Salix exigua
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| Salix exigua | ||||||||||||||
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 Leaves and staminate flower
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| Salix exigua Nutt. |
Salix exigua (Sandbar Willow, Narrowleaf Willow, or Coyote Willow; syn. S. argophylla, S. hindsiana, S. interior, S. linearifolia, S. luteosericea, S. malacophylla, S. nevadensis, S. parishiana) is a species of willow native to most of North America except for the southeast and far north, occurring from Alaska east to New Brunswick, and south to northern Mexico.[1]
It is a deciduous shrub reaching 4–7 meters in height, spreading by root sprouts to form dense clonal colonies. The leaves are narrow lanceolate, 4–12 cm long and 2–10 mm broad, green, to grayish with silky white hairs at least when young; the margin is entire or with a few irregular, widely spaced small teeth. The flowers are produced in catkins in late spring, after the leaves appear. It is dioecious, with staminate and pistillate catkins on separate plants, the male catkins up to 10 cm long, the female catkins up to 8 cm long. The fruit is a cluster of capsules, each containing numerous minute seeds embedded in shiny white silk.[2][3]
There are two subspecies, which meet in the western Great Plains:[1][2]
- Salix exigua subsp. exigua. Western North America. Leaves grayish all summer with persistent silky hairs; seed capsules 3–6 mm long.
- Salix exigua subsp. interior (Rowlee) Cronq. (syn. S. interior Rowlee). Eastern and central North America. Leaves usually lose hairs and become green by summer, only rarely remaining pubescent; seed capsules 5–8 mm long.
It is considered a threatened species in the eastern United States in Connecticut, Maryland, and Massachusetts.[4]
This willow had many uses for Native Americans; the branches were used as flexible poles and building materials, the smaller twigs were used to make baskets, the bark was made into cord and string, and the bark and leaves had several medicinal uses.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Germplasm Resources Information Network: Salix exigua
- ^ a b Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Salix exigua
- ^ Jepson Flora: Salix exigua
- ^ USDA Plants Profile: Salix exigua
- ^ University of Michigan Native American Ethnobotany Index:Salix exigua
