Salix farriae
Salix sitchensis
Farr's willow
Coulter willow, Sitka willow
branches (sometimes highly brittle at base), yellow-brown or red-brown, not glaucous, glabrous or pilose;
branchlets yellow-brown, gray-brown, or red-brown, densely short-silky, velvety, or villous, (buds caprea-type or intermediate).
stipules absent, rudimentary or foliaceous on early ones, foliaceous on late ones, apex acute;
petiole shallowly grooved, or convex to flat adaxially, 5–8 mm, puberulent adaxially;
largest medial blade narrowly elliptic or elliptic, (20–)30–65(–75) × (8–)10–30(–35) mm, 1.8–3.7 times as long as wide, base convex, rounded, or cuneate, margins slightly revolute or flat, entire or shallowly serrulate, apex acute, acuminate, or convex, abaxial surface glaucous, glabrous or glabrescent, adaxial slightly glossy or dull, glabrous or pilose, midrib sparsely pubescent, hairs short, white, and ferruginous;
proximal blade margins entire or serrulate;
juvenile blade green, glabrous, or midrib sparsely villous abaxially, hairs usually white and ferruginous.
stipules absent or rudimentary on early ones, rudimentary or foliaceous on late ones, apex acute;
petiole convex to flat, or shallowly grooved adaxially, 3–13(–16) mm, tomentose or velvety adaxially;
largest medial blade elliptic, narrowly oblanceolate, oblanceolate, or obovate, 31–70–120 × 17–48 mm, 2.1–3.1–4 times as long as wide, base cuneate or convex, margins slightly revolute or flat, strongly revolute proximally, entire, irregularly serrate, or sinuate, (glands submarginal or epilaminal), apex acuminate or convex, abaxial surface not evidently glaucous, (obscured by hairs), densely short-silky, woolly, or silky-woolly, hairs straight, wavy, or curved, adaxial slightly glossy (sometimes dull and glaucous), pilose or moderately densely short-silky;
proximal blade margins entire or shallowly serrulate;
juvenile blade green, densely long-silky or woolly abaxially, (sparsely silky-tomentose adaxially), hairs white.
adaxial nectary oblong, square, or ovate, 0.2–0.9 mm;
filaments distinct, glabrous;
anthers yellow, 0.3–0.6 mm.
adaxial nectary narrowly oblong, oblong, ovate, or flask-shaped, 0.4–1.3 mm;
stamens 1;
filaments distinct, glabrous;
anthers purple turning yellow, shortly cylindrical, 0.5–0.7 mm.
adaxial nectary oblong or ovate, 0.4–0.8 mm, shorter than stipe;
stipe 0.5–1.2 mm;
ovary pyriform, glabrous, beak gradually tapering to styles;
ovules 12–19 per ovary;
styles 0.3–1.2 mm;
stigmas flat, abaxially non-papillate with rounded tip, or 2 plump lobes, 0.2–0.3–0.56 mm.
adaxial nectary square, ovate, or flask-shaped, 0.5–0.9 mm, shorter to longer than stipe;
stipe 0.4–1.4 mm;
ovary ovoid to pyriform, long- or short-silky or villous, beak sometimes slightly bulged below styles;
ovules 14–20 per ovary;
styles 0.4–0.8 mm;
stigmas flat, abaxially non-papillate with rounded tip, or broadly cylindrical, 0.16–0.28–0.4 mm.
3–7 mm.
3.5–5.6 mm.
flowering as leaves emerge; staminate stout, 11–25 × 6–11 mm, flowering branchlet 1–5 mm; pistillate densely or loosely flowered, stout, 14–38.5 × 8–14 mm, flowering branchlet 1.5–14 mm;
floral bract brown, black, or bicolor, 0.7–2 mm, apex rounded to convex, abaxially hairy, hairs wavy.
flowering just before or as leaves emerge; staminate slender or stout, (17–)22–54 × 8–15 mm, flowering branchlet 1–9 mm; pistillate moderately densely flowered, slender to stout, 25–73(–115 in fruit) × 5–15 mm, flowering branchlet 1–20 mm;
floral bract tawny to dark brown, 1.4–2.4 mm, apex rounded or acute, abaxially hairy, hairs straight or wavy.
= 38.
Salix farriae
Salix sitchensis
Salix farriae is a cordilleran species ranging from Wyoming to central British Columbia with disjunct occurrences in northwestern British Columbia, western Northwest Territories, and southern Yukon. It is related to S. hastata, an amphiberingian species ranging from Scandinavia to southwestern Yukon and northwestern Northwest Territories. There may be reasons for treating these slightly different plants as S. hastata var. farriae, but R. D. Dorn (1975) maintained them as a species based on flavonoid differences. In a phenetic study (G. W. Argus 2007), the two taxa had dissimilarity values at the same level as other closely related species. They are treated here as species, primarily because their ranges are disjunct. They can be separated as follows:
Salix farriae is distinguished from S. hastata by having largest medial blades narrowly elliptic to elliptic, pistillate nectaries oblong or ovate, stipules on early leaves absent or rudimentary (sometimes foliaceous), branches strongly to weakly glaucous or not, floral bract apices rounded, and plants of the cordillera in Alberta and British Columbia, in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Wyoming; S. hastata has largest medial blades narrowly elliptic to broadly elliptic or broadly obovate, pistillate nectaries square, stipules on early leaves foliaceous (sometimes rudimentary), branches not glaucous, floral bract apices acute or rounded, and plants of Alaska, Northwest Territories, and Yukon.
Salix farriae and S. barclayi are sympatric in western Canada and the Pacific Northwest, where they are difficult to separate. Salix farriae can often be recognized by its largest medial leaves with at least some minute, ferruginous hairs on the adaxial midrib or blade surfaces; ferruginous hairs do not occur in S. barclayi. Its leaf margins also tend to be more nearly entire, but relatively short teeth are not infrequent. Such plants are sometimes interpreted as intergrades between S. farriae and S. barclayi (R. D. Dorn 1975). The variable leaf toothing also occurs in S. hastata and may not be a reliable indicator of intergradation. Salix farriae also differs from S. barclayi in usually having shorter anthers, 0.3–0.6 mm versus 0.6–1 mm in S. barclayi. See 61. S. barclayi.
Hybrids:
Salix farriae forms natural hybrids with S. barclayi.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Ovary hairiness in some Salix sitchensis populations varies from uniformly hairy to glabrescent, with intermediates with patchy or streaky hairiness. All three variations can occur together and do not seem to indicate hybridization.
Both Salix sitchensis and S. scouleriana have similar variants with leaves having very densely curly hairs on abaxial surfaces [S. sitchensis forma coulteri (Andersson) Jepson and S. scouleriana forma poikila (C. K. Schneider) C. K. Schneider]. Plants resembling S. drummondiana but with similar indumentum probably are hybrids with S. alaxensis (see 84. S. drummondiana). The coulteri taxon resembles S. delnortensis in having stipules with adaxial surfaces glabrous and very sparsely glandular toward the base, densely hairy abaxially, and with gland-dotted margins; its branchlets have wavy to crinkly hairs. The possible hybrid origin of S. delnortensis needs study (R. D. Dorn 2000).
Hybrids:
Salix sitchensis forms natural hybrids with S. alaxensis var. longistylis and S. melanopsis. Hybridization with S. geyeriana reported by J. K. Henry (1915) is not based on convincing specimens.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
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OR, 
WA - Local Web sites:
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PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
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- Local floras: BC,
CA, OR, WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria
- WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
