Salix lucida
Salix argyrocarpa
Pacific willow (var. lasiandra), shining willow, whiplash willow (ssp. caudata)
Labrador willow
branches red-brown or brownish, not or weakly glaucous, (highly glossy), pubescent to glabrescent;
branchlets yellow-brown or red-brown, sparsely pubescent.
stipules foliaceous, apex convex to rounded;
petiole shallowly to deeply grooved adaxially, 5–13 mm, with clusters of spherical or foliaceous glands distally, glabrous, pilose, or densely villous adaxially;
largest medial blade usually hypostomatous or hemiamphistomatous, rarely amphistomatous, lorate, very narrowly elliptic, narrowly elliptic, or lanceolate, (24–)55–133 × 11–43 mm, 2.5–6.2 times as long as wide, base convex or cuneate, margins flat, serrulate, apex acuminate to caudate, abaxial surface usually not glaucous (rarely so), glabrous, pilose, or moderately densely villous or long-silky, hairs appressed or spreading, white and/or ferruginous, straight or wavy, (coarse, caducous), adaxial (secondary veins flat or protruding), slightly or highly glossy, glabrous, pilose, or long-silky, hairs white and/or ferruginous;
proximal blade margins entire and glandular-dotted, or serrulate or crenulate;
juvenile blade reddish or yellowish green, glabrous or densely villous or long-silky abaxially, hairs white and ferruginous.
stipules absent or rudimentary on early ones;
petiole shallowly grooved adaxially, 3–8 mm, (sometimes glands present distally), pubescent adaxially;
largest medial blade narrowly elliptic, narrowly oblong, or oblanceolate 25–65 × 7–15 mm, base cuneate or convex, margins strongly revolute, entire or crenulate, (glands submarginal or epilaminal), apex acute, convex, or acuminate, abaxial surface glaucous (sometimes obscured by hairs), pilose or densely long-silky or villous, (midribs yellow, prominent, glabrous or pubescent), hairs (white, sometimes also ferruginous), straight or wavy, adaxial slightly glossy, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, especially midrib, (hairs white, sometimes also ferruginous);
proximal blade margins entire;
juvenile blade yellowish green, sparsely to moderately densely long-silky abaxially, hairs white.
abaxial nectary 0.5–1.1 mm, adaxial nectary square or ovate, 0.3–0.9 mm, nectaries connate and cup-shaped;
stamens 3–6;
filaments distinct, hairy on proximal 1/2 or basally;
anthers ellipsoid, shortly cylindrical, obovoid, or globose, 0.6–0.8 mm.
(abaxial nectary 0–0.6 mm), adaxial nectary oblong, narrowly oblong, or square, 0.4–1 mm, (nectaries usually distinct, sometimes cupulate);
filaments distinct;
anthers purple turning yellow, 0.4–0.5 mm.
adaxial nectary square or ovate, (swollen), 0.2–0.5 mm, shorter than stipe;
stipe 0.5–2 mm;
ovary pyriform, beak slightly bulged below or gradually tapering to styles;
ovules 18–24 per ovary;
styles connate or distinct 1/2 their lengths, 0.5–0.8 mm;
stigmas flat, abaxially non-papillate with rounded tip, broadly cylindrical, or 2 plump lobes, 0.24–0.31–0.42 mm.
adaxial nectary narrowly oblong, oblong, or square, 0.3–1.1 mm;
ovary pyriform, beak gradually tapering to styles;
ovules 12–13 per ovary;
styles 0.4–0.9 mm.
5–7 mm.
2–4 mm.
staminate 19–69 × 4–14 mm, flowering branchlet 5–23 mm; pistillate (fruiting in summer), moderately densely to loosely flowered, slender to stout, 23–56(–70 in fruit) × 8–12 mm, flowering branchlet 8–25 mm;
floral bract 1.5–3 mm, apex convex or rounded, entire or toothed, abaxially sparsely hairy throughout or proximally, hairs wavy.
flowering as leaves emerge; staminate stout or subglobose, 10–21.5 × 6–10 mm, flowering branchlet 1–8 mm; pistillate densely to moderately densely flowered, stout to subglobose, 11–20.5(–25 in fruit) × 5.5–17 mm, flowering branchlet 1–13 mm;
floral bract tawny, brown, or bicolor, 0.7–1.2 mm, apex rounded, abaxially hairy, hairs straight.
= 76.
= 76.
Salix lucida
Salix argyrocarpa
The Virginia plants of Salix lucida are introduced (G. W. Argus 1986).
