Salix cinerea
Salix myrtillifolia
gray willow, large gray or gray willow, large gray willow
bilberry willow, blueberry willow, low blueberry willow
(decumbent);
branches gray-brown, red-brown, or yellow-brown, not to strongly glaucous (dull or slightly glossy), pubescent;
branchlets gray-brown, red-brown, or yellow-brown, sparsely pubescent.
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 rudimentary, foliaceous, or absent on early ones, foliaceous on late ones (0.2–1.8(–5) mm);
petiole deeply to shallowly grooved adaxially, 1.5–8 mm, glabrous or pubescent adaxially;
largest medial blade (sometimes amphistomatous), elliptic, narrowly elliptic, obovate, or broadly obovate, 17–74 × 8–30 mm, 1.2–4.5 times as long as wide, base cuneate, convex, or subcordate, margins flat, serrulate, crenulate, or sinuate, apex acute, convex, or acuminate, abaxial surface not glaucous, glabrous, adaxial slightly glossy, glabrous;
proximal blade margins crenate;
juvenile blade reddish or yellowish green, glabrous.
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 oblong, ovate, or square, 0.2–0.34–0.4 mm;
filaments distinct, glabrous;
anthers purple turning yellow, 0.3–0.6 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 square, oblong, or ovate, 0.2–0.4 mm, shorter than stipe;
stipe 0.6–1.7 mm;
ovary pyriform, glabrous, beak gradually tapering to or slightly bulged below styles;
ovules (6–)10–14 per ovary;
styles connate or distinct 1/2 their lengths, 0.3–0.7 mm;
stigmas flat, abaxially non-papillate with rounded tip, or 2 plump lobes, 0.16–0.23–0.32 mm.
5–5.6 mm.
4–6 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 as leaves emerge; staminate stout, 11.5–39 × 5–14 mm, flowering branchlet 0.5–6 mm; pistillate moderately densely flowered or densely flowered, slender or stout, 16–46(–50 in fruit) × 4–15 mm, flowering branchlet 1.5–12 mm;
floral bract brown, black, tawny, or bicolor, 0.4–1.1 mm, apex retuse or acute, abaxially hairy throughout or proximally, hairs curly or wavy.
= 76.
= 38.
Salix cinerea
Salix myrtillifolia
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 myrtillifolia occurs in Nunavut on Akimiski Island in James Bay.
The complex of species related to Salix myrtillifolia includes S. arizonica, S. ballii, S. boothii, and S. pseudomyrsinites. Two are diploid (S. arizonica and S. myrtillifolia), and two are tetraploid (S. boothii and S. pseudomyrsinites); the chromosome number of S. ballii is unknown. They have been treated taxonomically in different ways, but are relatively distinct in their morphology, ecology, and geography. Salix myrtillifolia has outlying populations represented by single collections each from Colorado, Quebec, and Wyoming. Specimens attributed to this species from the Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec, and the Northern Peninsula, Newfoundland, all have evidence of leaf glaucescence and are S. ballii. See 57. S. pseudomyrsinites and 58. S. ballii for more description.
Hybrids:
Salix myrtillifolia forms natural hybrids with S. candida.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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