Salix lucida
Salix candida
Pacific willow (var. lasiandra), shining willow, whiplash willow (ssp. caudata)
hoary willow, sage willow, sage-leaf willow
branches dark gray-brown to yellow-brown, not glaucous, woolly in patches or floccose to glabrescent;
branchlets yellow-brown to red-brown or gray-brown, densely (white) woolly or tomentose, sometimes floccose.
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 rudimentary or foliaceous on early ones, late ones 2–3.6 mm, apex acute;
petiole shallowly to deeply grooved adaxially, 3–10 mm, tomentose or densely (white) woolly adaxially (obscured by hairs);
largest medial blade lorate, narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate, 47–103 × 5–20 mm, base convex or cuneate, margins strongly to slightly revolute, entire, or sinuate, apex acute or convex, abaxial surface glaucous (generally obscured by hairs), very densely to sparsely tomentose-woolly (cobwebby in age), hairs dull white, crinkled, adaxial dull or slightly glossy, moderately densely to sparsely tomentose, floccose, hairs dull white;
proximal blade margins entire;
juvenile blade yellowish green, very densely tomentose 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.
adaxial nectary narrowly oblong to oblong, 0.6–1 mm;
filaments distinct or connate less than 1/2 their lengths;
anthers purple turning yellow, ellipsoid, long-cylindrical, or globose, 0.4–0.6 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 oblong, 0.4–1 mm;
ovary pyriform, beak sometimes slightly bulged below styles;
ovules 12–18 per ovary;
styles 0.3–1.9 mm.
5–7 mm.
4–6 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, 17–39 × 8–16 mm, flowering branchlet 0.5–7 mm; pistillate densely to moderately densely flowered, stout or slender, 20–66 × 9–18 mm, flowering branchlet 1–24 mm;
floral bract tawny or brown, 1.2–1.8 mm, apex rounded or acute, abaxially hairy, hairs straight to wavy.
= 76.
= 38.
Salix lucida
Salix candida
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.)
Occurrence of Salix candida in Nunavut is on Akimiski Island in James Bay.
Salix candida is geographically wide-ranging but limited to calcareous habitats and, for that reason, it is quite local or even rare in some parts of its range.
Hybrids:
Salix candida forms natural hybrids with S. bebbiana, S. brachycarpa var. brachycarpa, S. calcicola, S. eriocephala, S. famelica, S. myrtillifolia, S. petiolaris, and S. planifolia. Hybrids with S. discolor, S. petiolaris, and S. sericea have been reported (the latter also by C. K. Schneider 1921; M. L. Fernald 1950) but no convincing specimens have been seen. Salix candida hybrids are recognized from their woolly indumentum that often is conspicuous on leaves, stems, and ovaries. In hybrids, these characters, especially woolly patches on ovaries, stand out as discordant variation.
Salix candida × S. eriocephala (S. ×rubella Bebb ex C. K. Schneider) was described by W. W. Rowlee and K. M. Wiegand (1896) as S. candida × S. cordata. In addition to woolly patches on the ovaries, they noted that buds of the hybrids usually are shorter, more divergent, and blunter than those in S. eriocephala, and are glabrous or hairy. Known from New York and Newfoundland; it should be expected throughout the sympatric range of the parental species.
Salix candida × S. famelica: The Saskatchewan specimen resembles S. famelica but has the leaf indumentum of S. candida.
Salix candida × S. myrtillifolia: Saskatchewan specimens combine characters of the two parents.
Salix candida × S. petiolaris: Intermediates between these species are known from Michigan and New York (W. W. Rowlee and K. M. Wiegand 1896) as well as Ontario and Saskatchewan, but can be expected wherever the two grow together. The invalid name “S. ×clarkei” is sometimes used for this hybrid.
The glabrescent form of Salix candida, forma denudata (Andersson) Rouleau, may be of hybrid origin.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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