Internal and external morphological investigation on goat willow (Salix caprea L.) growing naturally in Turkey

Internal and external morphological features of Goat Willow, growing naturally in Turkey, have investigated. Research materials are taken from the Black Sea Region (Bartın) and the Central Anatolia Region (Kızılcahamam). 20 sample trees are used to determine external morphological features of Goat Willow. To determine anatomical features of wood, 8 sample trees are used. It?s found that in earlywood mean vessel tagential diameter is 55,05 µm for Bartın and 49,05µm for Kızılcahamam, mean vessel radial diameter is 90,53µm for Bartın and 79,78µm for Kızılcahamam, and in latewood mean vessel tangential diameter is 32,23µm for Bartın, 29,39µm for Kızılcahamam and mean vessel radial diameter is 54,23µm for Bartın, 46,38µm for Kızılcahamam. Vessel diameter of a tree growing at a moist habitat is wider than that of a xeric habitat due to the close relation between vessel diameter and habitat condution. Vessel diameters in Bartın are wider than the ones in Kızılcahamam due to humid climate of Bartın.It has been determined that vessel frequency is 124,78 mm-2 for Bartın and 143,50 mm-2 for Kızılcahamam. Rates of ?xeromorphy?, calculated at the basis of vessel diameter and number of vessel per mm2, are 13,80 for Kızılcahamam and 10,77 for Bartın. These xeromorphy values have showed that Goat Willow formed in Kızılcahamam has more xeric wood properties. Height of rays (as average cell number) are 12,68 for Bartın, 12,49 for Kızılcahamam.The Goat Willow wood has simple perforation plate and apotraheal axial parenchyma. The shape of vessel ? ray pits is like honeycomb.Lenticels at the bark of younger Goat Willow are lozenge ? shaped. The arrangement of lateral buds on long shoots is multi-spiral. The buds are uni-scaled. The branching of Goat Willow is ?sympodial?.Stomas on the leaves are only on abaxial surface, and so the leaves are ?hipostomatic?. The leaves are pinnate-veined. The leaf has been described ?bifasial? or ?dorsiventral? because of its asymmetrical heterogenus mesophyll. There are uni-celled tricoms on the abaxial and adaxial surface of the leaf.It has been determined that the pollen type of Goat Willow is tricolpatae, the shape of pollen is sphaeroidae, and the ornamentation of pollen is reticulatae.Key words: Goat Willow, external morphology, wood anatomy, pollen morphologyScience code: 502.19.01