Salix cinerea
Salix barrattiana
gray willow, large gray or gray willow, large gray willow
Barratt's willow
stipules rudimentary or foliaceous on early ones, foliaceous on late ones, apex acute or rounded;
petiole convex to flat adaxially, 4–15 mm, tomentose adaxially;
largest medial blade elliptic, broadly elliptic, oblanceolate, or obovate, 65–105 × 22–52 mm, 2–3 times as long as wide, base convex or cuneate, margins slightly revolute, entire, crenate, or sinuate, (glands submarginal), apex acuminate or convex, abaxial surface glaucous, tomentose, hairs erect or spreading, curly, adaxial dull or slightly glossy, pubescent or tomentose;
proximal blade margins entire;
juvenile blade yellowish green, sparsely to densely tomentose 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.
adaxial nectary oblong or ovate, 0.5–1 mm;
filaments distinct, glabrous or hairy basally;
anthers yellow or purple turning yellow, ellipsoid or shortly cylindrical, 0.7–1 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.
adaxial nectary oblong or square, 0.4–1 mm, shorter than stipe;
stipe 1.2–2.7 mm;
ovary pyriform, long-silky, beak slightly bulged below styles;
ovules 12 per ovary;
styles 0.2–0.5 mm;
stigmas slenderly or broadly cylindrical, 0.3–0.6 mm.
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.
5–5.6 mm.
4.5–6 mm.
flowering before leaves emerge; staminate stout or subglobose, 26–39 × 12–26 mm, flowering branchlet 0–5 mm; pistillate densely flowered, stout or subglobose, 27–54(–75 in fruit) × 4–15 mm, flowering branchlet 1–5(–10) mm;
floral bract dark brown, black, or bicolor, 2–3 mm, apex acute or convex, abaxially hairy, hairs straight.
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.
= 76.
Salix cinerea
Salix barrattiana
The Ohio occurrence of Salix cinerea is based on information from T. Cooperrider (pers. comm.).
Salix cinerea and S. atrocinerea are very closely related. Their occurrence in the flora area, as naturalized introductions, is not well understood, probably because they usually are introduced under the name S. caprea, and that species often is not treated in North American floristic literature (e.g., C. K. Schneider 1921; M. L. Fernald 1950). They probably are introductions of long-standing brought to the New World for their value as ornamentals and bee-plants. Salix atrocinerea was first documented in the southeastern United States (G. W. Argus 1986) after plants with ferruginous hairs and prominently striate wood were found in North Carolina; since that time, it has been found in other states and provinces. In the northeastern states, S. atrocinerea and S. cinerea are thought to be invasive species. The species do reproduce by seed and hundreds of seedlings were observed in a drained reservoir (A. Zinovjev, pers. comm.) and on sandy pond shores (T. Rawinski, pers. comm.), where they are thought to compete with native species.
The presence of long, prominent, striae on the peeled wood of 4–5 year old branches is commonly used in European literature (K. H. Rechinger 1993; A. K. Skvortsov 1999) to separate Salix cinerea and S. atrocinerea from S. caprea etc., in which the wood is smooth or with fewer, shorter striae. In the flora area, long striae also occur in S. bebbiana, S. discolor, and S. humilis, but usually they are not as long as or as prominent in S. cinerea and S. atrocinerea. Some floras (e.g., F. Martini and P. Paiero 1988) use the relative prominence of striae to separate S. cinerea and S. atrocinerea, but their separation remains difficult. The presence of ferruginous hairs on the leaves of S. atrocinerea is the best diagnostic characteristic, but they are not always present or easily observed. For a comparison of these species, see the key to species under subg. Vetrix. For further discussion of morphologies, see Salix ×smithiana Willdenow [p. 132] and 76. S. discolor.
(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.)
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