Plants→Salix→Sand-Bar Willow (Salix interior)

Sanbar Willow is usually a little-branched upright shrub about 8 feet high, but it infrequently can be a small tree 20 to 30 feet with a trunk 3 to 6 inches in diameter. It has the narrowest leaves of about all willows that are 2 to 6 inches long by 1/8th to 3/8th inches wide. These linear leaves have small, distinct teeth on the margins widely spaced apart from each other. The top of the leaves are medium green and the bottoms a little lighter green. Being dioecious like other willow, the male catkins are about 1 to 2 inches long, narrowly cylindrical, with no petals or sepals, but with prominent yellow stamen. The female catkins are 1.5 to 3 inches long and mostly green, turning brownish later. This species keeps putting out catkins later than other willows, into Late June or July. It has a large native range from Louisiana & east Texas & Mississippi to most of Montana to the west and to West Virginia and to New England on the east, then up Canada into central Alaska, growing in wet places. It is a common shrub willow species in much of its range. It spreads by underground runners to form a colony. A few native plant nurseries sell some.

[ Reply to this comment | ]