| Salix nigra | |
|---|---|
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| In the Morton Arboretum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Salicaceae |
| Genus: | Salix |
| Species: | S. nigra |
| Binomial name | |
| Salix nigra | |
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| Natural range | |
Salix nigra, the black willow, is a species of willow native to a large portion of North America, from New Brunswick and southern Ontario west to Arizona and California, and south to northern Florida and Texas. [2]
Salix nigra is a medium-sized deciduous tree, the largest North American species of willow, growing to 10–30 m (35–100 ft) tall, exceptionally up to 45 m (148 ft), with a trunk 50–80 centimeters (20–30 in) diameter. The bark is dark brown to blackish, becoming fissured in older trees, and frequently forking near the base. [3] The shoots are slender and variable in color from green to brown, yellow or purplish; they are (like the related European Salix fragilis ) brittle at the base, snapping evenly at the branch junction if bent sharply. The foliage buds are 2–4 millimetres (1⁄16–3⁄16 in) long, with a single, pointed reddish-brown bud scale. The leaves are alternate, long, thin, 5–15 centimeters (2–6 in) long and 0.5–2 centimeters (1⁄4–3⁄4 in) broad, usually somewhat falcate, dark, shiny green on both sides or with a lighter green underside, with a finely serrated margin, a short petiole and a pair of small stipules. It is dioecious, with small, greenish yellow to yellow flowers borne on catkins 2.5–7.5 centimeters (1–3 in) long in early spring at the same time as the new leaves appear. The fruit is a 5 millimeters (3⁄16 in) capsule which splits open when mature to release the numerous minute, down-covered seeds. The leaves turn a lemon yellow in the fall. [3]
Salix nigra is native to a large portion of North America, from New Brunswick and southern Ontario west to California and Arizona, and south to northern Florida and Texas. [2] It is also found in parts of Mexico, both south and west of the Rio Grande. It has also been introduced along streams in the state of Utah. [4] Salix nigra grows best in areas of full sun and wet or moist soils. [5] Thus, it is typically found along streams and in swamps. [6] [7] [8]
Black willow is part of the Salicaceae, the willow family. [9] The accepted name for black willow is: Salix nigra Marshall. Marshall, the "Father of American Dendrology", [9] first described this taxon in 1785.
Salix gooddingii (Goodding's willow) is sometimes considered a variety of S. nigra as S. nigra var. vallicola Dudley; when recognized, this extends the range of S. nigra to western North America. However, the two are usually treated as distinct species. [10] Some other related taxa and synonyms are S. nigra var. altissima, S. nigra var. brevijulis, S. nigra var. longifolia, S. nigra var. marginata, and S. nigra var. wardii. [11]
Another name occasionally used for black willow is "swamp willow", not to be confused with Salix myrtilloides (swamp willow). Other common names include "Goodding willow", "southwestern black willow", "Dudley willow", and "sauz" (a Spanish word). [12]
Salix nigra is dioecious, which means it has separate male and female trees. [13] Flowering may be climate dependent. It flowers during February in the southern part of its range, and flowers until June in the northern parts. These trees are capable of producing seeds when they are around the age of 10 years. The black willow continuously has good seed crops year after year, with only a few failures. The seeds require very specific conditions to germinate. They prefer soil that is very wet or flooded. After they germinate, they can experience excellent growth if they are exposed to high sunlight and copious moisture during the growing season. [14]
Black willow are capable of developing special features related to flood tolerance to help them survive in flooded habitats. [15] Under flooded conditions, black willow develop hypertrophied lenticels and water roots. Black willows are also sensitive to drought conditions. Black willows living in drought conditions experience inhibition of their branch and root growth. [16]
Early season leaves of some species in the Salix genus generally contain denser indumentum than leaves that are produced later in the season. Indumentum refers to hairs that are red or brown in color. Salix have first leaves, which are leaves that grow from the bud, and can also be called leaves that are "preformed". The leaves that form as the branch continues to grow out are called new leaves, or "neoformed". [17]
According to the National Register of Big Trees, the largest black willow tree in the US is in Hennepin, Minnesota. Its height is 63 feet (19 m), circumference is 32 feet (9.8 m) and spread is 73 feet (22 m).[ citation needed ]
The Marlboro Tree, located in Marlboro Township, New Jersey is certified by the State of New Jersey as the largest known example of this tree in the state. It is about 152 years old and measures 76 feet (23 m) in height and 19.7 feet (6.0 m) in circumference. Five grown people must hold hands to fully encircle the tree. [18]
Black willow roots are very bitter, and have been used as a substitute for quinine in the past. [19] Ethnobotanical uses of black willow by various Native American tribes include basketry, and treatment of fever, headache, and coughs. [20] It was recognized that using the bark and leaves of Salix nigra was useful in treating rheumatism.[ citation needed ]
The black willow is the only United States native willow species to be used as timber for a variety of different items. Black willow lumber is used in furniture and shipping containers. The largest production site for black willow timber was in Louisiana at its peak during the 1970s. [21]
The wood of Salix nigra is very lightweight. The wood was once used for artificial limbs, such as wooden hands. [22] It is also capable of maintaining its shape, does not splinter very easily, and has a moderately high shock resistance, allowing it to sustain continuous moderate impacts. [22]
