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Cascade willow, Cascades willow

Pacific willow, shining willow

Habit Plants 0.03–0.1 m, forming clones by rhizomes. Shrubs or trees, 1–9(–11) m. Stems: branches flexible to highly brittle at base, yellow-brown, gray-brown, or red-brown, slightly to highly glossy, glabrous or pilose to glabrescent; branchlets yellow-brown, gray-brown, or red-brown, glabrous, pilose, villous, or velvety, hairs spreading, straight, wavy, or crinkled, (inner membranaceous bud-scale layer free and separating from outer layer).
Stems

erect or trailing;

branches yellow-brown or gray-brown, (sometimes weakly glaucous), glabrous;

branchlets yellow-green or yellow-brown, glabrous or puberulent.

Leaves

(marcescent);

stipules absent;

petiole 1.5–5 mm;

largest medial blade usually amphistomatous, narrowly elliptic or elliptic, 9–26 × 3.8–7.5 mm, 2.4–4.3 times as long as wide, base cuneate, margins flat, entire, ciliate, apex acute, acuminate, or convex, abaxial surface glabrous or pilose, hairs wavy, adaxial slightly glossy, glabrous or pilose;

proximal blade margins entire;

juvenile blade glabrous or sparsely villous abaxially.

stipules usually foliaceous, apex convex or rounded;

petiole deeply grooved adaxially, (1–)4–30 mm, with pairs or clusters of spherical or foliaceous glands distally, glabrous or pilose adaxially;

largest medial blade hypostomatous, hemiamphistomatous, or amphistomatous, narrowly oblong, very narrowly to narrowly elliptic, narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, or oblanceolate, 53–170 × 9–31 mm, 3.1–9.8 times as long as wide, base convex or rounded, margins flat, serrulate, apex caudate to acuminate, abaxial surface glaucous or not, glabrescent or pilose, hairs white, sometimes also ferruginous, straight, wavy, or curved, adaxial slightly or highly glossy, glabrous, pilose, or long-silky, hairs white and ferruginous;

proximal blade margins entire and glandular-dotted or shallowly serrulate;

juvenile blade reddish or yellowish green, moderately to very densely villous, long-silky, or glabrous abaxially, hairs white and ferruginous.

Staminate flowers

abaxial nectary (0–)0.2–0.6 mm, adaxial nectary oblong or square, 0.4–1.2 mm, nectaries distinct;

filaments distinct or basally connate;

anthers ellipsoid, 0.3–0.6 mm.

abaxial nectary (usually present), (0–)0.4–0.8 mm, adaxial nectary square or ovate, 0.2–0.6 mm, nectaries distinct or connate and shallowly cup-shaped;

stamens 3–6;

filaments distinct, hairy on proximal 1/2 or basally;

anthers ellipsoid, shortly cylindrical, obovoid, or globose, 0.6–1 mm.

Pistillate flowers

adaxial nectary oblong or square, 0.5–1.2 mm, longer than stipe;

stipe 0–0.6 m;

ovary pyriform, usually densely villous, beak abruptly tapering to or slightly bulged below styles;

ovules 6–10 per ovary;

styles 0.3–1 mm;

stigmas slenderly cylindrical, 0.28–0.39–0.56 mm.

adaxial nectary square or ovate, 0.2–0.6 mm, shorter than stipe;

stipe 0.8–4 mm;

ovary pyriform, beak slightly bulged below or gradually tapering to styles;

ovules 16–30 per ovary;

styles connate, 0.2–0.8 mm;

stigmas broadly cylindrical or 2 plump lobes, 0.2–0.4 mm.

Capsules

3.5–5 mm.

4–11 mm.

Catkins

staminate (20–50 flowers), 12.5–26.5 × 5.5–9 mm, flowering branchlet 1–11 mm; pistillate moderately densely to loosely flowered, (15–35(–43) flowers), stout or subglobose, 10–23(–30 in fruit) × 5–8 mm, flowering branchlet 2–9 mm;

floral bract brown, 1.6–2.6 mm, apex rounded, entire, abaxially sparsely hairy or ciliate, hairs wavy or straight.

(fruiting in summer, persistent); staminate 21–78 × 8–15 mm, flowering branchlet 3–27 mm; pistillate moderately to very densely flowered, slender, stout, or subglobose, 18.5–103 × 6–17 mm, flowering branchlet 6–56 mm;

floral bract 1.7–4 mm, apex rounded, entire, toothed, or erose, abaxially hairy throughout or proximally, hairs wavy.

Salix cascadensis

Salix lasiandra

Phenology Flowering early Jul-early Aug.
Habitat Mesic to dry rocky slopes, ridges, high subalpine and alpine tundra
Elevation 2200-3900 m (7200-12800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; UT; WA; WY; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; NT; SK; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The morphological variability of Salix cascadensis is not well understood. Typically, it has leaves that are narrow, sharply pointed, and glaucous abaxially, catkins 15–43-flowered, dark brown floral bracts, and ovaries very densely hairy. Specimens with leaves not glaucous abaxially, catkins relatively few-flowered, and ovaries either sparsely hairy throughout, hairy only on beaks, or hairy in streaks, may be hybrids but the glabrous ovaried S. cascadensis var. thompsonii shows no obvious signs of hybridization.

Hybrids:

Salix cascadensis is suspected to hybridize with S. barclayi.

Salix cascadensis × S. rotundifolia var. dodgeana resembles the former in its narrow, acute to acuminate leaves and the latter in leaves not glaucous abaxially, tawny floral bracts, relatively short catkins, and glabrous ovaries. The catkins are intermediate in being 6–7-flowered.

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

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Varieties of Salix lasiandra at the south end of Kootenay Lake, British Columbia, are sympatric. In that area, they differ not only in the usual characteristics, leaf glaucescence and presence of stomata in adaxial epidermis, but plants of var. lasiandra are heavily infested with sawfly galls, whereas var. caudata are not, and leaves of var. lasiandra are stiffer than those of var. caudata.

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

Key
1. Largest medial blades hypostomatous or hemiamphistomatous (rarely amphistomatous), surfaces usually glaucous abaxially (rarely not glaucous), bases convex to rounded; staminate flowers: nectaries distinct; petioles with clusters of spherical or foliaceous glands distally.
var. lasiandra
1. Largest medial blades amphistomatous, surfaces not glaucous abaxially, bases convex; staminate flowers: nectaries usually distinct, sometimes connate and shallowly cup-shaped; petioles with pairs or clusters of spherical glands distally.
var. caudata
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 82. FNA vol. 7, p. 47.
Parent taxa Salicaceae > Salix > subg. Chamaetia > sect. Diplodictyae Salicaceae > Salix > subg. Salix > sect. Salicaster
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. bebbiana, S. bonplandiana, S. boothii, S. brachycarpa, S. breweri, S. calcicola, S. candida, S. caprea, S. caroliniana, 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. barrattiana, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
S. lasiandra var. caudata, S. lasiandra var. lasiandra
Synonyms S. tenera, S. cascadensis var. thompsonii S. lucida subsp. lasiandra
Name authority Cockerell: Muhlenbergia 3: 9. (1907) Bentham: Pl. Hartw., 335. (1857)
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