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Coulter willow, Sitka willow

autumn willow

Habit Shrubs or trees, 1–8 m, (sometimes forming clones by stem fragmentation). Shrubs, 1–5 m. Stems: branches usually flexible at base, sometimes brittle, yellow-brown, red-brown, or gray-brown, glabrous, slightly glossy or dull; branchlets yellow-brown or red-brown, glabrous, slightly or highly glossy.
Stems

branches (sometimes highly brittle at base), yellow-brown or red-brown, not glaucous, glabrous or pilose;

branchlets yellow-brown, gray-brown, or red-brown, densely short-silky, velvety, or villous, (buds caprea-type or intermediate).

Leaves

stipules absent or rudimentary on early ones, rudimentary or foliaceous on late ones, apex acute;

petiole convex to flat, or shallowly grooved adaxially, 3–13(–16) mm, tomentose or velvety adaxially;

largest medial blade elliptic, narrowly oblanceolate, oblanceolate, or obovate, 31–70–120 × 17–48 mm, 2.1–3.1–4 times as long as wide, base cuneate or convex, margins slightly revolute or flat, strongly revolute proximally, entire, irregularly serrate, or sinuate, (glands submarginal or epilaminal), apex acuminate or convex, abaxial surface not evidently glaucous, (obscured by hairs), densely short-silky, woolly, or silky-woolly, hairs straight, wavy, or curved, adaxial slightly glossy (sometimes dull and glaucous), pilose or moderately densely short-silky;

proximal blade margins entire or shallowly serrulate;

juvenile blade green, densely long-silky or woolly abaxially, (sparsely silky-tomentose adaxially), hairs white.

stipules absent or rudimentary;

petiole shallowly to deeply grooved adaxially, 3–13 mm, with pairs of spherical glands distally or throughout, glabrous adaxially;

largest medial blade hypostomatous or hemiamphistomatous, narrowly oblong, very narrowly elliptic, elliptic, lanceolate, or narrowly ovate, 43–110 × 9–33 mm, 2.4–6 times as long as wide, base convex or cuneate, margins flat, serrulate, apex acuminate, caudate, or acute, abaxial surface usually not glaucous, sometimes thinly so (appearing pale green), slightly glossy, glabrous, adaxial highly glossy, glabrous;

proximal blade margins serrulate or entire;

juvenile blade reddish or yellowish green, glabrous abaxially.

Staminate flowers

adaxial nectary narrowly oblong, oblong, ovate, or flask-shaped, 0.4–1.3 mm;

stamens 1;

filaments distinct, glabrous;

anthers purple turning yellow, shortly cylindrical, 0.5–0.7 mm.

abaxial nectary 0.5–1.1 mm, adaxial nectary oblong or ovate, 0.4–1.1 mm, nectaries distinct or connate and cup-shaped;

stamens 3–9;

filaments distinct or basally connate, hairy on proximal 1/2 or basally;

anthers ellipsoid or shortly cylindrical, 0.5–0.7 mm.

Pistillate flowers

adaxial nectary square, ovate, or flask-shaped, 0.5–0.9 mm, shorter to longer than stipe;

stipe 0.4–1.4 mm;

ovary ovoid to pyriform, long- or short-silky or villous, beak sometimes slightly bulged below styles;

ovules 14–20 per ovary;

styles 0.4–0.8 mm;

stigmas flat, abaxially non-papillate with rounded tip, or broadly cylindrical, 0.16–0.28–0.4 mm.

adaxial nectary ovate, oblong, or flask-shaped, 0.3–1.1 mm, shorter than stipe;

stipe 1.2–2.4 mm;

ovary pyriform to obclavate, beak slightly bulged below or abruptly tapering to styles;

ovules 12–16 per ovary;

styles connate, 0.3–1 mm;

stigmas flat, abaxially non-papillate with rounded tip, or slenderly cylindrical, 0.4–0.7 mm.

Capsules

3.5–5.6 mm.

7–12 mm.

