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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE WILLOW FAMILY | |||||||||
| The willows are widespread, especially in north temperate and subarctic regions of the world. The bark on the trunks may be smooth or rough and can vary in colour from white to brownish to gray. The leaves are simple and alternate. The male and female flowers are on separate plants. The flowers are in spike-like clusters called catkins. The flowers are very small and do not have sepals or petals. The male flowers consist of nectaries and stamens with a single bract below. The female flowers consist of nectaries, and a superior ovary with a single bract below. The fruit is a capsule that contains many small seeds, each of which has a tuft of long, white silky hairs. | |||||||||
| SAND-LOVING WILLOW | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Salix brachycarpa var. psammophila | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Sand-loving willow is a low shrub that grows as tall as 1 m. The branches are reddish-brown and the outer layers of bark are often peeling. The branchlets are densely white or gray-woolly. The internodes are short, resulting in a fan-like arrangement of leaves. The leaf stalks are short and reddish to yellowish in colour. The leaf blades are egg-shaped and are densely gray-hairy, at least on the lower surface. The catkins appear at the same time as the leaves and are on leafy stalks. The female catkins are short and nearly round. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Sand-loving willow grows in active sand dunes. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in northwestern Saskatchewan in the Athabasca Plain ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Sand-loving willow is vulnerable because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan. It is usually locally numerous within limited areas. No immediate threats known but may occur in the future. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY SAND-LOVING WILLOW | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves egg-shaped and densely woolly-hairy,
at least on the lower surface? * Do the catkins appear at the same time as the leaves? * Do the leaves appear to be in a fan-like arrangement? * Did you find it in a sand dune northwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found sand-loving willow! | |||||||||
