Salix humilis

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Salix humilis
Salix humilis NRCS-2.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Salicaceae
Genus: Salix
Species:
S. humilis
Binomial name
Salix humilis

Salix humilis, known as prairie willow, is a species of willow native to the United States and Canada, east of the Rockies. [2]

Contents

Male and female flowers are found on separate plants. The green silky catkins appear before the leaves emerge in spring. [3]

Description

S. humilis is a shrub, 2–12 feet tall, which often forms thickets. The stems are yellowish to brown. The gray-green to blue-green foliage has insignificant fall color. [4] [5] The leaves are may be oblanceolate, obovate, or elliptic in shape. They range in size between 1.5 and 11.5 centimeters (0.6 to 4.5 inches) in length and 0.6 to 3 (0.23 to 1.18 inches) centimeters in width. [6]

Habitat

This species has been observed in areas with loamy sand, as well as specific habitat types such as pine flatwoods and along pond shorelines. Individuals have also been observed occurring in areas that are or had previously been disturbed, such as within burned pine woods or along hiking trails. [7]

References

  1. Arbust. Amer.: 140 (1785)
  2. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org.
  3. "Salix humilis (Prairie Willow): Minnesota Wildflowers". www.minnesotawildflowers.info.
  4. "Prairie Willow (Salix humilis humilis)". www.illinoiswildflowers.info.
  5. "Plants Profile for Salix humilis (prairie willow)". plants.usda.gov.
  6. Radford, Albert E., Harry E. Ahles, and C. Ritchie Bell. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. 1964, 1968. The University of North Carolina Press. 358. Print.
  7. Florida State University Herbarium Database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2021. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, R. F. Doren, Robert K. Godfrey, R. Komarek, R. Kral, and William Platt. States and counties: Alabama: Talladega. Florida: Leon and Taylor. Georgia: Grady and Thomas.