Sal Willow Wood (Salix caprea), also known as sal willow or catkin willow, is a very common shrub or tree in Europe and Western Asia that only does not thrive in the warm south. As a very early bloomer, the willow plays an important role in the ecosystem as a food supplier for bees and, after long winters, delights people with the well-known willow or palm kittens as the first messengers of the approaching spring. Wood and especially the bark of the tree contain tannins and salicin, which has been known since antiquity as an antipyretic and analgesic natural medicine and as acetylsalicylic acid under the name aspirin.
The wood of sal willows was used in the past for matches, wooden shoes, prostheses, crates and poles, but nowadays the wood is rarely found.
