This widespread circumpolar species is found in North American and Eurasia. Argus et al. (2012), in Flora North America (2012), indicate that one subspecies has been identified: "A population of Salix reticulata on the Queen Charlotte Islands, with consistently glabrous ovaries, was named subsp. glabellicarpa. Some southeastern Alaska populations have plants with glabrous, partially hairy, and completely short-silky ovaries growing together. The possibility that subsp. glabellicarpa may be a hybrid or a simple mutation needs study."
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General:
Dwarf shrubs, 3-15 cm tall, spreading by layering; branches trailing, flexible at base; twigs yellow- to red-brown, smooth.
Leaves:
Alternate, simple, broadly oblong to broadly elliptic or nearly circular, 1-6.5 cm long, 0.8-5 cm wide, lower surface glaucous, silky to nearly smooth, hairs white, upper surface shiny or highly glossy and deeply net-veined, smooth, entire or obscurely toothed, bases rounded or heart-shaped, tips rounded; leaf stalks with or without glandular dots at top; stipules rudimentary.
Flowers:
Unisexual, lacking sepals and petals, borne in catkins which flower as leaves emerge, the catkins stout, on leafy twigs; floral bracts pale; stamens 2; ovaries 1, hairy or smooth; styles 0.2-0.4 mm long.
Fruits:
Capsules which split open to release the seeds, each of which is surrounded by a tuft of hairs; stalks 0-0.8 mm long.
Notes:
In this species the vegetative twigs almost always terminate in a catkin.
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Salix orbicularis Andersson
Salix reticulata subsp. orbicularis (Andersson) Flod.
Salix reticulata var. gigantifolia C.R. Ball
Salix reticulata var. glabra Trautv.
Salix reticulata var. orbicularis (Andersson) Kom.
Salix reticulata var. semicalva Fernald