Salix humboldtiana |
Salix aurita |
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Humboldt's willow |
eared willow |
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Habit | Shrubs, 1–3 m. Stems: branches brownish, not glaucous, pubescent to glabrescent, (peeled wood often with very dense striae, to 21 mm); branchlets red-brown or yellow-brown, (weakly glaucous), sparsely tomentose. | |
Leaves | stipules foliaceous, apex acute or convex; petiole convex to flat adaxially, 2–9 mm, velvety adaxially; largest medial blade obovate, broadly obovate, or elliptic, 27–85 × 14–35 mm, 1.5–2.8 times as long as wide, base convex or cuneate, margins slightly revolute, entire, remotely or irregularly serrate, or crenate, (glands submarginal), apex acuminate or convex, abaxial surface glaucous, pubescent or pilose, hairs (white, sometimes also ferruginous) spreading or erect, wavy or crinkled, adaxial dull or slightly glossy, pubescent or pilose to glabrescent, veins more hairy, (hairs white, sometimes also ferruginous); proximal blade margins entire; juvenile blade reddish or yellowish green, densely tomentose to glabrescent abaxially, hairs white. |
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Staminate flowers | adaxial nectary oblong or square, 0.3–0.7 mm; filaments distinct, glabrous or hairy on proximal 1/2 or basally; anthers purple turning yellow, ellipsoid or shortly cylindrical, 0.5–0.8 mm. |
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Pistillate flowers | adaxial nectary oblong or square, 0.3–0.7 mm, shorter than stipe; stipe 1.4–2.6 mm; ovary pyriform, densely short-silky, hairs wavy or crinkled, beak sometimes slightly bulged below styles (long-beaked); ovules 10–12 per ovary; styles 0–0.3 mm; stigmas broadly cylindrical, 0.25–0.37–0.5 mm. |
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Capsules | 4–13 mm. |
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Salix | humboldtiana Willdenow: Humboldt willow is not known to occur in the flora area. |
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It | is characterized by: trees, 4–25 m; branches highly brittle at base, bud-scale margins distinct and overlapping adaxially; stipules on late leaves rudimentary or foliaceous; largest medial leaf blade usually linear, abaxial surface not glaucous, adaxial dull; pistillate bract deciduous after flowering; stamens 3–7; capsules with distinct, often raised, white veins.; it occurs throughout much of Mexico to central Chile. |
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Catkins | flowering before leaves emerge; staminate subglobose or globose, 15.5–21.5 × 10–15 mm, flowering branchlet 0.5–4 mm; pistillate loosely to moderately densely flowered, 15–37 × 9–20, flowering branchlet 2.5–7 mm; floral bract brown, tawny, or bicolor, 1–2.2 mm, apex acute or tapering and rounded, abaxially hairy, hairs straight. |
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2n | = 76, 38. |
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Salix humboldtiana |
Salix aurita |
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Phenology | Flowering early Apr-early Jun. | |
Habitat | Wet thickets, swamps | |
Elevation | 10-300 m (0-1000 ft) | |
Distribution |
Mexico to central Chile |
MA; PA; Europe [Introduced in North America] |
Discussion | Salix humboldtiana is closely related to S. nigra in its generally narrow leaf blades, which are not glaucous abaxially. The two differ in the following characters: S. humboldtiana has leaf blades linear to sometimes narrowly oblong (10–28.6 times as long as wide), ovaries usually ovoid to ellipsoid, ovary walls often stomatiferous and with raised, white veins, and capsule valves relatively thick, slightly recurved. S. nigra has leaf blades usually narrowly lanceolate (6–13 times as long as wide), ovaries pyriform to obclavate, ovary walls neither stomatiferous nor notably veined, and capsule valves relatively thin and strongly recurved. Both species occur in Chihuahua, Mexico. The report by R. I. Lonard et al. (1991) that specimens identified as Salix nigra from the lower Rio Grande, Texas, resemble S. humboldtiana in having strongly veined capsules suggests that S. humboldtiana, or intergrades with that species, may occur in Texas. Attempts to locate a voucher specimen were unsuccessful; because strongly veined capsules are diagnostic, further field study is indicated. An earlier name, Salix chilensis Molina, has been applied to this species; it does not seem to pertain to this taxon (C. K. Schneider 1918). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 34. | FNA vol. 7, p. 133. |
Parent taxa | Salicaceae > Salix > subg. Protitea > sect. Humboldtianae | Salicaceae > Salix > subg. Vetrix > sect. Cinerella |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Willdenow | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1019. (1753) |
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