Salix pulchra

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Salix pulchra
Salix pulchra-MW0158286-live.jpg
Wrangel Island
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. pulchra
Binomial name
Salix pulchra
Synonyms

Salix phylicoides
Salix planifera ssp. pulchra

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. [1] 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. [2]

This willow is an erect, deciduous shrub growing up to 4.6 m (15 ft) tall, but usually remaining smaller, especially in the Arctic and in alpine climates. [1] Along with S. richardsonii and S. alaxensis, it is one of the tallest growing willows in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. [3] The species is dioecious, with male and female reproductive parts occurring on separate individuals. The inflorescence is a catkin. The catkins grow before the leaves appear in the spring. [1] The leaves are green above and whitish underneath, and hairless. [4]

This plant is a dominant species on the tundra in many areas. It commonly grows with sedges. It may form thickets with other species of willow along waterways and on floodplains. It grows in spruce woodlands and muskegs. It grows above the timberline in interior Alaska, and at the timberline in northern Alaska. It often sprouts and grows after wildfire, and it persists in open habitat. [1]

This species was formerly known as S. planifolia subsp. pulchra, a subspecies of S. planifolia, [1] but has since been treated as a distinct species. [3] The two willow species have overlapping distribution and similar appearance, but can be distinguished by the longer stipules in S. pulchra. [5] In areas where both willows occur, S. pulchra is often found at high elevations. [5] S. pulchra and S. planifolia also form natural hybrids. [2]

Salix pulchra is one of the least bitter-tasting willows in Alaska, and in the springtime, young leaves may be harvested for human consumption. [4] The leaves and shoots were eaten by the Eskimo raw and dried, or stored in seal oil for future use. The leaves were also used to brew tea and make soup. [6] At Nunivak Island, parts of this plant were chewed to treat ailments such as mouth sores and pain. [7] This willow also provides a good source of vitamin C. [8]

Apart from medicinal purposes, Native Americans used parts of willows, including this species, in basket weaving, to make bows and arrows, and for building animal traps. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Salix herbacea</i> Species of herb

Salix herbacea, the dwarf willow, least willow or snowbed willow, is a species of tiny creeping willow adapted to survive in harsh arctic and subarctic environments. Distributed widely in alpine and arctic environments around the North Atlantic Ocean, it is one of the smallest of woody plants.

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

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.

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

Salix arctica, the Arctic willow, is a tiny creeping willow. It is adapted to survive in Arctic conditions, specifically tundras.

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

Salix lucida, the shining willow, Pacific willow, red willow, or whiplash willow, is a species of willow native to northern and western North America, occurring in wetland habitats. It is the largest willow found in British Columbia.

<i>Salix exigua</i> Species of 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.

Salix barrattiana is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common name Barratt's willow. It is native to North America, where it is distributed across Alaska and western Canada, with also a few populations in Montana and Wyoming. These disjunct populations are probably relics from a time when the climate was colder. The southernmost population is technically in Wyoming, but it is located at the Montana state line and it is limited to one clone of all-staminate plants within an area of 100 square meters (1,100 sq ft) in a high-elevation habitat.

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

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.

<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 planifolia</i> Species of willow

Salix planifolia is a species of willow known by the common names planeleaf willow, diamondleaf willow, and tea-leafed willow. It is native to northern and western North America, including most of Canada and the western United States. It grows in many types of arctic and alpine habitats in the north, and mountainous areas in the southern part of its range.

<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 arbusculoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Salix arbusculoides is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common name little tree willow. It is native to northern North America, where its distribution extends across Alaska and most of 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.

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

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.

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

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.

<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>Salix arizonica</i> Species of willow

Salix arizonica is a species of willow known by the common name Arizona willow. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it occurs in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

Salix calcicola, known as limestone willow or woolly willow, is a species of willow native to the subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada, including Nunavut Islands, continental Nunavut, northern Quebec, Labrador. Arctic islands: Baffin, King William, Southampton, and Coats.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Uchytil, Ronald J. 1991. Salix pulchra. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
  2. 1 2 Salix pulchra. Flora of North America .
  3. 1 2 Aiken, S.G.; Dallwitz, M.J.; Consaul, L.L.; McJannet, C.L.; Boles, R.L.; Argus, G.W.; Gillett, J.M.; Scott, P.J.; Elven, R.; LeBlanc, M.C.; Gillespie, L.J.; Brysting, A.K.; Solstad, H. & Harris, J.G. (2007). "Salix pulchra Cham". Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. National Research Council of Canada . Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  4. 1 2 Collet, Dominique M. (2004). "Willows of Interior Alaska" (PDF). US Fish & Wildlife Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-16. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  5. 1 2 Argus, George W. (2004). "A Guide to the identification of Salix (willows) in Alaska, the Yukon Territory and adjacent regions" (PDF). Workshop on willow identification. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
  6. ↑ Salix pulchra. University of Michigan Ethnobotany.
  7. ↑ Smith, G. Warren (1973). "Arctic Pharmacognosia" (PDF). Arctic. 26 (4): 324–333 (p. 325). doi:10.14430/arctic2931 . Retrieved 2012-03-25.
  8. ↑ Halderson, Karen (1991). Alaska native food practices, customs, and holidays. American Dietetic Association. p. 20. ISBN   9780880911009 . Retrieved 2012-03-26.
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