Species: Salix drummondiana Barratt ex Hook.

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Salix drummondiana Barratt ex Hook.

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TAXONOMY

Family:

Salicaceae

Genus:

Salix

Species Synonyms:

Salix bella Piper
Salix covillei Eastw.
Salix drummondiana var. bella (Piper) Ball
Salix drummondiana var. subcaerulea (Piper) Ball
Salix drummondiana ssp. subcaerulea (Piper) E. Murr.
Salix pachnophora Rydb.
Salix subcaerulea Piper

Common Names:

Drummond’s willow
blue willow

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

southeastern Yukon – eastern British Columbia – western Alberta – northwestern Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan:

northwestern Saskatchewan; Lake Athabasca

Ecoregion:

Athabasca Plain

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

sand dunes

Canada:

moist grounds and shores

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Threatened

Nature Conservancy Status:

G4G5

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Salix drummondiana is threatened because of rarity in Saskatchewan. No immediate threats are known but may occur in the future.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

1 – 4 m

Stems:

branches dark reddish-brown to blackish, glabrous or glabrescent, prominently glaucous, brittle; branchlets yellowish-green to brown, puberulent to glabrous

Leaves:

simple, alternate, 4.5 – 11 cm long, 3 – 6 cm wide, narrowly elliptic to obovate, base acute, apex acute, upper surface dark green and sparsely villous, lower surface densely sericeous or lanate, midrib tawny, immature leaves densely white-sericeous, margin entire to glandular or glandular-crenate, revolute; stipules 3 – 8 mm long, narrowly elliptic or minute lobes

Inflorescence:

catkins appearing before the leaves, sessile; staminate catkins 1 – 5 cm long; pistillate catkins 3.5 – 11 cm long

Flowers:

staminate flowers with glabrous filaments; pistillate flowers with sericeous ovaries

Fruits:

capsules tawny, sparsely sericeous; bracts black or dark brown, elongate, pubescent with long, straight hairs

SALIX KEY FOR SPECIES WITH GLABROUS OVARIES IN SASKATCHEWAN
* For a more accurate and in depth Salix key, the reader is referred to the interactive key created by Dr. G. Argus. This key is available through the Alaska Natural Heritage Program at the University of Alaska.

1 Bracts of catkins white, yellow, or golden brown	2
1 Bracts of catkins brown to reddish or black	12

2 Pistillate capsules sessile or nearly so, stipe less than 1 mm	3
2 Pistillate capsules definitely stalked, stipe more than 1 mm	8

3 Twigs golden, yellow, orange or yellowish-green (leaves green, dull)	4
3 Twigs greyish to yellowish-brown (leaves yellowish-green, semi-glossy)	6

4 Pistillate catkins 1.5 – 8 cm long; dense ticket-forming shrubs; twigs light yellow to orange; capsules 4 – 8 mm long (leaves linear, sides parallel)	S. exigua ssp. interior
4 Pistillate catkins 3 – 6 cm long; shrub or tree; twigs golden yellow to orange to greenish; capsule 3.5 – 5 mm long (leaves lanceolate to ovate)	5

5 Large tree; twigs golden yellow to orange	S. alba
5 Shrub 2 – 6 m tall; twigs yellowish-green	S. pentandra

6 Twigs shiny (leaves white-glaucous below)	S. serissima
6 Twigs dull (leaves pale beneath)	7

7 Commonly less than 3 m tall, pistillate catkins to 10 cm, capsules to 7 mm long, on pedicels to 2 mm long	S. lucida ssp. lasiandra
7 To about 5 m tall, pistillate catkins to 5 cm long, capsules < 7 mm long, on pedicels ca. 1 mm long	S. lucida ssp. lucida

8 Pistillate catkins 3 – 8 cm long; twigs drooping or arching	S. amygdaloides
8 Pistillate catkins 1 – 4 cm long; twigs erect or ascending	9

