy grey-white beneath. The [[flower]]s are soft silky silvery [[catkin]]s, borne in early spring before the new leaves appear, with the male and female catkins on different plants ([[plant sexuality|dioecious]]); the male catkins mature yellow at [[pollen]] release. The [[fruit]] is a small [[capsule (fruit)|capsule]] 7-12 mm long containing numerous minute seeds embedded in cottony down.<ref name=bc/><ref name=boreal/>
===Cultivation and uses===
Like other willows, it contains [[salicin]], and was used by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]]s as a [[analgesic|painkiller]].<ref name=boreal/>
As with the closely related ''[[Salix caprea]]'' (European Pussy Willow), it is also often grown for cut flowers. See [[Pussy Willow]] for further cultural information and uses.
==References==
<References/>
[[Category:Salicaceae]]
{{tree-stub}}
