Salix niphoclada Rydb.
barren-ground willow (barrenground willow; snow willow)
Salicaceae (Willow family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
barren-ground willow (barrenground willow; snow willow)
Salicaceae (Willow family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
Species Information
General:
Dioecious shrubs, 0.3-1.5 m tall, not colonial; branches erect, decumbent, or trailing, flexible at base; twigs violet to yellow-brown, densely hairy.
Leaves:
Alternate, simple, narrowly oblong to lanceolate or egg-shaped, 1.3-4.5 cm long, 0.5-1.5 cm wide, lower surface glaucous, long soft-hairy or woolly, hairs white, upper surface shiny, long soft-hairy, margins entire, bases rounded to wedge-shaped, tips pointed; leaf stalks without glandular dots at top; stipules rudimentary or leaflike.
Flowers:
Unisexual, lacking sepals and petals, borne in catkins which flower as leaves emerge, stout, on leafy twigs; floral bracts pale or dark, hairs wavy; stamens 2; ovaries 1, hairy; styles 0.2-0.8 mm long.
Fruits:
Capsules which split open to release the seeds, each of which is surrounded by a tuft of hairs; stalks 0-0.5 mm long.
Notes:
This species has been treated as a subspecies of S. brachycarpa; but because the zone of overlap between the 2 taxa is very narrow and clear evidence of intergradation between them is not manifest they are treated here as species.
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
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Salix niphoclada
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) |
1860 | 1860 | 1860 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
7 | 7 | 7 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
339 | 340 | 340 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 3 | 3 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
1 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BAFA | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BAFA(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry to mesic stony alpine slopes and saline flats; frequent in N BC; N to AK, YT and NT and disjunct in ON.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Salix brachycarpa subsp. fullertonensis (Schneid.) A.& D. L÷ve
Salix brachycarpa subsp. niphoclada (Rydb.) Argus
Salix brachycarpa var. fullertonensis (Schneid.) Argus
Salix brachycarpa var. mexiae Ball
Salix fullertonensis C.K. Schneid.
Salix glauca var. niphoclada (Rydb.) Wiggins
Salix muriei HultTn
Salix niphoclada var. fullertonensis (Schneid.) Raup
Salix niphoclada var. mexiae (Ball) HultTn
Salix niphoclada var. muriei (HultTn) Raup