General:
Dioecious shrubs or trees, 1-11 m tall, not colonial; branches erect, flexible at base; twigs brownish, smooth or sparsely to densely hairy.
Leaves:
Alternate, simple, narrowly elliptic to lance-shaped, 5-17 cm long, 1-3.5 cm wide, lower surface glaucous or not, long soft-hairy, hairs white and rust-coloured, upper surface shiny to highly glossy, smooth or becoming so, margins toothed, bases pointed to rounded, tips long and tail-like; leaf stalks with or without glandular dots at top; stipules leaflike.
Flowers:
Unisexual, lacking sepals and petals, borne in catkins which flower as leaves emerge, the catkins slender to stout, on leafy twigs; floral bracts pale, smooth or hairy, hairs wavy, female bracts deciduous; stamens 4-5; ovaries 1, smooth; 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 0.8-4 mm long.
Notes:
Two subspecies occur in BC:
1. Leaves glaucous beneath, stomata usually restricted to the lower surface................ ssp. lasiandra (Benth.) E. Murray
1. Leaves not glaucous beneath, stomata abundant on both surfaces................. ssp. caudata (Nutt.) E. Murrray
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Salix lucida Muhl.