Pussy willow catkins are profuse now on Salix discolor shrubs. They’re beneficial to our earliest pollinators, one of which (a mining bee?) can be seen in this image by those with sharp eyes:
The soft, cats’-paw-like catkins are weather-protecting coverings that only grow on the male shrubs. The female shrubs have hairy green flowers that are caterpillar-like. The male cats’ paws soon will open and spew enormous amounts of powdery yellow pollen into the wind to fertilize the nearby female shrubs and give allergy-prone humans sneezing fits.
These shrubs reportedly host up to 18 species of butterflies and moths. Their bark contains salicin, an aspirin-like substance that has been used for centuries to treat human inflammation and pain. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on April 14, 2026.)