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hungry willow

goat willow, hoary willow

Habit Shrubs or trees, 1.5–7 m. Stems: branches yellow, yellow-gray, or yellow-brown, not glaucous, glabrous (tomentose at nodes) or pubescent; branchlets yellow-brown or red-brown, (sometimes weakly glaucous with sparkling wax crystals), usually glabrous, sometimes pilose, pubescent, or moderately densely villous. Shrubs or trees, 8–15 m. Stems: branches brownish, not glaucous, pubescent to glabrescent, (peeled wood smooth or striate, striae sparse, to 6 mm); branchlets yellow-brown or gray-brown, sparsely to densely villous, velvety, or pubescent.
Leaves

stipules rudimentary or foliaceous on early ones, foliaceous on late ones, apex acute or rounded;

petiole convex to flat, or shallowly grooved adaxially, 3–27 mm, puberulent, pubescent, tomentose, velvety, or glabrous adaxially;

largest medial blade (sometimes hemiamphistomatous), narrowly oblong, narrowly elliptic, or lanceolate, 28–116 × 10–30 mm, 2.6–3.5–7 times as long as wide, base subcordate, convex, or rounded, margins flat or slightly revolute, serrate, shallowly serrulate or crenulate, apex acuminate to acute, abaxial surface glabrous, pilose, or pubescent, midribs hairy, adaxial dull or slightly glossy, glabrous, pilose, sparsely long-silky, or tomentose, midribs hairy;

proximal blade margins entire or shallowly serrulate;

juvenile blade reddish or yellowish green, glabrous, pilose, or villous abaxially, hairs white.

stipules rudimentary on early ones, foliaceous on late ones, apex acute or convex;

petiole convex to flat adaxially, 7–25 mm, tomentose to glabrescent adaxially;

largest medial blade narrowly elliptic, broadly elliptic, oblanceolate, obovate, or broadly oblong, 50–130 × 25–80 mm, 2–3 times as long as wide, base cuneate or convex, margins slightly revolute, entire, crenate, or sinuate, (glands submarginal or epilaminal), apex acuminate or convex, abaxial surface glaucous, sparsely tomentose or pubescent, hairs erect, wavy, adaxial dull or slightly glossy, sparsely pubescent;

proximal blade margins entire;

juvenile blade green, densely tomentose abaxially, hairs white, sometimes also ferruginous.

Staminate flowers

adaxial nectary narrowly oblong, oblong, or flask-shaped, 0.8–1 mm;

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

anthers yellow or purple turning yellow, (ellipsoid), 0.5–0.7 mm.

adaxial nectary oblong or square, 0.4–0.7 mm;

filaments distinct, glabrous;

anthers yellow, ellipsoid or shortly cylindrical, 0.7–1.1 mm.

Pistillate flowers

adaxial nectary 0.6–0.8 mm, shorter than stipe;

stipe 0.7–2.4(–2.75) mm;

ovary pyriform or obclavate, glabrous, beak sometimes slightly bulged below styles;

ovules 12–18 per ovary;

styles 0.2–0.6 mm;

stigmas flat, abaxially non-papillate with rounded tip, or 2 plump lobes, 0.12–0.22–0.32 mm.

adaxial nectary oblong, narrowly oblong, or square, 0.4–0.9 mm, shorter than stipe;

stipe 2–2.5 mm;

ovary pyriform, densely short-silky, beak gradually tapering to styles;

ovules 12–14 per ovary;

styles 0.3–0.6 mm;

stigmas slenderly cylindrical, 0.4–0.55–0.6 mm.

Capsules

5–6 mm.

6–12 mm.

Catkins

staminate flowering before or just before leaves emerge, pistillate as leaves emerge; staminate slender, stout, or subglobose, 15–44 × 8–14 mm, flowering branchlet 0.5–4 mm; pistillate loosely or moderately densely flowered, slender or stout, 16–74(–115 in fruit) × 7–15 mm, flowering branchlet 0.5–9 mm;

floral bract dark brown or tawny, 0.8–1.6 mm, apex rounded or convex, abaxially hairy throughout or proximally, hairs straight or wavy.

flowering before leaves emerge; staminate subglobose or globose, 16–39 × 12–30 mm, flowering branchlet 0–3 mm; pistillate densely flowered, stout or subglobose, 27–64 × 10–25 mm, flowering branchlet 0–7 mm;

floral bract dark brown or black, 2–4 mm, apex acute or rounded, abaxially hairy, hairs (white), straight.

