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glaucous willow, gray willow, gray-leaf willow, grey-leaf willow, villous grey-leaf willow

Habit Plants 0.3–2 m. Stems: branches yellow-brown or red-brown, villous, soon glabrescent; branchlets sparsely to densely villous or tomentose.
Leaves

stipules sometimes marcescent, rudimentary or foliaceous on early ones, foliaceous on late ones, usually inconspicuous, narrowly elliptic to ovate, 0.9–2.8–8 mm, apex acute;

petiole 3–14 mm, villous or pilose adaxially;

largest medial blade (often amphistomatous), narrowly elliptic, elliptic, oblanceolate, or obovate, 29–80 × 8–24 mm, 2.2–3.9 times as long as wide, base sometimes rounded, apex acuminate, acute, or convex, abaxial surface pilose or moderately densely villous to glabrescent, hairs wavy, adaxial pilose or moderately densely villous to glabrescent;

proximal blade margins entire or serrulate;

juvenile blade sparsely to densely villous.

Staminate flowers

:abaxial nectary 0.1–0.8 mm, adaxial nectary oblong or ovate, 0.6–1.3 mm, filaments distinct, glabrous, or hairy on proximal 1/2.

Pistillate flowers

adaxial nectary sometimes flask-shaped, 0.6–1.4 mm;, stipe 0.3–1.5 mm, ovary pyriform, densely villous or tomentose, beak gradually tapering to or slightly bulged below styles, ovules 6–15 per ovary, styles connate to distinct 1/2 their lengths, 0.4–1.4 mm, stigmas flat, abaxially non-papillate with rounded tip, or slenderly to broadly cylindrical, 0.2–0.4–0.64 mm.

Capsules

5–8 mm.

Catkins

staminate 19–53 × 9–14 mm, flowering branchlet 1.5–20 mm;

pistillate slender to stout, 19–56(–60 in fruit) × 7–18 mm, flowering branchlet 2–27 mm;

floral bract tawny, greenish, brown, or bicolor, 1–3.4 mm, apex convex to rounded, hairs wavy.

2n

= 114.

Salix glauca var. villosa

Phenology Flowering mid May-late Jul.
Habitat Riparian in subalpine and boreal forests, forest openings, sedge meadows, treed bogs, talus slopes, boulder fields, snowflush areas, alpine tundra, limestone shale, schist, granite, quartzite substrates
Elevation 150-3800 m (500-12500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; MT; NM; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; NT; SK; YT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Variety villosa is often confused with Salix orestera in the western United States. See discussion under 55. S. orestera.

Hybrids:

Variety villosa forms natural hybrids with Salix brachycarpa and S. boothii.

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

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 91.
Parent taxa Salicaceae > Salix > subg. Chamaetia > sect. Glaucae > Salix glauca
Sibling taxa
S. glauca var. acutifolia, S. glauca var. cordifolia, S. glauca var. stipulata
Synonyms S. villosa, S. glauca var. glabrescens, S. pseudolapponum, S. wolfii var. pseudolapponum
Name authority Andersson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 4: 68. (1858)
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