Salix glauca L.
grey-leaved willow (grayleaf willow)
Salicaceae (Willow family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
grey-leaved willow (grayleaf willow)
Salicaceae (Willow family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Species Information
General:
Dioecious shrubs, 0.3-3 (-6) m tall, not colonial, erect or decumbent; branches erect, flexible at base; twigs red- to yellow-brown, sparsely to densely hairy.
Leaves:
Alternate, simple, narrowly elliptic to lance- to egg-shaped, 3-8 cm long, 1-4 cm wide, lower surface glaucous, long soft-woolly, silky or sparsely long soft-hairy, often becoming nearly smooth, hairs white, upper surface shiny, long soft-hairy or sparsely long soft-hairy to nearly smooth, entire, bases pointed to rounded, tips pointed; leaf stalks without glandular dots at top; stipules leaflike or rudimentary.
Flowers:
Unisexual, lacking sepals and petals, borne in catkins which flower as leaves emerge, the catkins stout, on leafy twigs; floral bracts pale, hairs wavy; stamens 2; ovaries 1, hairy; styles 0.3-1.4 mm long.
Fruits:
Capsules which split open to release the seeds, each of which is surrounded by a tuft of hairs; stalks 0.3-2.8 mm long.
Notes:
The varieties villosa and acutifolia intergrade in northern BC where they overlap in the Haines Road region. They both sometimes appear to hybridize with S. arctica.
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Early Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Red
Present over the Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Salix glauca
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) |
1292 | 6 | 2459 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
14 | 0 | 95 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
59 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
959 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
SWB | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(17), BAFA(40), BWBS(165), CWH(5), ESSF(122), ICH(12), IDF(58), MS(54), SBPS(99), SBS(71), SWB(186) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Wet to mesic thickets, fens, swamps, streambanks and forest openings from the montane to alpine zones; common throughout BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains (var. villosa) and locally frequent (var. acutifolia) in NW BC; circumpolar, var. acutifolia - N to AK and NT, var. villosa - N to YT and NT, E to NF, S to UT, NM and WA; Greenland, Eurasia.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Salix