American willow

American black willow is a Southern States species, usually associated with water and is just one of many willow species.

Latin Name

Salix nigra

Other Common Names

black willow, swamp willow

American_Willow_big

American black willow trees grow naturally in the Central and Southern States mainly along the Mississippi river and beside lakes. The best trees of willow can grow very tall and straight but with relatively small diameter and may be multi-stemmed.

FOREST GROWTH

FIA data shows U.S. willow growing stock is 56.7 million m3, 0.4% of total U.S. hardwood growing stock. American willow is growing 1.15 million m3 per year while the harvest is 0.31 million m3 per year. The net volume (after harvest) is increasing 0.84 million m3 each year. Willow growth exceeds harvest in most U.S. states that are host to the species

Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Delaware Florida Georgia Iowa Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Maryland Maine Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi Montana North Carolina North Dakota Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Nevada New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Vermont Washington Wisconsin West Virginia Wyoming Average annual growth, m3 0 3.5K
Back to whole of U.S. 0-20K 20K-40K 40K-60K 60K-80K 80K-100K 100K-120K > 120K Average annual growth, m3 0 200K
-15K -10K -5K 0 5K 10K 15K 20K 25K GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ -10K -9K -8K -7K -6K -5K -4K -3K -2K -1K 0 1K 2K 3K 4K 5K 6K 7K 8K 9K 10K GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ -2000 -1750 -1500 -1250 -1000 -750 -500 -250 0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ -300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400 500 GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ Removals 0 Growth 0 Net growth 0
0 200K 400K 600K 800K 1M 1.2M FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ 0 40K 80K 120K 160K 200K 240K 280K 320K 360K 400K 440K FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ 0 10K 20K 30K 40K 50K 60K 70K 80K 100K FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ 0 4K 8K 12K 16K 20K FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ Forest volume 0

LCA Tool


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it takes seconds to grow 1m³ of
The replacement rate is calculated from total U.S. annual increment of the specified hardwood species derived from the U.S. Forest Service Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and assumes that 2m³ of logs is harvested to produce 1m³ of lumber (i.e. 50% conversion efficiency). The rapid rate of replacement is due to the very large volume of hardwood trees in U.S. forest.

Willow is only available on a regional basis mainly in the southern States and in limited volumes of sawn lumber in export grades. It is primarily produced as thinner stock (4/4") so the availability of other thicknesses may be more limited. Veneer may also be available from specialist suppliers.

The wood of willow has a fine and even texture. The grain may straight or interlocked and may present attractive figure. The narrow sapwood varies according to site conditions and is light to creamy brown in colour but can be almost white. The heartwood is distinct ranging from pale reddish brown to greyish brown and can be quite dark. Burls and swirls in the grain are natural characteristics and are not considered defects. 

Mechanical Properties

The wood of willow is light in weight and soft. It is weak in bending strength, compression, shock resistance, stiffness and has low steam bending classification. 

  • 0.39

    Specific Gravity (12% M.C.)

    417 kg/m3

    Average Weight (12% M.C.)

    11.50%

    Average Volume Shrinkage (Green to 6% M.C.)

    53.800 MPa

    Modulus of Rupture

    6,960 MPa

    Modulus of Elasticity

    28.300 MPa

    Compressive strength (parallel to grain)

    N/A

    Hardness
Oiled
American_Willow_oiled
Un-oiled
American_Willow_unoiled
  • Willow works fairly well with machine and hand tools, but care is needed to avoid a fuzzy surface when interlocked grain is present. It nails and screws well and has excellent gluing properties and can be sanded and polished to a very good finish. It dries rapidly with minimum degrade, although it may be susceptible to moisture pockets. Willow shrinks as it dries but its dimensional stability is good when dry.

     
  • The wood is non-resistant to heartwood decay and resistant to preservative treatment. The sapwood is permeable.

Black willow is used for furniture, joinery and interior mouldings. It can be used stained as a light coloured substitute for walnut.

Mouldings
Furniture
Cabinets

Examples of Use

The Butler by David Chipperfield Architects and E15
The Butler by David Chipperfield Architects and E15