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

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Salix lucida Muhl.