9 Twigs shiny	S. serissima
9 Twigs dull	10

10 Slender shrub, 40 – 100 cm tall; bracts persistent; sphagnum bogs and swamps (leaves green above, white-glaucous below; stipules absent)	S. pedicillaris
10 Shrub or small tree to 4 m tall; bracts caducous; swamps, shores and wet meadows (leaves yellowish-green above, may be glaucous below; stipules present)	11

11 Commonly less than 3 m tall, pistillate catkins to 10 cm, capsules to 7 mm long, on pedicels to 2 mm long	S. lucida ssp. lasiandra
11 To about 5 m tall, pistillate catkins to 5 cm long, capsules < 7 mm long, on pedicels ca. 1 mm long	S. lucida ssp. lucida

12 Low, decumbent or trailing shrubs, < 1 m tall	S. myrtilloides
12 Shrubs 1 – 10 m tall	13

13 Twigs closely gray-pubescent; shrub to 7 m tall	S. eriocephala var. famelica
13 Twigs glabrous; generally to 4 m tall	14

14 Buds with a balsamic fragrance	S. pyrifolia
14 Buds not fragrant	15

15 Pistillate catkins sessile or subsessile (leaves glaucous below)	16
15 Pistillate catkins on leafy peduncles (leaves not glaucous below)	S. pseudomyrsinites

16 Pistillate catkins 1 – 3 cm long (leaves short acuminate)	S. turnorii
16 Pistillate catkins 3 – 7 cm long (leaves acute to obtuse)	S. pseudomonticola

SALIX KEY FOR SPECIES WITH PUBESCENT OVARIES IN SASKATCHEWAN

1 Shrubs trailing or diminutive (< 10 cm tall above ground)	2
1 Shrubs erect, taller than 10 cm	3

2 Pistillate scales black; capsules 6 – 9 mm long; stems trailing	S. arctophila
2 Pistillate scales reddish to yellowish; capsules 4 – 5 mm long; stems mostly buried	S. reticulata ssp. reticulata

3 New twigs permanently white felty-tomentose; Lake Athabasca only (leaves nearly white, ovate to lanceolate)	S. silicola
3 New twigs glabrous or otherwise pubescent; distribution various (leaves generally green, at least above)	4

4 Branches gray-brown, exfoliating; shrubs 30 – 200 cm tall; Lake Athabasca	S. athabascensis
4 Branches various colours, not exfoliating; shrubs 30 cm to 4 m tall	5

5 Bracts dark brown to black	6
5 Bracts yellow to brown	13

6 Bark dark brown; catkins nearly globose; shrub 2 – 3 m tall; Lake Athabasca	S. tyrellii
6 Bark reddish, greyish, dark brown to yellowish-brown; catkins generally longer than wide; distribution various	7

7 Pistillate catkins sessile or nearly so	8
7 Pistillate catkins on leafy peduncles	10

8 Pistillate scales black	9
8 Pistillate scales dark brown	S. arbusculoides

9 Bark brown; capsules 4 – 6 mm long; shrubs 3 – 5 m tall; boreal forest	S. pellita
9 Bark greyish; capsules 5 – 10 mm long; shrubs 1 – 5 m tall; widespread in Saskatchewan, prairies, aspen woods and mixed woods	S. discolor

10 Branches dark brown to yellow-brown	S. scouleri
10 Branches dark brown to reddish-brown	11

11 Capsules purplish tinged; northwest Saskatchewan	S. x brachypurpurea
11 Capsules not purplish; distribution various	12

12 Pistillate catkins 1 – 3 cm long (leaves 5 – 10 cm long, margins glandular-serrulate on later leaves)	S. petiolaris
12 Pistillate catkins 2 – 6 cm long (leaves 3 – 5 cm long, margins slightly revolute, sub-entire to remotely toothed)	S. planifolia

