Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains
21. Salicaceae, the Willow Family
2. Salix L. -- Willow
9. Salix humilis Marsh. -- Prairie willow
Shrub to 3 m tall; twigs yellowish-brown to dark brown, gray-pubescent
or mostly so; branchlets strongly ascending, brown, gray-pubescent. Leaves
dark green and usually glabrous above, glaucous and densely short-pubescent
(rarely glabrate) beneath, with the golden-yellow veins raised prominently on
the lower surface, oblanceolate to narrowly obovate, acute, cuneate at the base,
mostly (1.5)4-8 cm long, 7-25 mm wide, the margins coarsely and irregularly
serrate to subentire, flat to slightly revolute; petioles glandless,
3-10 mm long; stipules commonly persistent on vigorous branchlets, lanceolate
to ovate, 3-7 mm long, pubescent, sparsely serrate. Catkins emerging
and maturing before the leaves; female catkins sessile, 1-3(4) cm long;
bracts persistent, dark brown or purplish, villous on the back; stamens
2. Capsules ovoid-conic, 4-6(8) mm long, pubescent; stipes 0.5-1.5
mm long. Flowering Apr--May, fruiting May--early Jun. Moist or dry places, often
in sandhill areas; e and c parts of ND, SD and NE; (Newf. and s Que. to ND,
s to FL and TX). S. humilis var. rigiduscula (Anderss.) Robins.
& Fern.
S. humilis var. microphylla (Anderss.) Fern. occurs sparingly
in this region, differing from the typical as follows: Shorter in stature,
only 0.5-1 m tall; leaves narrowly oblanceolate, 2-5 cm long, 7-12
mm wide, mostly entire; stipules absent or very small. S. tristis
Ait.
Previous Species -- Salix fragilis L. -- Crack-willow,
brittle willow
Return to Family -- Salicaceae - The
Willow Family
Next Species -- Salix lucida Muhl. -- Shining
willow
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey