Salix alaxensis | |
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Summer descriptions | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malpighiales |
Family: | Salicaceae |
Genus: | Salix |
Species: | S. alaxensis |
Binomial name | |
Salix alaxensis (Andersson) Coville | |
Natural range of Salix alaxensis |
Salix alaxensis is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common names Alaska willow and feltleaf willow. It is native to northern North America, where it occurs throughout Alaska and northwestern Canada. [1]
The Salicaceae are a family, the willow family, of flowering plants. The traditional family included the willows, poplar, aspen, and cottonwoods. Recent genetic studies summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) have greatly expanded the circumscription of the family to contain 56 genera and about 1220 species, including the Scyphostegiaceae and many of the former Flacourtiaceae.
Alaska is a U.S. state in the northwest extremity of the United States West Coast, just across the Bering Strait from Asia. The Canadian province of British Columbia and territory of Yukon border the state to the east and southeast. Its most extreme western part is Attu Island, and it has a maritime border with Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. To the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort seas—southern parts of the Arctic Ocean. The Pacific Ocean lies to the south and southwest. It is the largest U.S. state by area and the seventh largest subnational division in the world. In addition, it is the 3rd least populous and the most sparsely populated of the 50 United States; nevertheless, it is by far the most populous territory located mostly north of the 60th parallel in North America: its population—estimated at 738,432 by the United States Census Bureau in 2015— is more than quadruple the combined populations of Northern Canada and Greenland. Approximately half of Alaska's residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaska's economy is dominated by the fishing, natural gas, and oil industries, resources which it has in abundance. United States armed forces bases and tourism are also a significant part of the economy.
Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Its southern border with the United States, stretching some 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi), is the world's longest bi-national land border. Canada's capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.
This plant is a shrub or tree up to 9 m (30 ft) tall. The stem diameter is up to 18 cm (7.1 in). In harsher climates, it remains much smaller. The smooth, gray bark becomes furrowed and scaly with age. [1] The leaves are up to 11 cm long and have woolly undersides. [2]
A shrub or bush is a small- to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple stems and shorter height, less than 6 m-10 m (20 ft–33 ft) tall. Small shrubs, less than 2 m (6.6 ft) tall are sometimes termed subshrubs.
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, supporting branches and leaves in most species. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are usable as lumber or plants above a specified height. In wider definitions, the taller palms, tree ferns, bananas, and bamboos are also trees. Trees are not a taxonomic group but include a variety of plant species that have independently evolved a trunk and branches as a way to tower above other plants to compete for sunlight. Trees tend to be long-lived, some reaching several thousand years old. Trees have been in existence for 370 million years. It is estimated that there are just over 3 trillion mature trees in the world.
The species is dioecious, with male and female reproductive parts on separate individuals. The inflorescence is a catkin up to 10 cm long. The fruit is a capsule. The seed has a downy layer of fibers that helps it disperse via wind and moving water. The seed remains viable for about a week, but it germinates within 24 hours of deposition upon a moist soil substrate. It does not germinate easily on dry soils or forest litter. The plant primarily reproduces sexually, via seed, but it can also reproduce vegetatively. It can resprout easily, and if stem fragments break off, they can often take root and grow into new plants. [1]
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed. The modifications can involve the length and the nature of the internodes and the phyllotaxis, as well as variations in the proportions, compressions, swellings, adnations, connations and reduction of main and secondary axes. Inflorescence can also be defined as the reproductive portion of a plant that bears a cluster of flowers in a specific pattern.
A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated (anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated. They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged closely along a central stem which is often drooping. They are found in many plant families, including Betulaceae, Fagaceae, Moraceae, and Salicaceae. For some time, they were believed to be a key synapomorphy among the proposed Hamamelididae, also known as Amentiferae. Based on molecular phylogeny work, it is now believed that Hamamelididae is a polyphyletic group. This suggests that the catkin flower arrangement has arisen at least twice independently by convergent evolution, in Fagales and in Salicaceae. Such a convergent evolution raises questions about what the ancestral inflorescence characters might be and how catkins did evolve in these two lineages.
Seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have very limited mobility and consequently rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their propagules, including both abiotic vectors such as the wind and living (biotic) vectors like birds. Seeds can be dispersed away from the parent plant individually or collectively, as well as dispersed in both space and time. The patterns of seed dispersal are determined in large part by the dispersal mechanism and this has important implications for the demographic and genetic structure of plant populations, as well as migration patterns and species interactions. There are five main modes of seed dispersal: gravity, wind, ballistic, water, and by animals. Some plants are serotinous and only disperse their seeds in response to an environmental stimulus.