2n

= 38.

Salix famelica

Salix caprea

Phenology Flowering mid Apr-mid Jun. Flowering mid Mar-mid Jun.
Habitat Riparian willow thickets on silty, sandy-clay, gravelly, or bouldery banks and floodplains, sand dunes, alluvial fans, wet meadows, rich fens, prairie depressions, balsam poplar thickets Thickets and roadsides
Elevation 0-2000 m (0-6600 ft) 20-4600 m (100-15100 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; IA; KS; MN; MO; MT; ND; NE; SD; WY; AB; MB; NT; ON; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; IL; MA; MD; MI; NC; NE; NY; OH; PA; WA; ON; Europe [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Salix famelica is a Great Plains taxon that was recognized by R. D. Dorn (1995) as S. lutea var. famelica. It is separable from the other members of sect. Cordatae mainly by its yellow-brown to gray-brown branches and contrasting red-brown branchlets. It is recognized here as a species because, although it intergrades with other taxa in the complex, it has a relatively large, allopatric distribution.

Hybrids:

Salix famelica forms natural hybrids with S. candida, S. eriocephala, S. petiolaris, and S. pseudomonticola.

Salix famelica × S. petiolaris resembles S. famelica in having foliaceous stipules on late leaves and yellow-brown branches, and S. petiolaris in having ferruginous hairs on juvenile leaves. It is intermediate in leaf shape, in having stipules rudimentary on early leaves, and in having ovaries with patches of hairs at the base.

Salix famelica × S. pseudomonticola: Saskatchewan specimens combine the characters of the parental species.

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

Hybrids:

Salix ×smithiana Willdenow: S. caprea × S. viminalis is an introduced European hybrid commonly naturalized in eastern Canada (New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island), where it was introduced for coarse basketry. Only pistillate specimens are known and seed-set has not been noted. Its spread is apparently by cultivation and stem fragmentation. It is characterized by: shrubs or trees, 2–10 m; branches yellow-brown, brownish, or gray-brown, pubescent to glabrescent, ± brittle at base, peeled 3–5 year-old branches smooth or striate, striae few, 0–6 mm; branchlets not glaucous, moderately densely pubescent; largest medial leaf blades very narrowly elliptic, narrowly elliptic, or narrowly oblong, 2.8–4.9(–6.4) times as long as wide, margins entire or sinuate, adaxial surfaces pubescent; catkins flowering before leaves emerge; stipes 0.9–2 mm; ovaries pyriform to obclavate, moderately to very densely short-silky; styles 0.5–1.2 mm; stigmas slenderly cylindrical, lobes 0.6–1.2 mm; and capsules 5–7 mm.

Hybrids Salix caprea × S. viminalis and S. cinerea × S. viminalis are commonly recognized in North American floras. They are difficult to separate and their nomenclature is confusing. I am following G. Larsson (1995), who typified S. ×smithiana and cited S. ×sericans (formerly S. cinerea × S. viminalis) and S. caprea × S. viminalis as synonyms. These two S. viminalis hybrids are very similar. Salix caprea × S. viminalis has wood with striae 2–6 mm and leaves usually broadest in the middle; S. cinerea × S. viminalis has decorticated wood with striae 10+ mm and leaves usually broader toward the tip (B. Jonsell and T. Karlsson 2000+, vol. 1). Authentic S. cinerea × S. viminalis has not been seen from the flora area.

See 86. Salix pellita and 98. S. viminalis for more discussion of morphologies.

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

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 121. FNA vol. 7, p. 131.
Parent taxa Salicaceae > Salix > subg. Vetrix > sect. Cordatae Salicaceae > Salix > subg. Vetrix > sect. Cinerella
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. 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. 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. 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. lutea var. famelica, S. eriocephala var. famelica
Name authority (C. R. Ball) Argus: Harvard Pap. Bot. 12: 361. (2007) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1020. (1753)
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