Willows are considered challenging for identification: variation within each species is so high that often at first glance plants belonging to different species resemble each other more than those of the same species. However, some characters remain constant and reliable, and with practice, willows become much more approachable. Irina Kadis and Alexey Zinovjev, Botanists and willow enthusiasts, will concentrate on the characters helpful for identification, using mostly common native and non-native species from Massachusetts as examples, on Saturday, April 28, from 9:30 – 3 at New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods in Framingham. In the classroom they will have herbarium specimens, freshly cut branches, some forced branches for those species that flower later in spring, and also some potted plants to examine and compare. Bring a hand lens, if you have one. After lunch, you will carpool to a site a short distance away from Garden in the Woods for a walk. Boots are required, as the area is flooded during the spring time. Bring a lunch and beverage. (Note: Irina Kadis is Curatorial Assistant at the Arnold Arboretum’s Dana Greenhouses.)  Co-sponsored with the Arnold Arboretum. Fee $66 member, $80 nonmember.  Register at http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?EventID=1#April.  Image of melanostachys from www.thislittleworld.typepad.com.