It may also be used in environmental restoration. Black willow is very resistant to herbivory, flooding, and is an erosion control tool. Salix nigra is used for marshland stabilization or restoration projects as long as the roots don't penetrate any clay liner that may be in place. [23] [24] Salix nigra demonstrated some success as a photodegradation tool. [25] Photodegradation is theorized to work by drawing the target chemical, such as bentazon, up the roots and stem into the leaves where it is degraded by high-energy radiation provided by the sun. [25]
Black willows are susceptible to diseases such as crown gall and cankers. Crown gall is caused by bacteria living in the soil where the black willow is present. When black willow are infected, the bacteria stimulate a quick burst in growth of plant cells. They cause the tree to form tumor-like growths, or "galls" on different parts of the tree such as their roots or on the lower branches. As these galls get bigger, they become hard, woody, brown in color, and corky. Black willows do not normally die from crown galls. However, these galls can cause a disruption in the flow of nutrients throughout the tree and can have its normal growth stunted or slowed down due to this disease. Crown galls are less problematic in soils that are more acidic; thus, soil pH can be an important factor in helping to limit this disease. [26]
Black canker disease is caused by the fungus Glomerella miyabeana . This disease starts as spotting on the leaves of the black willow, where it then spreads to the petiole and eventually the twig or branch holding the leaf. It then forms black patches on the stem of the tree that are capable of expanding. Black willows that are in nutrient-poor locations or that are experiencing poor temporary climate conditions (such as a temporary lack of rainfall or short, drought-like conditions) are considered stressed and very susceptible to the spread of these cankers. Tissue on the black willow that is affected by these cankers will not grow with the rest of the tree, and cracks will begin to form. [27]
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus Salix, comprise around 350 species of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions.
Alnus glutinosa, the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations where its association with the bacterium Frankia alni enables it to grow in poor quality soils. It is a medium-sized, short-lived tree growing to a height of up to 30 metres (98 feet). It has short-stalked rounded leaves and separate male and female flowers in the form of catkins. The small, rounded fruits are cone-like and the seeds are dispersed by wind and water.
Betula nigra, the black birch, river birch or water birch, is a species of birch native to the Eastern United States from New Hampshire west to southern Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and west to Texas. It is one of the few heat-tolerant birches in a family of mostly cold-weather trees which do not thrive in USDA Zone 6 and up. B. nigra commonly occurs in floodplains and swamps.
Salix alba, the white willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia. The name derives from the white tone to the undersides of the leaves.
Salix caprea, known as goat willow, pussy willow or great sallow, is a common species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia.
Salix × fragilis, with the common names crack willow and brittle willow, is a hybrid 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. It is a hybrid between Salix euxina and Salix alba, and is very variable, with forms linking both parents.
Larix laricina, commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and also south into the upper northeastern United States from Minnesota to Cranesville Swamp, West Virginia; there is also an isolated population in central Alaska.
Juglans nigra, the eastern American black walnut, is a species of deciduous tree in the walnut family, Juglandaceae, native to central and eastern North America, growing mostly in riparian zones.
Juglans cinerea, commonly known as butternut or white walnut, is a species of walnut native to the eastern United States and southeast Canada.
Salix babylonica is a species of willow native to dry areas of northern China, Korea, Mongolia, Japan, and Siberia but cultivated for millennia elsewhere in Asia, being traded along the Silk Road to southwest Asia and Europe.
Salix lasiolepis is a species of willow native to western North America.
Phytophthora cactorum is a fungal-like plant pathogen belonging to the Oomycota phylum. It is the causal agent of root rot on rhododendron and many other species, as well as leather rot of strawberries.
Salix scouleriana is a species of willow native to northwestern North America. Other names occasionally used include fire willow, Nuttall willow, mountain willow, and black willow.
Salix exigua is a species of willow native to most of North America except for the southeast and far north, occurring from Alaska east to New Brunswick, and south to northern Mexico. It is considered a threatened species in Massachusetts while in Connecticut, Maryland, and New Hampshire it is considered endangered.
Rabdophaga rosaria is a gall midge which forms Camellia galls or terminal rosette gall on willow species. It was first described by Hermann Loew in 1850.
Salix gooddingii is a species of willow known by the common name Goodding's willow, or Goodding's black willow. It was named for its collector, Leslie Newton Goodding.
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.
Nyssa biflora, commonly referred to as the swamp tupelo, or swamp black-gum is a species of tupelo that lives in wetland habitats in the United States.
Dorytomus taeniatus is a species of weevil native to Europe. It was first described by Johann Christian Fabricius in 1781. The larvae cause a small growth on the catkins of willows.
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