The fruit is a small capsule 5–10 mm long containing numerous minute seeds embedded in fine, cottony hairs.

The seeds are very small (about 0.2 mm) with the fine hairs aiding dispersal; they require bare soil to germinate.

[6] S. caprea occurs both in wet/damp environments, such as riverbanks and lake shores, and in drier sites, wherever bare soil becomes available due to ground disturbance.

The most common is S. caprea 'Kilmarnock', discovered by James Smith, with stiffly pendulous shoots forming a mop-head; it is a male clone.

In Germany, Hungary, north of Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine, the just-opened catkins are used like the olive branches on Palm Sunday.