Moose are especially fond of this plant, pulling down and breaking branches up to 4 cm in diameter [3] and eating up to 90% of the twigs on the plant. In some areas of northern Alaska, this plant provides 95% of the winter food for moose. [1] Snowshoe hares also prefer it. [1] In northern Alaska, this may be the only source of fuel wood. [1] It is one of the tallest willows in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. [4]
The moose or elk (Eurasia), Alces alces, is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the broad, palmate antlers of the males; other members of the deer family have antlers with a dendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal forests and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Hunting and other human activities have caused a reduction in the size of the moose's range over time. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, New England, Fennoscandia, Baltic states, and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are the gray wolf along with bears and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose do not form herds and are solitary animals, aside from calves who remain with their mother until the cow begins estrus, at which point the cow chases away young bulls. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn features energetic fights between males competing for a female.
The snowshoe hare, also called the varying hare, or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet. The animal's feet prevent it from sinking into the snow when it hops and walks. Its feet also have fur on the soles to protect it from freezing temperatures.
This willow is commonly dominant in willow communities across its range. Other willows in the habitat may include Bebb willow (S. bebbiana), grayleaf willow (S. glauca), Sitka willow (S. sitchensis), Pacific willow (S. lasiandra), barren-ground willow (S. brachycarpa), and halberd willow (S. hastata). It grows along rivers and streams and lakes. It grows in forested habitat, but it does not tolerate shade, so it persists only in open areas. Because it germinates quickly, it easily colonizes disturbed habitat, such as riverbanks scoured by recent floods and areas where glaciers have receded. It grows in early stages of succession, and after a few decades, it is shaded out by poplars and other trees as the habitat turns into forest. [1] This plant is fire-adapted and can resprout after its aboveground parts are burned away. The wind-dispersed seeds then land on the burned soil and colonize the terrain. [1]
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Most species are known as willow, but some narrow-leaved shrub species are called osier, and some broader-leaved species are referred to as sallow. Some willows are low-growing or creeping shrubs; for example, the dwarf willow rarely exceeds 6 cm (2.4 in) in height, though it spreads widely across the ground.
Ecological dominance is the degree to which a taxon is more numerous than its competitors in an ecological community, or makes up more of the biomass.
Salix bebbiana is a species of willow indigenous to Canada and the northern United States, from Alaska and Yukon south to California and Arizona and northeast to Newfoundland and New England. Common names include beaked willow, long-beaked willow, gray willow, and Bebb's willow. This species is also called red willow by native Americans according to The Arctic Prairies Appendix E by Ernest Tompson Seton.
Native Americans used parts of willows, including this species, for medicinal purposes, basket weaving, to make bows and arrows, and for building animal traps. [1]
Native Americans, also known as American Indians, Indigenous Americans and other terms, are the indigenous peoples of the United States, except Hawaii and territories of the United States. More than 570 federally recognized tribes live within the US, about half of which are associated with Indian reservations. The term "American Indian" excludes Native Hawaiians and some Alaskan Natives, while "Native Americans" are American Indians, plus Alaska Natives of all ethnicities. The US Census does not include Native Hawaiians or Chamorro, instead being included in the Census grouping of "Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander".
This plant is used for habitat restoration and revegetation of disturbed sites, such as pipelines. Cultivars have been developed, such as 'Rhode', which has been used for revegetation efforts. Cuttings and bundles of dormant branches can be directly planted in the ground and will take root. [1]
Alnus rubra, the red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America.
Salix fragilis, with the common names crack willow and brittle willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and Western Asia. It is native to riparian habitats, usually found growing beside rivers and streams, and in marshes and water meadow channels.
Betula papyrifera is a short-lived species of birch native to northern North America. Paper birch is named for the tree's thin white bark, which often peels in paper like layers from the trunk. Paper birch is often one of the first species to colonize a burned area within the northern latitudes, and is an important species for moose browsing. The wood is often used for pulpwood and firewood.
Salix scouleriana is a species of willow native to western North America, from south central Alaska east to western Northwest Territory, central Manitoba, and the Black Hills of South Dakota, and south through the Rocky Mountains to Coahuila, and along the coast through British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and the Sierra Nevada in California. Other names occasionally used include fire willow, Nuttall willow, mountain willow, and black willow.
