Salix viminalis
Salix tyrrellii
basket willow, common osier, osier, osier willow, silky osier
Tyrrell's willow
branches yellow-brown, gray-brown, or yellowish, not glaucous, glabrous or puberulent;
branchlets yellow-brown or yellowish (sometimes color obscured by hairs), glabrous, densely to sparsely villous, velvety, or puberulent.
branches and branchlets red-brown, not to strongly glaucous, glabrous, (buds caprea-type or intermediate).
stipules (not adnate to petioles), rudimentary or absent on early ones, (late ones sometimes brownish, linear, 5.4–10.4 mm), apex acuminate;
petiole shallowly grooved adaxially, 4–13 mm, villous, puberulent, or velvety adaxially;
largest medial blade linear, lorate, narrowly oblong, or narrowly elliptic, 53–130 × 5–33 mm, base cuneate, margins strongly revolute, sinuate or apparently entire, (glands epilaminal), apex acuminate, acute, or convex, abaxial surface apparently glaucous (obscured by hairs), densely short-silky, woolly, or tomentose, (midribs prominent, yellowish, and hairy), hairs appressed, spreading or erect, straight or wavy, adaxial dull or slightly glossy, sparsely or moderately densely pubescent, hairs gray;
proximal blade margins entire;
juvenile blade yellowish green, very densely tomentose or short-silky abaxially, hairs white.
stipules rudimentary or foliaceous (often brownish) on early ones, foliaceous or rudimentary on late ones, (ca. 4 mm), apex acute;
petiole convex to flat, or shallowly grooved adaxially, 1–3.4–16 mm, glabrous, pilose, or short-silky adaxially;
largest medial blade (amphistomatous), narrowly elliptic, elliptic, oblanceolate, or obovate, 15–29–65 × 3.5–8.8–18 mm, 2.3–3.3–4.4 times as long as wide, base cuneate or convex, margins strongly to slightly revolute, entire, or very shallowly serrulate or shallowly serrulate-crenulate, apex acute, acuminate, or convex, abaxial surface glaucous, sparsely long-silky to glabrescent, hairs (ferruginous), straight, adaxial highly glossy, glabrous or sparsely short-silky (hairs white, sometimes also ferruginous);
proximal blade margins entire;
juvenile blade yellowish green or sometimes reddish, sparsely long-silky abaxially, hairs white and ferruginous.
adaxial nectary narrowly oblong or oblong, 0.6–1.5 mm;
filaments distinct;
anthers purple turning yellow, ellipsoid to shortly cylindrical, 0.6–0.8 mm.
adaxial nectary oblong, 0.8–1.1 mm;
filaments distinct, glabrous or hairy basally;
anthers purple turning yellow, ellipsoid, 0.4–0.7 mm.
adaxial nectary narrowly oblong or oblong, 0.9–1.4 mm;
ovary pyriform, beak gradually tapering to styles;
ovules 12–18 per ovary;
styles 0.6–1.8 mm.
adaxial nectary oblong or flask-shaped, 0.6–1.1 mm, equal to or shorter than stipe;
stipe 0.2–1 mm (–1.4 mm in cultivation);
ovary pyriform, long-silky, beak gradually tapering to styles;
ovules 12–16 per ovary;
styles 0.6–1.2 mm;
stigmas flat, abaxially non-papillate with rounded tip, or slenderly cylindrical, 0.44–0.55–0.75 mm.
4–6 mm.
3.6–5 mm.
flowering just before or as leaves emerge; staminate stout, 24–48 mm, flowering branchlet 0–2 mm; pistillate densely flowered, 23–55 mm, flowering branchlet 0–6 mm;
floral bract brown or tawny, 1.6–2.2 mm, apex convex or rounded, abaxially hairy, hairs straight.
flowering before leaves emerge; staminate stout, 14–35 × 12–16 mm, flowering branchlet 0 mm; pistillate densely flowered, stout, 17–51 × 10–13–22 mm, flowering branchlet 0–4 mm;
floral bract brown, black, or bicolor, 1–3.7 mm, apex acute to acuminate or rounded, abaxially hairy, hairs long, straight.
= 38.
Salix viminalis
Salix tyrrellii
Salix ×smithiana (S. caprea × S. viminalis) is distinguished from S. viminalis by having leaf blades usually broad, 2.8–4.9(–6.4) times as long as wide, stipes 0.9–2 mm, ovaries short-silky, branches ± brittle at base, and petioles flat to convex adaxially; S. viminalis has leaf blades usually very narrow, 4.7–13.7 times as long as wide, stipes 0.1–0.5 mm, ovaries long-silky, branches flexible at base, and petioles shallowly grooved adaxially.
See Salix ×smithiana [p. 132] and 86. S. pellita for further comparative descriptions.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Salix tyrrellii, first described from Lake Athabasca sand dunes in northwestern Saskatchewan and adjacent Alberta, is characterized by slender, amphistomatous leaves and relatively long, slender branchlets (G. W. Argus and J. W. Steele 1979). It probably evolved, in the past 10,000 years, from the widespread boreal S. planifolia. Originally, it was thought to be endemic to Lake Athabasca but recent collections from Nunavut and the Northwest Territories suggest that it may have a much wider range. Plants from Nunavut and the Northwest Territories do not have the long, slender branchlets found in sand dune populations, and identification is primarily based on the presence of amphistomatous leaves. This character, however, may be unreliable. For example, S. planifolia from 2610 m in the Glass Mountains, California, have amphistomatous leaves, suggesting that this character may be under environmental influence. The appropriate rank for this taxon remains uncertain.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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