Catkins

flowering just before or as leaves emerge; staminate slender or stout, (17–)22–54 × 8–15 mm, flowering branchlet 1–9 mm; pistillate moderately densely flowered, slender to stout, 25–73(–115 in fruit) × 5–15 mm, flowering branchlet 1–20 mm;

floral bract tawny to dark brown, 1.4–2.4 mm, apex rounded or acute, abaxially hairy, hairs straight or wavy.

staminate (stout), 25–53 × 12–16 mm, flowering branchlet 5–14 mm; pistillate (fruiting in autumn, often persistent) moderately densely to loosely flowered, stout to globose, 17–42(–65 in fruit) × 11–22 mm, flowering branchlet 5–32(–65 in fruit) mm;

floral bract (sometimes greenish tawny), 1.2–4 mm, apex acute, rounded, or truncate, glandular-toothed, abaxially moderately densely hairy, hairs straight or wavy.

2n

= 38.

= 76.

Salix sitchensis

Salix serissima

Phenology Flowering early Apr-mid Jun (Mar in California). Flowering early Jun-early Jul.
Habitat Tidal swamps and marshes, coastal fog belts and headlands, sand dunes, springs, gravelly streambeds and deltas, glacial moraines, avalanche tracks, dry canyons, clearings and edges of forests, shade tolerant Wet thickets, fens, brackish marshy strands, marly lakeshores, treed bogs, gravelly stream banks, lakeshores
Elevation 0-1800 m (0-5900 ft) 10-3000 m (0-9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; MT; OR; WA; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CO; CT; IL; IN; MA; MI; MN; MT; ND; NJ; NY; OH; PA; SD; VT; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NT; NU; QC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Ovary hairiness in some Salix sitchensis populations varies from uniformly hairy to glabrescent, with intermediates with patchy or streaky hairiness. All three variations can occur together and do not seem to indicate hybridization.

Both Salix sitchensis and S. scouleriana have similar variants with leaves having very densely curly hairs on abaxial surfaces [S. sitchensis forma coulteri (Andersson) Jepson and S. scouleriana forma poikila (C. K. Schneider) C. K. Schneider]. Plants resembling S. drummondiana but with similar indumentum probably are hybrids with S. alaxensis (see 84. S. drummondiana). The coulteri taxon resembles S. delnortensis in having stipules with adaxial surfaces glabrous and very sparsely glandular toward the base, densely hairy abaxially, and with gland-dotted margins; its branchlets have wavy to crinkly hairs. The possible hybrid origin of S. delnortensis needs study (R. D. Dorn 2000).

Hybrids:

Salix sitchensis forms natural hybrids with S. alaxensis var. longistylis and S. melanopsis. Hybridization with S. geyeriana reported by J. K. Henry (1915) is not based on convincing specimens.

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

Salix serissima is found in Nunavut only on Akimiski Island in James Bay.

Flowering of Salix serissima is often described as serotinous (i.e., long after leaves emerge), but actually, they flower just as leaves emerge. Although they flower only a little later in spring than related species, they set fruit in late summer, and fruiting catkins often persist throughout winter. Their seeds remain dormant throughout the winter and germinate in the spring, thus enabling them to invade fens by completing their first annual growth before the sedges and grasses are tall enough to shade them out. This strategy has been reported to occur also in the related S. pentandra (A. K. Skvortsov 1999).

North American Salix serissima is closely related to Eurasian S. pseudopentandra (Floderus) Floderus (A. K. Skvortsov 1999), which is known in China as S. pentandra var. intermedia Nakai and possibly also S. humaensis Y. L. Chou & R. C. Chou (Fang Z. F. et al. 1999). The relationship of S. serissima and S. pseudopentandra is similar to that of S. arbusculoides and S. boganidensis (G. W. Argus 1997). These two species, along with the amphiberingian S. vestita, are relictual members of former panboreal distributions.

Hybrids:

Hybrids between Salix lucida and S. serissima have been reported (M. L. Fernald 1950); no convincing specimens have been seen.