13 Capsules 8 – 10 mm long, villous to gray-tomentose (leaves green below, pubescence of red and white matted hairs that are soon lost)	S. macalliana
13 Capsules < 8 mm long, pubescence various (leaves various)	14

14 Shrubs < 1.5 m tall	15
14 Shrubs or small trees to 4 m tall	17

15 Capsules white tomentose; styles red	S. candida
15 Capsules lanate to villous; styles green

16 Pistillate catkins 1 – 2 cm long; bark grey to reddish; branches villous (leaves narrowly elliptic to obovate, greyish-white hairs on both sides; see leaf key for varieties)	S. brachycarpa
16 Pistillate catkins 2 – 5 cm long; bark dull grey; branches gray tomentose (leaves obovate to elliptic, dark green, pubescent to glabrous above, glaucous below)	S. glauca ssp. glabrescens

17 Capsules 5 – 8 mm; pistillate catkins 2 – 5 cm long; bark reddish (leaves 2 – 6 cm long)	S. bebbiana
17 Capsules 3 – 6 mm long; pistillate catkins 3.5 – 11 cm long; bark dark reddish-brown to blackish, often prominently glaucous (leaves 4.5 – 11 cm long)	S. drummondiana

SALIX KEY BY LEAVES IN SASKATCHEWAN

1 Leaves green below	2
1 Leaves glaucous below	15

2 Leaves linear, the sides parallel	S. exigua ssp. interior
2 Leaves narrowly elliptic to broadly ovate or obovate	3

3 Leaves densely pubescent beneath	4
3 Leaves glabrous or only sparsely pubescent beneath	7

4 Length to width ratio of leaves 2:1 or 3:1; trees or tall shrubs 2 – 7 m tall; leaves densely villous to sericeous below; margin entire to revolute	S. scouleriana
4 Length to width ratio of leaves 6:1; shrubs to 5 m tall; leaves sericeous or lanate below; margin entire to shallowly toothed, may be revolute	5

5 Shrubs 3 – 5 m tall; leaves narrowly lanceolate, densely sericeous or lanate below, glabrous above	S. pellita
5 Shrubs less than 3 m tall; leaves narrowly elliptic to obovate, sericeous or lanate below, pubescent above	6

6 Leaves narrowly elliptic, margin entire to shallowly toothed; upper surface dark green, sometimes turning dark brown, thinly lanate; shrubs 30 – 150 cm (catkins sessile)	S. candida
6 Leaves narrowly elliptic to distantly glandular or crenate-glandular, upper surface dark green, sparsely villous to glabrous; shrubs 1 – 3	S. drummondiana

7 Leaf margins entire; leaves and stems persistently white felty; Lake Athabasca	S. silicola
7 Leaf margins entire to toothed; leaves and stems various but not persistently white felty; distribution various	8

8 Petioles glandular at leaf base; leaves ovate to elliptic, glossy above, margins glandular-serrate	9
8 Petioles not glandular; leaves elliptic to obovate, not glossy above, margins glandular-serrate to crenate	10

9 Leaf base round, green above, apex caudate-acuminate	S. lucida ssp. caudata
9 Leaf base obtuse, very dark green above, apex short-acuminate	S. pentandra

10 Low shrubs (< 1 m tall), usually decumbent or trailing	S. myrtillifolia
10 Shrubs usually over 2 m tall, erect	11

11 Leaves coriaceous, matted with white and reddish hairs that soon fall off	S. macalliana
11 Leaves thin, pubescence various	12

12 Leaves lanceolate, 3 – 8 cm long, margin serrulate	S. eriocephala var. famelica
12 Leaves elliptic to obovate, 2 – 9 cm long, margin serrulate to glandular or crenate	13

13 Leaves 5 – 9 cm long; branchlets highly glossy	S. serissima
13 Leaves 2 – 5 cm long; branchlets sparsely pubescent or dull	14

14 Young leaves reddish, sparsely villous; northern Saskatchewan	S. pseudomyrsinites
14 Young leaves green, sparsely covered in ferruginous hairs; Lake Athabasca	S. tyrellii

