Salix pulchra Cham.
diamond-leaved willow (tealeaf willow)
Salicaceae (Willow family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
diamond-leaved willow (tealeaf willow)
Salicaceae (Willow family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
Species Information
General:
Dioecious shrubs, 0.1-3(-4.5) m tall, not colonial; branches erect, flexible at base; twigs brownish, smooth or densely hairy.
Leaves:
Alternate, simple, narrowly elliptic to egg-shaped, 2-7.5 cm long, 0.8-2.6 cm wide, lower surface glaucous, smooth or midrib sparsely long soft-hairy, hairs white and rust-coloured, upper surface shiny or highly glossy, smooth, margins entire or sometimes toothed, bases and tips pointed; leaf stalks without glandular dots at top; stipules leaflike, linear, often longer than the stalks, persistent 2-4 years.
Flowers:
Unisexual, lacking sepals and petals, borne in catkins which flower before leaves emerge, the catkins stout, unstalked; floral bracts dark, hairs straight; stamens 2; ovaries 1, hairy; styles 1-1.8 mm long.
Fruits:
Capsules which split open to release the seeds, each of which is surrounded by a tuft of hairs; stalks 0.2-0.8 mm long.
Notes:
This species may hybridize with S. planifolia where their ranges overlap in N BC.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Early Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Black
Present over the Spring
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Salix pulchra
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1613 | 1575 | 1660 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
5 | 0 | 10 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
221 | 210 | 230 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 1 | 5 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
4 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
SWB | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BAFA(1), SWB(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist thickets, shorelines and meadows in the subalpine zone; infrequent in NW BC; amphiberingian, N to AK, YT and NT; E Asia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Salix arbusculoides var. glabra (Andersson) Andersson ex C.K. Schneid.
Salix barclayi var. hebecarpa Andersson
Salix fulcrata var. subglauca Andersson
Salix phylicifolia subsp. pulchra (Cham.) Hultén
Salix phylicifolia var. subglauca (Andersson) B. Boivin
Salix phylicoides Andersson
Salix planifolia subsp. pulchra (Cham.) Argus
Salix planifolia var. pulchra
Salix planifolia var. yukonensis (C.K. Schneid.) Argus
Salix pulchra var. looffiae C.R. Ball
Salix pulchra var. palmeri C.R. Ball
Salix pulchra var. yukonensis C.K. Schneid.