Salix brachycarpa var. psammophila
Salix brachycarpa var. brachycarpa
shortfruit willow, small-fruit sand dune willow
short-fruit willow, small-fruit willow
branches densely villous;
branchlets very densely woolly, villous, or long-silky.
branches short-silky or villous to glabrescent;
branchlets usually moderately densely long-silky, villous, or woolly.
petiole 0.8–4 mm, (densely villous to long-silky adaxially);
largest medial blade oblong, elliptic to ovate, 15–34 × 7.5–19 mm, 1.4–2.6 times as long as wide, base subcordate, cordate, or convex, apex rounded or convex, abaxial surface very densely woolly, villous, or long-silky, adaxial moderately densely villous or long-silky.
petiole (0.5–)1–3(–4) mm;
largest medial blade narrowly oblong, oblong, narrowly elliptic, elliptic, narrowly oblanceolate, or obovate, (10–)23–30(–40) × 5–16 mm, (1.5–)2.8–3(–4) times as long as wide, base rounded, convex, or subcordate, apex acute or convex, abaxial surface moderately densely villous or long-silky, adaxial pilose, villous, or long-silky to glabrescent, hairs straight or wavy.
abaxial nectary (0–)0.9–1.5 mm, adaxial nectary 0.5–2 mm;
filaments distinct, hairy throughout or on proximal 1/2;
anthers (yellow), ellipsoid or shortly cylindrical, 0.5–0.8 mm.
abaxial nectary 0.5–1.1 mm, adaxial nectary 0.5–1.4 mm;
filaments distinct or connate less than 1/2 their lengths, glabrous, or hairy on proximal 1/2;
anthers ellipsoid or globose, 0.3–0.5 mm.
abaxial nectary 0.3–0.6 mm, adaxial nectary narrowly oblong or ovate (with slender tips), 0.8–1.8 mm;
stipe 0–0.2 mm;
ovules 8–10 per ovary;
styles 0.4–1.2 mm.
abaxial nectary (0–)0.4–1.4 mm, adaxial nectary oblong, 0.8–2 mm;
stipe 0–0.6 mm;
ovules 2–5 per ovary;
styles connate to distinct 1/2 their lengths, 0.5–1.5 mm.
4.5–6.5 mm.
3–6 mm.
staminate 9.5–24 × 6–10 mm, flowering branchlet 2–24(–43 in later-flowering plants) mm;
pistillate stout or subglobose, 18–28.5 × 7–14 mm, flowering branchlet 4–8 mm;
floral bract tawny or greenish, 1.2–2.4 mm.
staminate 5.3–21 × 4–10 mm, flowering branchlet 0.3–10 mm;
pistillate globose, subglobose, or stout, 6–20 × 4–15 mm, flowering branchlet 0.3–11 mm;
floral bract tawny, 1–3 mm.
= 38.
Salix brachycarpa var. psammophila
Salix brachycarpa var. brachycarpa
Of conservation concern.
Previously, I (G. W. Argus 1965) did not recognize var. psammophila, but field experience showed that this sand dune endemic deserves formal taxonomic status. It is mainly characterized by very dense hairiness and slightly broader leaf blades. Salix brachycarpa var. psammophila is found only on Lake Athabasca sand dunes.
Hybrids:
Variety psammophila forms natural hybrids with Salix pyrifolia, S. silicicola, and S. turnorii. All of these taxa occur together in the sand dunes at Lake Athabasca in northwestern Saskatchewan.
Variety psammophila × Salix pyrifolia resembles S. pyrifolia in its reddish petioles and midribs, margins somewhat toothed, styles 0.4 mm, and stipes 0.4–1.1 mm; and S. brachycarpa var. psammophila in its sparsely hairy branches, branchlets, and ovaries.
Variety psammophila × Salix turnorii (S. ×brachypurpurea B. Boivin) resembles var. psammophila in floral bracts tawny, petioles relatively very short, and branchlets and juvenile leaves very densely long-silky; and S. turnorii in leaves amphistomatous, leaf margins serrulate, and branches yellow-brown. It is intermediate in ovaries varying from moderately densely hairy to glabrescent. The hybrids appear to be infertile (G. W. Argus 1965).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Variety brachycarpa occurs in Nunavut only on islands in James Bay.
Hybrids:
Variety brachycarpa forms natural hybrids with Salix arizonica, S. barclayi, S. boothii, S. candida, S. chlorolepis, S. glauca var. villosa, and S. planifolia.
Placement of specimens from Anticosti Island, Quebec, and North Point, James Bay, Ontario, with densely villous branchlets and relatively short petioles, thought to be hybrids with Salix glauca var. cordifolia, is dubious.
Variety brachycarpa × Salix candida (S. ×argusii B. Boivin) is infrequent in Manitoba, Quebec, and Saskatchewan.
Variety brachycarpa × Salix chlorolepis (S. ×gaspeensis C. K. Schneider) resembles var. brachycarpa but has leaves only slightly pilose and ovaries with hairs only on the beaks (G. W. Argus 1965).
Variety brachycarpa × Salix glauca var. villosa (S. ×wyomingensis Rydberg) is a frequent hybrid in southern Rocky Mountains. It is characterized by stipes 0.3 mm or longer, long-cylindrical catkins, ovaries with relatively long beaks, petioles more than three times the length of buds, and leaves sparsely hairy. The extent and nature of this hybridization needs to be studied (G. W. Argus 1965).
Variety brachycarpa × Salix planifolia “var. monica occurs in Steens Mountains, Oregon.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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