The Salix lucida complex is a group of three weakly delimited taxa, S. lasiandra var. caudata, S. lasiandra var. lasiandra, and S. lucida. The morphological characters used to separate them (leaves amphistomatous or hypostomatous and blades glaucous abaxially or not) are usually geographically correlated, but there are exceptions. G. W. Argus (1986b) proposed, based on principal components analysis of morphological data, to treat them as a single species consisting of three subspecies. The geographic overlap of the northeastern S. lucida and the western S. lasiandra is a relatively small area in central Saskatchewan. Evidence of intergradation was based on cultivation of a plant that, in the wild, had leaves that were not glaucous abaxially but were glaucous in cultivation. It seems best to treat them as two species, S. lucida and S. lasiandra, the latter with two varieties, var. lasiandra and var. caudata.
Hybrids:
Salix lucida forms natural hybrids with S. alba and S. nigra. Hybrids with S. serissima have been reported (M. L. Fernald 1950) but no convincing specimens have been seen. Attempts to hybridize S. lucida with members of subg. Protitea (S. amygdaloides), subg. Longifoliae (S. interior), and subg. Vetrix (S. discolor, S. eriocephala, and S. petiolaris) were unsuccessful (A. Mosseler 1990).
Salix lucida × S. nigra (S. ×schneideri B. Boivin) seems to be a rare intersubgeneric hybrid between tetraploid S. lucida and diploid S. nigra. It is known only from the type specimen, an infertile plant, growing with both parents. It resembles S. lucida in bud-scale margins connate, in petiolar glands stalked or foliaceous, and in leaf shape, and S. nigra in stipules rudimentary on proximal leaves and sometimes even on early leaves, stipule apex acute, pistillate catkins relatively long and slender, and styles relatively short.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Salix argyrocarpa occurs in Nunavut on the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay.
In the field, Salix argyrocarpa can be confused with S. glauca. They are not closely related but both have staminate flowers with both abaxial and adaxial nectaries, and tawny floral bracts. In subg. Vetrix, this characteristic occurs also in S. wolfii and sometimes in S. orestera, where it may be attributable to hybridization. See 54. S. wolfii for comment.
Vegetative specimens of Salix argyrocarpa and S. pellita are sometimes difficult to separate. There is no evidence that they hybridize.
Salix argyrocarpa is distinguished from S. pellita by having plants 0.2–1 m, stems delicate, largest medial blades 25–65 mm, 3.3–5.9 times as long as wide, branches highly glossy, not or weakly glaucous, flexible at base, and juvenile blades long-silky; S. pellita has plants 0.5–6 m, stems coarse, largest medial blades 40–123 mm, 4.2–11.3 times as long as wide, branches slightly glossy, often strongly glaucous, highly to ± brittle at base, and juvenile blades glabrous or pubescent, tomentose, or short-silky.
Hybrids:
Salix argyrocarpa forms natural hybrids with S. herbacea, S. pedicellaris, and S. planifolia.
Salix argyrocarpa × S. herbacea has leaf shape and margin dentition of S. herbacea but resembles S. argyrocarpa in having leaves glaucous abaxially, along with some white, silky hairs (especially on proximal leaves), juvenile leaves often revolute or infolded, and ovaries glabrous or with patches of hair, hairs appressed, short, straight or slightly curved, and flattened (having a saberlike appearance). These hybrids are sometimes misidentified as S. arctophila × S. herbacea, but ovary hair type and other characters suggest that S. argyrocarpa is the second parent. Occasional specimens with ferruginous hairs on the leaves suggest the influence of S. pellita or S. planifolia.
Salix argyrocarpa × S. pedicellaris (S. ×dutillyi Lepage) resembles S. pedicellaris in leaf shape and size and in having ovaries usually glabrous, although with patches or streaks of hair, and S. argyrocarpa in having leaves sparsely long-silky abaxially, in margins sparsely crenulate, and in proximal leaves with long-silky hairs abaxially. This hybrid is widespread in northern Quebec (G. W. Argus, unpubl.), where backcrosses seem to occur.
Salix argyrocarpa × S. planifolia (S. ×grayi C. K. Schneider): The collector, C. E. Faxon, noted that it could be distinguished at a distance from S. planifolia by its dull white color and upright branching, and from S. argyrocarpa by being taller. It resembles S. argyrocarpa in having juvenile leaves yellow-green, in catkins shorter and borne on longer flowering branchlets, and in stigmas purplish red. It resembles S. planifolia in having juvenile leaves with ferruginous hairs, and in the general appearance of the catkins (M. S. Bebb 1890).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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