The Rocky Mountain ponderosa pine forest is a forest plant community at an elevation of 2,100–2,700 metres (6,900–8,900 ft) in the Rocky Mountains, in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is an important temperate coniferous forest ecoregion, including some endemic wildlife and grass species that are only found in this ponderosa pine habitat.
Ceratodon purpureus is a dioicous moss with a color ranging from yellow-green to red. The height amounts to 3 centimeters. It is found worldwide, mainly in urban areas and next to roads on dry sand soils. It can grow in a very wide variety of habitats, from polluted highway shoulders and mine tailings to areas recently denuded by wildfire to the bright slopes of Antarctica. Its common names include redshank, purple forkmoss, ceratodon moss, fire moss, and purple horn toothed moss.
Salix lutea is a species of willow known by the common name yellow willow. It is native to North America, including central Canada and parts of the western and central United States, with the exception of the Great Basin. It can be found in moist and wet habitat types, such as riverbanks, meadows, and gullies. It is a shrub up to 7 m tall, sometimes forming colonial thickets or becoming erect and treelike. The lance-shaped leaves may grow over 11 cm long and may have smooth, lightly serrated, wavy, or gland-studded edges. The inflorescence is a catkin of flowers up to 4 or 5 cm long, stout to slender in shape.
Sporobolus airoides is a species of grass known by the common name alkali sacaton. It is native to western North America, including the Western United States west of the Mississippi River, British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, and northern and central Mexico. It grows in many types of habitat, often in alkali soils, such as in California desert regions.
Elymus macrourus is a species of grass known by the common names tufted wheatgrass and thickspike wildrye. It is native to northwestern North America in Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. It is also present in eastern Siberia.
Salix arbusculoides is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common name littletree willow. It is native to northern North America, where its distribution extends across Alaska and most of Canada.
Salix brachycarpa is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common names barren-ground willow, small-fruit willow and shortfruit willow.
Salix fuscescens is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common name Alaska bog willow. It is native to northern North America, where it occurs throughout much of Alaska and across northern Canada. It is also present in Eurasia.
Salix glauca is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common names gray willow, grayleaf willow, white willow, and glaucous willow. It is native to North America, where it occurs throughout much of Alaska, northern and western Canada, and the contiguous United States south through the Rocky Mountains to northern New Mexico. It can also be found in Greenland, northwestern Europe, and Siberia.
Salix hastata is a species of flowering plant in the willow family, known by the common name halberd willow. It has an "almost circumpolar" distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, most frequently found near the coast of the Arctic Ocean. In Alaska, it occurs in the north and in the central mountains. It also occurs in northwestern Canada, and in Norway and Russia, as well as various alpine or mountainous areas of Eurasia.
Salix monticola is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common names mountain willow, cherry willow, serviceberry willow, and park willow. It is native to the United States, where it occurs in the Rocky Mountains region from Wyoming to Arizona and New Mexico. It also occurs in Alaska and parts of Canada.
Salix myrtillifolia is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common name blueberry willow. It is native to northern North America, where it occurs in Alaska and much of Canada.
Salix pulchra is a species of flowering plant in the willow family, known by the common names diamondleaf willow, tealeaf willow, and thin red willow. It is native to northern North America, where it occurs in Alaska, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. The species is also found in northern British Columbia, and occurs in Russia.
Salix richardsonii is a species of flowering plant in the Salicaceae, or willow family. It is known by the common names Richardson's willow and woolly willow. It is native to Russia and northern North America, where it occurs in Alaska and northern Canada.
Dryas integrifolia is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common names entireleaf mountain-avens, white mountain-avens, northern white mountain avens, and mountain avens. It is native to northern parts of North America, where it occurs from Alaska across Canada to Greenland. It is a common species of the Arctic and it is probably the most common flowering plant on some of the western Arctic islands.
Salix warburgii is a plant of the genus Salix, the willows, endemic to Taiwan. It can be found among shrubs near water. growing 15 metres (49 ft) tall. Liliaceae is the most fortunate plant in the vascular plant. It can live the most northern where is in the polar environment. In the tropical edge of the formation of endemic species in Taiwan is the reason for the rapid evolution of species in a special environment. The evolution of the results of the time and space, In addition to water willow outside the southeastern China's other multi-stamens willow and the four sub-Liu will have a similar situation, and these special willow plants are also known as tropical willow. Salix warburgii in Taiwan's distribution is low Elevation of the shrub and the river bank, because the cutting method is easy to survive so there is no artificial introduction of cultivation.
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