Flora of North America species comparison

Sometimes Salix interior is treated as a subspecies of S. exigua (R. D. Dorn 1998). Salix exigua and S. interior hybridize and apparently intergrade in the western Great Plains; because the area of overlap is relatively small and distinctiveness of the two taxa is not compromised by hybridization and introgression, it is best to treat them as separate species.

Leaves on sylleptic shoots are usually very densely silky. Salix interior sometimes has shoots that arise from buds on either side of the normal axillary bud. They do not seem to be directly related to the stipules because they are enclosed by the petiole. Catkins with both staminate and pistillate flowers are rare in S. interior, but a Quebec specimen had some catkins predominantly pistillate and others staminate; most were a mixture. The flowers were not teratological, but a mature capsule contained aborted ovules.

Hybrids:

Salix interior forms natural hybrids with S. exigua var. exigua. Controlled pollinations using S. interior (as S. exigua) from southern Ontario (A. Mosseler 1990) successfully produced F1 hybrids with S. bebbiana, S. discolor, S. eriocephala, and S. petiolaris. Seed production was usually relatively low, except in crosses with S. discolor. In general, F1 viability was relatively low in crosses with these members of subg. Vetrix. No seeds were produced in crosses with members of subgenera Protitea or Salix. Morphology of the hybrids usually was intermediate between the two parents, but when S. petiolaris was used as the maternal parent, the F1s more closely resembled that species. J. Salick and E. Pfeffer (1999) extended these findings to show that, although crosses between S. interior (as S. exigua) and S. eriocephala are partially sterile, their clonal growth parameters (sprouting, shoot length, and biomass production) are strong and thus permit these partially sterile hybrids to exist as successful individuals and perhaps to “... make a contribution to interspecific gene flow over time.” Of particular taxonomic interest is that, in this cross, the staminate parent has a significant influence on leaf shape, whereas in the cross S. eriocephala × S. petiolaris it is the pistillate parent that is significant for leaf shape. Relatively few hybrids resembling those produced by Mosseler have been recognized in nature, but it is possible that the unusually broadly leaved plants named S. interior var. exterior and var. wheeleri, from northern Maine, Nebraska, New York, and West Virginia, and probably elsewhere, may be hybrids. Phenological isolation may be strong enough to prevent crosses in nature (A. Mosseler and C. S. Papadopol 1989) with the earlier flowering S. eriocephala and S. petiolaris, a barrier that even an occasional period of overlap cannot breach.

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

Of conservation concern.

Salix arizonica is very similar to S. boothii. They were separated by Dorn on the presence of five flavonoid compounds identified in S. boothii not found in S. arizonica. Some morphological differences were noted but the characters used to separate them are quite variable. The most important feature seems to be the usually broader leaves of S. arizonica. In addition, the diploid chromosome number for S. arizonica separates it from the tetraploid S. boothii. Although the two are distinct species, the overlap in their morphological characters suggests that positive identification needs to be based on chromosome number or chromatographic analysis.

Salix arizonica is distinguished from S. boothii by having stipule apices convex to rounded, petioles 3–7.5 mm, juvenile blades glabrous or hairy, hairs white, largest medial blades elliptic or broadly elliptic, 20–50 mm, 1.6–3.6 times as long as wide, abaxial surfaces with white hairs, staminate catkins 1–1.7 times as long as broad, pistillate catkins 1.2–2.8 times as long broad, floral bract apices acute to convex, nectaries narrowly oblong to oblong, staminate nectaries 0.4–0.8 mm, anthers 0.4–0.6 mm, filaments distinct, glabrous, pistillate nectaries shorter to longer than stipes, stipes 0.2–1 mm, stigmas broadly cylindrical, and capsules 3.2–4.5 mm; S. boothii has stipule apices acuminate or acute to rounded, petioles 3–17 mm, juvenile blades hairy, hairs white, sometimes also ferruginous, largest medial blades lorate to narrowly or broadly elliptic, 26–102 mm, 2–5.2 times as long as wide, abaxial surfaces with white, sometimes also ferruginous, hairs, staminate catkins 1.2–3.1 times as long as broad, pistillate catkins 1.4–4.1 times as long as broad, floral bract apices rounded or retuse, nectaries narrowly oblong to ovate or flask-shaped, staminate nectaries 0.6–1.5 mm, anthers 0.48–0.8 mm, filaments distinct to connate about half their lengths, glabrous or hairy, pistillate nectaries shorter than stipes, stipes 0.5–2.5 mm, stigmas flat, abaxially non-papillate with rounded tip, slenderly cylindrical or plump, and capsules 2.5–6 mm.

Salix arizonica, originally known from Mt. Baldy in east-central Arizona, was proposed for listing under the United States Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants Act, but the proposal was withdrawn when additional populations were discovered in southern Utah and in New Mexico; it is now listed as a “sensitive species” (K. Decker, www.fs.us/r2/projects/scp/assessments/salixarizonica.pdf). Major conservation concerns are from browsing by cattle and elk (J. Maschinski 2001) and Melampsora infection (M. L. Fairweather 1993; R. A. Obedzinski et al. 2001). The Arizona populations receive minimal protection from cattle and wildlife browsing by exclosures and by introduction into new localities. The Arizona and Utah populations have a genetic similarity of ca. 37%, which has been attributed to a period of panmixis followed by a long period of isolation in regions with different environments (J. T. Thompson et al. 2003).

Salix arizonica is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.

Hybrids:

Salix arizonica forms natural hybrids with S. brachycarpa, S. eastwoodiae, and S. lutea.

Salix arizonica × S. brachycarpa var. brachycarpa occurs in southern Utah. Its parentage is supported by chromatographic data (E. D. McArthur, pers. comm.).

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