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

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 159. FNA vol. 7, p. 45.
Parent taxa Salicaceae > Salix > subg. Vetrix > sect. Sitchenses Salicaceae > Salix > subg. Salix > sect. Salicaster
Sibling taxa
S. alaxensis, S. alba, S. amygdaloides, S. arbusculoides, S. arctica, S. arctophila, S. argyrocarpa, S. arizonica, S. athabascensis, S. atrocinerea, S. aurita, S. babylonica, S. ballii, S. barclayi, S. barrattiana, S. bebbiana, S. bonplandiana, S. boothii, S. brachycarpa, S. breweri, S. calcicola, S. candida, S. caprea, S. caroliniana, S. cascadensis, S. chamissonis, S. chlorolepis, S. cinerea, S. columbiana, S. commutata, S. cordata, S. daphnoides, S. delnortensis, S. discolor, S. drummondiana, S. eastwoodiae, S. elaeagnos, S. eriocephala, S. euxina, S. exigua, S. famelica, S. farriae, S. floridana, S. fuscescens, S. geyeriana, S. glauca, S. gooddingii, S. hastata, S. herbacea, S. hookeriana, S. humboldtiana, S. humilis, S. interior, S. irrorata, S. jejuna, S. jepsonii, S. laevigata, S. lasiandra, S. lasiolepis, S. lemmonii, S. ligulifolia, S. lucida, S. lutea, S. maccalliana, S. melanopsis, S. monochroma, S. monticola, S. myricoides, S. myrsinifolia, S. myrtillifolia, S. nigra, S. niphoclada, S. nivalis, S. nummularia, S. orestera, S. ovalifolia, S. pedicellaris, S. pellita, S. pentandra, S. petiolaris, S. petrophila, S. phlebophylla, S. planifolia, S. polaris, S. prolixa, S. pseudomonticola, S. pseudomyrsinites, S. pulchra, S. purpurea, S. pyrifolia, S. raupii, S. reticulata, S. richardsonii, S. rotundifolia, S. scouleriana, S. sericea, S. serissima, S. sessilifolia, S. setchelliana, S. silicicola, S. sphenophylla, S. stolonifera, S. taxifolia, S. thurberi, S. tracyi, S. triandra, S. turnorii, S. tweedyi, S. tyrrellii, S. uva-ursi, S. vestita, S. viminalis, S. wolfii, S. ×fragilis, S. ×jesupii, S. ×pendulina, S. ×sepulcralis, S. ×smithiana
S. alaxensis, S. alba, S. amygdaloides, S. arbusculoides, S. arctica, S. arctophila, S. argyrocarpa, S. arizonica, S. athabascensis, S. atrocinerea, S. aurita, S. babylonica, S. ballii, S. barclayi, S. barrattiana, S. bebbiana, S. bonplandiana, S. boothii, S. brachycarpa, S. breweri, S. calcicola, S. candida, S. caprea, S. caroliniana, S. cascadensis, S. chamissonis, S. chlorolepis, S. cinerea, S. columbiana, S. commutata, S. cordata, S. daphnoides, S. delnortensis, S. discolor, S. drummondiana, S. eastwoodiae, S. elaeagnos, S. eriocephala, S. euxina, S. exigua, S. famelica, S. farriae, S. floridana, S. fuscescens, S. geyeriana, S. glauca, S. gooddingii, S. hastata, S. herbacea, S. hookeriana, S. humboldtiana, S. humilis, S. interior, S. irrorata, S. jejuna, S. jepsonii, S. laevigata, S. lasiandra, S. lasiolepis, S. lemmonii, S. ligulifolia, S. lucida, S. lutea, S. maccalliana, S. melanopsis, S. monochroma, S. monticola, S. myricoides, S. myrsinifolia, S. myrtillifolia, S. nigra, S. niphoclada, S. nivalis, S. nummularia, S. orestera, S. ovalifolia, S. pedicellaris, S. pellita, S. pentandra, S. petiolaris, S. petrophila, S. phlebophylla, S. planifolia, S. polaris, S. prolixa, S. pseudomonticola, S. pseudomyrsinites, S. pulchra, S. purpurea, S. pyrifolia, S. raupii, S. reticulata, S. richardsonii, S. rotundifolia, S. scouleriana, S. sericea, S. sessilifolia, S. setchelliana, S. silicicola, S. sitchensis, S. sphenophylla, S. stolonifera, S. taxifolia, S. thurberi, S. tracyi, S. triandra, S. turnorii, S. tweedyi, S. tyrrellii, S. uva-ursi, S. vestita, S. viminalis, S. wolfii, S. ×fragilis, S. ×jesupii, S. ×pendulina, S. ×sepulcralis, S. ×smithiana
Synonyms S. coulteri, S. sitchensis var. parvifolia S. lucida var. serissima
Name authority Sanson ex Bongard: Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St.-Pétersbourg, Sér. 6, Sci. Math. 2: 162. (1832) (L. H. Bailey) Fernald: Rhodora 6: 6. (1903)
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