Salix amygdaloides
Salix candida
peach-leaf willow
hoary willow, sage willow, sage-leaf willow
branches dark gray-brown to yellow-brown, not glaucous, woolly in patches or floccose to glabrescent;
branchlets yellow-brown to red-brown or gray-brown, densely (white) woolly or tomentose, sometimes floccose.
stipules absent or rudimentary on early ones, foliaceous or rudimentary on late ones, apex rounded;
petiole (margins covering groove, not glandular or with spherical glands distally), 7–21 mm, glabrous or puberulent adaxially;
largest medial blade (sometimes amphistomatous), very narrowly elliptic, elliptic, lanceolate, or lorate, 55–130 × 24–37 mm, 2.8–6 times as long as wide, base convex, cuneate, or cordate, margins serrulate, apex acuminate to caudate, abaxial surface glaucous, glabrous, adaxial dull, glabrous or sparsely pubescent along midrib;
proximal blade margins entire or shallowly serrulate;
juvenile blade glabrous or pubescent abaxially, hairs white and/or ferruginous.
stipules rudimentary or foliaceous on early ones, late ones 2–3.6 mm, apex acute;
petiole shallowly to deeply grooved adaxially, 3–10 mm, tomentose or densely (white) woolly adaxially (obscured by hairs);
largest medial blade lorate, narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate, 47–103 × 5–20 mm, base convex or cuneate, margins strongly to slightly revolute, entire, or sinuate, apex acute or convex, abaxial surface glaucous (generally obscured by hairs), very densely to sparsely tomentose-woolly (cobwebby in age), hairs dull white, crinkled, adaxial dull or slightly glossy, moderately densely to sparsely tomentose, floccose, hairs dull white;
proximal blade margins entire;
juvenile blade yellowish green, very densely tomentose abaxially, hairs white.
abaxial nectary 0.2–0.7 mm, adaxial nectary narrowly oblong to square, 0.3–0.8 mm, nectaries distinct;
stamens 3–7;
filaments hairy on proximal 1/2 or basally;
anthers 0.5–0.6 mm.
adaxial nectary narrowly oblong to oblong, 0.6–1 mm;
filaments distinct or connate less than 1/2 their lengths;
anthers purple turning yellow, ellipsoid, long-cylindrical, or globose, 0.4–0.6 mm.
adaxial nectary square, 0.1–0.6 mm;
stipe 1.4–3.2 mm;
ovary pyriform, beak slightly bulged below styles;
ovules 16–18 per ovary;
styles 0.2–0.4 mm;
stigmas 0.24–0.31–0.4 mm.
adaxial nectary oblong, 0.4–1 mm;
ovary pyriform, beak sometimes slightly bulged below styles;
ovules 12–18 per ovary;
styles 0.3–1.9 mm.
3–7 mm.
4–6 mm.
staminate 23–80 × 5–12 mm, flowering branchlet 3–28 mm; pistillate 41–110(–127 in fruit) × 8–16 mm, flowering branchlet 17–35 mm;
floral bract 1.5–2.8 mm, apex acute to rounded, entire or toothed, abaxially sparsely to moderately densely hairy proximally, hairs wavy; pistillate bract deciduous after flowering.
flowering as leaves emerge; staminate stout or subglobose, 17–39 × 8–16 mm, flowering branchlet 0.5–7 mm; pistillate densely to moderately densely flowered, stout or slender, 20–66 × 9–18 mm, flowering branchlet 1–24 mm;
floral bract tawny or brown, 1.2–1.8 mm, apex rounded or acute, abaxially hairy, hairs straight to wavy.
= 38.
= 38.
Salix amygdaloides
Salix candida
Presence of Salix amygdaloides in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont has not been verified; its occurrence in those New England states was reported by H. A. Gleason and A. Cronquist (1991), and by M. L. Fernald (1950).
Hybrids:
Salix amygdaloides forms natural hybrids with S. gooddingii and S. nigra. Hybrids with S. caroliniana (N. M. Glatfelter 1898) and S. eriocephala (M. L. Fernald 1950) have been reported; no convincing specimens have been seen. Controlled pollination between S. amygdaloides and S. eriocephala, S. interior, and S. petiolaris set no seed; controlled pollination with S. lucida produced a few seeds; some seedlings suffered necrosis in the cotyledon stage (A. Mosseler 1990).
Salix amygdaloides × S. gooddingii (S. ×wrightii Andersson): This hybrid occurs throughout the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, and New Mexico (C. K. Schneider 1919; C. R. Ball 1961), and at Happy and Rio Frio, Texas, and Virgil Run, Arizona. The leaves are somewhat glaucous abaxially, as in S. amygdaloides, but they are linear to narrowly elliptic and branchlets are sparsely pubescent as in S. gooddingii.
Salix amygdaloides × S. nigra (S. ×glatfelteri C. K. Schneider) resembles S. amygdaloides in leaves somewhat glaucous abaxially, but usually linear or narrowly elliptic, as in S. nigra. The stipules are not as prominent as in S. nigra but are foliaceous on late leaves; it should be expected wherever the ranges of the two species overlap. The hybrid is common in Missouri, where N. M. Glatfelter (1894) estimated that ca. 40% of the populations were hybrids, and in Illinois (R. H. Mohlenbrock 1980; G. Wilhelm, pers. comm.). Putative hybrids occur also in Ontario. Narrow leaves are typical of juvenile plants of S. amygdaloides but even at that stage they tend to be broadest at the midpoint or toward the base rather than in a midzone as in S. nigra.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Occurrence of Salix candida in Nunavut is on Akimiski Island in James Bay.
Salix candida is geographically wide-ranging but limited to calcareous habitats and, for that reason, it is quite local or even rare in some parts of its range.
Hybrids:
Salix candida forms natural hybrids with S. bebbiana, S. brachycarpa var. brachycarpa, S. calcicola, S. eriocephala, S. famelica, S. myrtillifolia, S. petiolaris, and S. planifolia. Hybrids with S. discolor, S. petiolaris, and S. sericea have been reported (the latter also by C. K. Schneider 1921; M. L. Fernald 1950) but no convincing specimens have been seen. Salix candida hybrids are recognized from their woolly indumentum that often is conspicuous on leaves, stems, and ovaries. In hybrids, these characters, especially woolly patches on ovaries, stand out as discordant variation.
Salix candida × S. eriocephala (S. ×rubella Bebb ex C. K. Schneider) was described by W. W. Rowlee and K. M. Wiegand (1896) as S. candida × S. cordata. In addition to woolly patches on the ovaries, they noted that buds of the hybrids usually are shorter, more divergent, and blunter than those in S. eriocephala, and are glabrous or hairy. Known from New York and Newfoundland; it should be expected throughout the sympatric range of the parental species.
Salix candida × S. famelica: The Saskatchewan specimen resembles S. famelica but has the leaf indumentum of S. candida.
Salix candida × S. myrtillifolia: Saskatchewan specimens combine characters of the two parents.
Salix candida × S. petiolaris: Intermediates between these species are known from Michigan and New York (W. W. Rowlee and K. M. Wiegand 1896) as well as Ontario and Saskatchewan, but can be expected wherever the two grow together. The invalid name “S. ×clarkei” is sometimes used for this hybrid.
The glabrescent form of Salix candida, forma denudata (Andersson) Rouleau, may be of hybrid origin.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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