Scientific Name
Salix nigra
Trade Name
Black willow
Family Name
Salicaceae
Common Names
Black willow, Dudley willow, Goodding willow, Sauce, Saule, Sauz, Southwestern black willow, Swamp willow, Weide, Western black willow, Wilg, Willow
Regions of Distribution
North America
Countries of Distribution [VIEW MAP]
United States
Common Uses
| Straight | ||||||||||||
| Even |
Baseball bats, Baskets, Boxes and crates, Caskets, Casks, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Cooperages, Core Stock, Decorative veneer, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Figured veneer, Fine furniture, Floor lamps, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Gun powder, Hatracks, Kitchen cabinets, Living-room suites, Novelties, Office furniture, Packing cases, Pulp/Paper products, Pulpwood, Radio – stereo – TV cabinets, Rustic furniture, Sporting Goods, Stools
Environmental Profile
| Rank of relative endangerment based on number of occurences globally. | ||||||||||||
| May be rare in some parts of its range, especially at the periphery | ||||||||||||
| Demonstrably widespread, abundant, and secure globally | ||||||||||||
| Data source is Nature Conservancy |
Distribution Overview
This species occurs in New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Iowa, Illinois, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. It often occurs in pure stands and with cottonwoods, and prefers wet soils of banks of streams and lakes, particularly flood plains.
Heartwood Color
| Brown | ||||||||||||
| White | ||||||||||||
| Red |
Typically gray or reddish brown with dark streaks
Sapwood Color
| Red | ||||||||||||
| White | ||||||||||||
| Yellow | ||||||||||||
| Thickness varies | ||||||||||||
| Creamy white |
Grain
| Figure | ||||||||||||
| Other (figure) | ||||||||||||
| Somewhat interlocked |
Texture
| Coarse | ||||||||||||
| Medium | ||||||||||||
| Uniform |
Natural Durability
| Non-durable | ||||||||||||
| Perishable | ||||||||||||
| Non-resistant to powder post beetles | ||||||||||||
| Susceptible to insect attack | ||||||||||||
| Little resistance to attack by decay and wood destroying insects |
Willow has been extensively used to reinforce levees on the banks of the Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri rivers
Odor
| No specific smell or taste |
Kiln Schedules
| US=T10F4/T8F3 |
Drying Defects
| Checking | ||||||||||||
| Distortion | ||||||||||||
| Water pockets | ||||||||||||
| Warping can be expected | ||||||||||||
| Ring failure | ||||||||||||
| Honeycombing possible | ||||||||||||
| Expect splits | ||||||||||||
| Defects commonly associated with the presence of wetwood | ||||||||||||
| Collapse |
Ease of Drying
| Tends to retain pockets of moisture | ||||||||||||
| Shrinkage is considerable | ||||||||||||
| Moisture content should be monitored to insure uniformity | ||||||||||||
| Dries rapidly |
Tree Size
| Tree height is 10-20 m | ||||||||||||
| Tree height is 30-40 m | ||||||||||||
| Bole length is 0-10 m | ||||||||||||
| Tree height is 20-30 m | ||||||||||||
| Tree height is 0-10 m | ||||||||||||
| Trunk diameter is 100-150 cm |
Size varies considerably, and depends upon where the tree is growing. Trees growing in the Mississippi Valley reach heights of 140 feet (43 m) and diameters of 48 inches (120 cm). The tree may have more than one straight and often leaning trunk
Product Sources
Black willow is available in large quantities on the commercial market.
Comments
Black willow is one of the largest and most important New World willows, and is distributed extensively across the United States
Carving
| Resistant to checking after seasoning | ||||||||||||
| Good results |
Cutting Resistance
| Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult to saw |
Gluing
| Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult | ||||||||||||
| Fair to Good Results | ||||||||||||
| Fairly Easy to Very Easy | ||||||||||||
| Good properties |
Movement in Service
| Holds its place well in use | ||||||||||||
| Dimensionally stable |
Nailing
| Very Good to Excellent Results | ||||||||||||
| Fair to Good Results |
Planing
| Fairly Easy to Very Easy | ||||||||||||
| Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult | ||||||||||||
| Requires sharp cutting edges to prevent fuzzy surfaces | ||||||||||||
| Reduced cutting angles recommended | ||||||||||||
| Planes and works well with ordinary machine tools |
Resistance to Impregnation
| Sapwood is permeable | ||||||||||||
| Heartwood is resistant |
Response to Hand Tools
| Fairly Difficult to Difficult to Work | ||||||||||||
| Easy to Work |
Sanding
| Good characteristics |
Screwing
| Very Good to Excellent Results | ||||||||||||
| Fair to Good Results | ||||||||||||
| Good screw holding properties |
Turning
| Sharp cutting edges necessary to prevent woolly surfaces |
Polishing
| Satisfactory results |
Staining
| Stains easily |
Strength Properties
| Weight = medium | ||||||||||||
| Max. crushing strength = low | ||||||||||||
| Compression strength (parallel to grain) = low | ||||||||||||
| Bending strength (MOR) = low |
Numerical Data
| Item | Green | Dry | English |
| Bending Strength | 4704 | 7644 | psi |
| Crushing Strength | 176 | 421 | psi |
| Maximum Crushing Strength | 1999 | 4018 | psi |
| Shearing Strength | 1225 | psi | |
| Stiffness | 774 | 990 | 1000 psi |
| Work to Maximum Load | 9 | 11 | inch-lbs/in3 |
| Specific Gravity | 0.35 | 0.37 | |
| Weight | 47 | 25 | lbs/ft3 |
| Radial Shrinkage | 3 | % | |
| Tangential Shrinkage | 9 | % | |
| Volumetric Shrinkage | 14 | % | |
| Item | Green | Dry | Metric |
| Bending Strength | 330 | 537 | kg/cm2 |
| Crushing Strength | 12 | 29 | kg/cm2 |
| Maximum Crushing Strength | 140 | 282 | kg/cm2 |
| Shearing Strength | 86 | kg/cm2 | |
| Stiffness | 54 | 69 | 1000 kg/cm2 |
| Work to Maximum Load | 0.63 | 0.77 | cm-kg/cm3 |
| Specific Gravity | 0.35 | 0.37 | |
| Weight | 753 | 400 | kg/m3 |
| Radial Shrinkage | 3 | % | |
| Tangential Shrinkage | 9 | % |
References
Boone, R.S., C.J. Kozlik, P.J. Bois and E.M. Wengert. 1988. Dry Kiln Schedules for Commercial Woods: Temperate and Tropical. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, General Technical Report FPL-GTR-57, Madison, Wisconsin.
Flynn Jr., J.H. 1993. Salix nigra – Black willow. In A Guide to Useful Woods of the World. Flynn Jr., J.H., Editor. King Philip Publishing Co., Portland, Maine. 1994. Page 319-320.
Kaiser, J. 1988. Wood of the Month: Willows – The Water-loving Trees. Wood & Wood Products, June, 1988. Page 56.
Little, E.L. 1980. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees – Western Region. Published by Arthur A. Knopf, New York.
Panshin, A.J. and C. deZeeuw. 1980. Textbook of Wood Technology, 4th Edition. McGraw-Hill Series in Forest Resources. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York.
USDA. 1987. Wood Handbook:Wood as an Engineering Material. Agriculture Handbook No. 72. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Madison, Wisconsin.
USDA. 1988. Dry Kiln Operators Manual, Preliminary Copy. Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin