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beak willow, Bebb willow, Bebb's willow, gray or Bebb's or long-beak willow, gray willow, grey willow, long-beak willow

Barratt's willow

Habit Shrubs, 0.3–1.5 m. Stems: branches red-brown, not or weakly glaucous, glabrous or villous in patches; branchlets red-brown or violet, moderately densely and coarsely villous, (bud-scale oily).
Stems

branches divaricate, sometimes ± brittle at base, yellow-brown to dark red-brown, not or weakly glaucous, pilose to glabrescent, peeled wood often with very dense striae, to 25 mm;

branchlets yellow-green or red-brown, moderately to very densely villous to glabrescent.

Leaves

stipules rudimentary or absent on early ones, apex acute, acuminate, or convex;

petiole convex to flat adaxially, 2–5.5–13 mm, pubescent adaxially;

largest medial blade narrowly oblong, narrowly elliptic, elliptic, oblanceolate, or obovate, 20–44–87 × 10–16–45 mm, base cuneate, convex, or rounded, margins flat, entire, crenate, or irregularly serrate, glands submarginal, apex acute, acuminate, or convex, abaxial surface glaucous, moderately densely pubescent or long-silky to glabrescent, hairs white or gray, wavy, adaxial finely impressed-reticulate, dull or slightly glossy, moderately densely pubescent, sparsely short-silky, or glabrescent, hairs white or gray;

proximal blade margins entire, gland-dotted;

juvenile blade yellowish green or reddish, pilose or sparsely to moderately densely tomentose or long-silky abaxially, hairs white.

stipules (sometimes marcescent), foliaceous, (resinous, 1.5–7.5 mm), apex acute;

petiole shallowly grooved, or convex to flat adaxially, 4–15 mm, villous or puberulent adaxially, (weakly ventricose around floral buds);

largest medial blade narrowly to broadly elliptic, oblanceolate, or obovate, 35–95 × 10–29 mm, 2.2–4.2(–5) times as long as wide, base usually convex, rounded, or cuneate, sometimes cordate, margins flat, entire, apex acute, convex, or acuminate, abaxial surface not glaucous, moderately to very densely long-silky tomentose to glabrescent, hairs wavy, adaxial slightly glossy, sparsely villous or pubescent to glabrescent;

proximal blade margins entire;

juvenile blade color sometimes obscured by hairs, very densely long-silky abaxially, hairs white.

Staminate flowers

adaxial nectary oblong or ovate, 0.3–0.8 mm;

filaments distinct or connate less than 1/2 their lengths, glabrous or hairy on proximal 1/2;

anthers yellow or purple turning yellow, ellipsoid or shortly cylindrical, 0.5–0.8 mm.

adaxial nectary narrowly oblong to oblong, 0.4–1.8 mm;

filaments distinct;

anthers yellow or purple turning yellow, ellipsoid or shortly cylindrical, 0.4–0.6 mm.

Pistillate flowers

adaxial nectary oblong or square, 0.3–0.8 mm;

ovary obclavate, beak slightly bulged below styles (long-beaked);

ovules 6–16 per ovary;

styles 0.1–0.4 mm;

stigmas slenderly to broadly cylindrical.

adaxial nectary narrowly oblong to oblong, 0.6–1.3 mm;

stipe 0.2–0.6 mm;

ovary pyriform, (hairs refractive), beak gradually tapering to styles;

ovules 16–21 per ovary;

styles 0.6–1.8 mm;

stigmas 0.28–0.47–0.64 mm.

Capsules

5–9 mm.

4.5–6 mm.

Catkins

staminate flowering just before leaves emerge, pistillate flowering as leaves emerge; staminate stout to globose, 10–42 × 7–16 mm, flowering branchlet 0.5–11 mm; pistillate loosely flowered, stout, slender, or subglobose, 16.5–85 × 9–32 mm, flowering branchlet 1–26 mm;

floral bract tawny, 1.2–3.2 mm, apex rounded, abaxially hairy to glabrescent, hairs straight or wavy.

flowering before leaves emerge; staminate stout or subglobose, 20–57 × 13–18 mm, flowering branchlet 0–2 mm; pistillate densely flowered, slender to stout, 28–92(–105 in fruit) × 12–19 mm, flowering branchlet 0–5 mm;

floral bract brown or black, 2.8–5.2 mm, apex acute to convex, abaxially hairy, hairs straight.

2n

= 38.

Salix bebbiana

Salix barrattiana

Phenology Flowering early Apr-late Jun. Flowering late May-late Jul.
Habitat Riparian and upland conifer forests, wet lowland thickets, Picea mariana treed bogs, stream margins, lakeshores, prairie margins, dry south-facing slopes, cienegas, seeps, disturbed areas Moist to wet gravel bars, fans and terraces, stream banks, shrub fens, thickets and meadows, wet alpine tundra, often on limestone substrates
Elevation 0-3300 m (0-10800 ft) 150-3200 m (500-10500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; CT; IA; ID; IL; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; UT; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; MT; WY; AB; BC; NT; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Salix bebbiana occurs in Nunavut on Akimiski Island in James Bay.

Hybrids:

Salix bebbiana forms natural hybrids with S. candida, S. geyeriana, S. humilis, and S. petiolaris. Reports of hybrids with S. discolor (C. K. Schneider 1921; M. L. Fernald 1950) are not based on convincing specimens, and synthetic hybrids could not be made (G. W. Argus 1974). Reports of hybrids with S. eriocephala and S. myricoides (Fernald) are unverified. Controlled pollinations with S. eriocephala and S. interior had low seed viability (A. Mosseler 1990).

Salix bebbiana × S. candida (S. ×cryptodonta Fernald, as species) is intermediate between parental species. It resembles S. candida in having juvenile leaves densely woolly, mature leaves sparsely to moderately woolly abaxially, margins strongly revolute to crenulate, and ovaries woolly; and S. bebbiana in having stipes 2.8–3 mm and capsules long-beaked, 8–9 mm. The hybrid commonly occurs in Newfoundland.

Salix bebbiana × S. geyeriana: A plant with the pistillate catkins and flowers of S. bebbiana and the narrow, entire or slightly serrulate leaves with white and ferruginous hairs of S. geyeriana was collected by R. D. Dorn in a mixed population in Montana (Beaverhead County).

Salix bebbiana × S. humilis: Reported by C. K. Schneider (1921) and M. L. Fernald (1950) and successfully synthesized by G. W. Argus (1974, 1986).

Salix bebbiana × S. petiolaris is known from Ontario, based on an infertile pistillate specimen, and from Alberta and Saskatchewan, where it is relatively uncommon. It was successfully synthesized (G. W. Argus 1974, 1986) and controlled pollinations showed high seed viability (A. Mosseler 1990).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Salix barrattiana has stipules and buds that are typically strongly oily or resinous, staining pressing sheets yellow. The Montana and Wyoming records are the basis for a conservation assessment by J. A. R. Ladyman (www.fs.fed.us/r2/projects/scp/assessments/salixbarrattiana.pdf). The Wyoming population is represented by three staminate specimens. Their buds and stipules are not conspicuously oily and further verification is needed.

Salix barrattiana is placed here in sect. Villosae, but it is morphologically similar also to members of sect. Lanatae. The most conspicuous difference is its hairy ovaries. Inconsistent phenetic clustering of this species (G. W. Argus 1997) shows the difficulty in determining its sectional placement. The suggestion that it may link the two sections by hybridization and introgression, or by alloploidy, still remains to be assessed.

Hybrids:

Salix barrattiana forms natural hybrids with S. barclayi, S. commutata, and S. pseudomyrsinites.

Salix barrattiana × S. commutata: This hybrid, known from Alberta and the Yukon, usually resembles S. barrattiana, but ovaries are hairy in patches, stipes at ca. 1 mm are long for that species, and buds and stipules are not oily. A British Columbia specimen has glabrous ovaries and oily stipules.

Salix barrattiana × S. pseudomyrsinites is a rare putative hybrid that combines characteristics of the two parents.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 134. FNA vol. 7, p. 148.
Parent taxa Salicaceae > Salix > subg. Vetrix > sect. Fulvae Salicaceae > Salix > subg. Vetrix > sect. Villosae
Sibling taxa
S. alaxensis, S. alba, S. amygdaloides, S. arbusculoides, S. arctica, S. arctophila, S. argyrocarpa, S. arizonica, S. athabascensis, S. atrocinerea, S. aurita, S. babylonica, S. ballii, S. barclayi, S. barrattiana, S. bonplandiana, S. boothii, S. brachycarpa, S. breweri, S. calcicola, S. candida, S. caprea, S. caroliniana, S. cascadensis, S. chamissonis, S. chlorolepis, S. cinerea, S. columbiana, S. commutata, S. cordata, S. daphnoides, S. delnortensis, S. discolor, S. drummondiana, S. eastwoodiae, S. elaeagnos, S. eriocephala, S. euxina, S. exigua, S. famelica, S. farriae, S. floridana, S. fuscescens, S. geyeriana, S. glauca, S. gooddingii, S. hastata, S. herbacea, S. hookeriana, S. humboldtiana, S. humilis, S. interior, S. irrorata, S. jejuna, S. jepsonii, S. laevigata, S. lasiandra, S. lasiolepis, S. lemmonii, S. ligulifolia, S. lucida, S. lutea, S. maccalliana, S. melanopsis, S. monochroma, S. monticola, S. myricoides, S. myrsinifolia, S. myrtillifolia, S. nigra, S. niphoclada, S. nivalis, S. nummularia, S. orestera, S. ovalifolia, S. pedicellaris, S. pellita, S. pentandra, S. petiolaris, S. petrophila, S. phlebophylla, S. planifolia, S. polaris, S. prolixa, S. pseudomonticola, S. pseudomyrsinites, S. pulchra, S. purpurea, S. pyrifolia, S. raupii, S. reticulata, S. richardsonii, S. rotundifolia, S. scouleriana, S. sericea, S. serissima, S. sessilifolia, S. setchelliana, S. silicicola, S. sitchensis, S. sphenophylla, S. stolonifera, S. taxifolia, S. thurberi, S. tracyi, S. triandra, S. turnorii, S. tweedyi, S. tyrrellii, S. uva-ursi, S. vestita, S. viminalis, S. wolfii, S. ×fragilis, S. ×jesupii, S. ×pendulina, S. ×sepulcralis, S. ×smithiana
S. alaxensis, S. alba, S. amygdaloides, S. arbusculoides, S. arctica, S. arctophila, S. argyrocarpa, S. arizonica, S. athabascensis, S. atrocinerea, S. aurita, S. babylonica, S. ballii, S. barclayi, S. bebbiana, S. bonplandiana, S. boothii, S. brachycarpa, S. breweri, S. calcicola, S. candida, S. caprea, S. caroliniana, S. cascadensis, S. chamissonis, S. chlorolepis, S. cinerea, S. columbiana, S. commutata, S. cordata, S. daphnoides, S. delnortensis, S. discolor, S. drummondiana, S. eastwoodiae, S. elaeagnos, S. eriocephala, S. euxina, S. exigua, S. famelica, S. farriae, S. floridana, S. fuscescens, S. geyeriana, S. glauca, S. gooddingii, S. hastata, S. herbacea, S. hookeriana, S. humboldtiana, S. humilis, S. interior, S. irrorata, S. jejuna, S. jepsonii, S. laevigata, S. lasiandra, S. lasiolepis, S. lemmonii, S. ligulifolia, S. lucida, S. lutea, S. maccalliana, S. melanopsis, S. monochroma, S. monticola, S. myricoides, S. myrsinifolia, S. myrtillifolia, S. nigra, S. niphoclada, S. nivalis, S. nummularia, S. orestera, S. ovalifolia, S. pedicellaris, S. pellita, S. pentandra, S. petiolaris, S. petrophila, S. phlebophylla, S. planifolia, S. polaris, S. prolixa, S. pseudomonticola, S. pseudomyrsinites, S. pulchra, S. purpurea, S. pyrifolia, S. raupii, S. reticulata, S. richardsonii, S. rotundifolia, S. scouleriana, S. sericea, S. serissima, S. sessilifolia, S. setchelliana, S. silicicola, S. sitchensis, S. sphenophylla, S. stolonifera, S. taxifolia, S. thurberi, S. tracyi, S. triandra, S. turnorii, S. tweedyi, S. tyrrellii, S. uva-ursi, S. vestita, S. viminalis, S. wolfii, S. ×fragilis, S. ×jesupii, S. ×pendulina, S. ×sepulcralis, S. ×smithiana
Synonyms S. rostrata, S. bebbiana var. capreifolia, S. bebbiana var. depilis, S. bebbiana var. luxurians, S. bebbiana var. perrostrata, S. bebbiana var. projecta, S. depressa subsp. rostrata S. barrattiana var. marcescens
Name authority Sargent: Gard. & Forest 8: 463. (1895) Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 146, plate 181. (1838)
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