General:
Dioecious shrubs or trees, 1-6 m tall, not colonial; branches erect, sometimes gnarled and semi-prostrate, flexible at base; twigs brownish, strongly glaucous or not, smooth or densely hairy.
Leaves:
Alternate, simple, broadly oblong to elliptic to broadly egg-shaped, 5-11 cm long, 1-3.5 cm wide, lower surface long-soft-woolly, hairs white, upper surface dull, long soft-hairy to nearly smooth, margins entire or toothed, bases and tips pointed; leaf stalks without glandular dots at top; stipules leaflike.
Flowers:
Unisexual, lacking sepals and petals, borne in catkins which flower before leaves emerge, the catkins slender to stout, unstalked; floral bracts dark, hairs straight; stamens 2; ovaries 1, hairy; styles 1.3-2.8 mm long.
Fruits:
Capsules which split open to release the seeds, each of which is surrounded by a tuft of hairs; stalks 0-0.4 mm long.
Notes:
Two varieties occur in BC:
1. Twigs not glaucous, densely hairy............... var. alaxensis
1. Twigs strongly glaucous, sparsely hairy or smooth............. var. longistylis (Rydb.) C. K. Schneider
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
Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
Elevation
(metres) |
1800 | 1800 | 1800 |
Slope
Gradient (%) |
35 | 35 | 35 |
Aspect (degrees) |
69 | 70 | 70 |
Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 3 | 3 |
Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
#
of field plots species was recorded in: |
1 | ||
Modal
BEC Zone Class |
SWB | ||
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
SWB(1) | ||
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Salix alaxensis var. obovalifolia Ball
Salix speciosa Hook. & Arn., non Host nec Nutt.
Salix speciosa var. alaxensis Anderss.