Salix polaris

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Salix polaris
Polarwillow1.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. polaris
Binomial name
Salix polaris

Salix polaris, the polar willow, is a species of willow with a circumpolar distribution in the high arctic tundra, extending north to the limits of land, and south of the Arctic in the mountains of Norway, the northern Ural Mountains, the northern Altay Mountains, Kamchatka, and British Columbia, Canada. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Description

One of the smallest willows in the world, it is a prostrate, creeping dwarf shrub, only 2–9 cm (0.79–3.54 in) high, and has underground branches or runners in the uppermost soil layers. The leaves are rounded-ovate, 5–32 mm long and 8–18 mm broad, dark green with entire margins. It is dioecious, with separate female and male plants. The flowers are grouped in short catkins each bearing only a few flowers. The fruit is a brownish and hairy capsule. The long runners with freely rooting stems creep in mats of mosses and lichens, which keeps them together and protects them from the wind. It grows as well in open gravel as in closed vegetation. [1] [2] [5]

Fossil remains of the species from the Pleistocene ice ages are known in Europe south to southern England, the Alps, and the Carpathians. [3]

The species has also been reported from Arizona, [3] [4] but this is not accepted by the USDA. [6]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Salix babylonica</i> Species of tree

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<i>Salix pentandra</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Salix arctica</i> Species of willow

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<i>Salix nigra</i> Species of tree

Salix nigra, the black willow, is a species of willow native to eastern North America, from New Brunswick and southern Ontario west to Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Texas.

<i>Salix lucida</i> Species of plant

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<i>Salix scouleriana</i> Species of willow

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<i>Salix triandra</i> Species of tree

Salix triandra, with the common names almond willow, almond-leaved willow or black maul willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and Western and Central Asia. It is found from south-eastern England east to Lake Baikal, and south to Spain and the Mediterranean east to the Caucasus, and the Alborz Mountains. It usually grows in riparian habitats, on river and stream banks, and in wetlands.

<i>Salix geyeriana</i> Species of willow

Salix geyeriana is a species of willow known by the common names Geyer's willow, Geyer willow and silver willow. The type specimen was collected by the botanist Karl Andreas Geyer, for whom it was named. Its conspicuous, yellow flowers begin to bloom as early as March, to as late as the end of June.

<i>Salix alaxensis</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Salix brachycarpa</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Salix fuscescens</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Salix glauca</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Salix pulchra</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Salix richardsonii</i> Species of flowering plant

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. Some authorities consider it to be a subspecies, Salix lanata subsp. richardsonii(Hook.) A. K. Skvortsov rather than a species itself.

<i>Pyrola grandiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Pyrola grandiflora (, commonly known as Arctic wintergreen or largeflowered wintergreen, is a hardy perennial evergreen subshrub in the family Ericaceae. It is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere from temperate to tundra-like climates.

<i>Salix tweedyi</i> Shrub in the willow family

Salix tweedyi, or Tweedy's willow, is a shrub in the willow family. It is native to the northwestern United States.

References

  1. 1 2 Salicaceae of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Salix polaris Archived 2012-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 Plants of British Columbia: Salix polaris
  3. 1 2 3 Den Virtuella Floran: Salix polaris (in Swedish, with maps)
  4. 1 2 "Salix polaris". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  5. Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN   0-340-40170-2
  6. USDA Plants Profile: Salix polaris