E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Salix glauca L.
grey-leaved willow (grayleaf willow)
Salicaceae (Willow family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Jamie Fenneman  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #17035)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Salix glauca
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Species Information

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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.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Early Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Red
Present over the Summer
Source:  The USDA

Habitat / 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.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 6 1292 2459
Slope Gradient (%) 0 14 95
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
0 59 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
0 4 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
Number 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)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Salix

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References