15 Dwarf shrubs, trailing or erect, < 10 cm tall	16
15 Shrubs or trees, > 30 cm tall to 10 m	17

16 Shrub trailing along the ground; upper leaf surface smooth	S. arctophila
16 Shrub erect, diminutive, mostly below ground; upper leaf surface impressed veiny	S. reticulata ssp. reticulata

17 Leaf margins entire or indistinctly toothed, may be revolute	18
17 Leaf margins distinctly toothed	29

18 Mature leaves densely pubescent below	19
18 Mature leaves glabrous to glabrescent or sparsely hairy	22

19 Upper leaf surface glossy and dark green; stem epidermis exfoliating	S. glauca ssp. glabrescens
19 Upper leaf surface dull or pubescent; stem epidermis not exfoliating	20

20 Petiole green; shrubs or trees to 5 m tall; branching divaricate; leaves not appearing in fan-shaped arrangements	S. bebbiana
20 Petiole reddish to yellowish; shrubs 0.3 – 1.5 m tall; branching not divaricate; leaves appearing in a fan-shaped arrangement because of short internodes	21

21 From sand dunes of Lake Athabasca	S. brachycarpa var. psammophilus
21 Distributed in northern Canada in meadows, thickets and fens	S. brachycarpa var. brachycarpa

22 Shrubs 30 – 100 cm tall; branches gray-brown, exfoliating; Lake Athabasca	S. athabascensis
22 Shrubs usually over 1 m tall (except S. glauca var. glabrescens); branches reddish to gray; distribution various	23

23 Leaves 5 – 10 cm long	24
23 Leaves less than 6 cm long	25

24 Leaf length to width ratio 3:1	S. discolor
24 Leaf length to width ratio 6:1	S. petiolaris

25 Tall shrubs or trees, 2 – 10 m tall	S. discolor
25 Low shrubs, 20 – 400 cm tall	26

26 Leaves glossy and dark green above	S. glauca ssp. glabrescens
26 Leaves dull above or glossy with sunken veins	27

27 Leaves rugose below	S. bebbiana
27 Leaves veiny or not, but not rugose below

28 Leaves elliptic to obovate, thinly glaucous above, leaf length to width ratio 4:1	S. pedicillaris
28 Leaves elliptic, glossy with sunken veins, leaf length to width ration 3:1	S. planifolia

29 Leaves thin and aromatic when crushed	S. pyrifolia
29 Leaves not aromatic	30

30 Margins crenate or undulate	31
30 Margins serrate, may be glandular	32

31 Branches dark brown to yellowish, glabrescent; shrubs 2 – 11 m tall	S. discolor
31 Branches reddish-brown, pubescent to glabrescent; shrubs 0.5 – 5 m tall	S. bebbiana

32 Leaves pubescent below	33
32 Leaves glabrous below	35

33 Leaf length to width ratio 6:1	34
33 Leaf length to width ratio 3:1	S. planifolia

34 Trees to 20 m tall; leaves with appressed white, silky hairs above and below	S. alba
34 Shrubs 1 – 4 m tall; leaves glossy and glabrous above, silky-hairy below	S. arbusculoides

35 Petioles glandular at leaf base	36
35 Petioles glandless at leaf base	38

36 Stipules minute, glandular lobes; flowering in late summer	S. serissima
36 Stipules foliar, semi-ovate; flowering in early summer	37

37 Commonly less than 3 m tall, mature leaves caudate-acuminate (pistillate catkins to 10 cm, capsules to 7 mm long, on pedicels to 2 mm long)	S. lucida ssp. lasiandra
37 To about 5 m tall, mature leaves caudate acuminate to acuminate (pistillate catkins to 5 cm long, capsules < 7 mm long, on pedicels ca. 1 mm long)	S. lucida ssp. lucida

38 Stipules persistent, conspicuous, ovate	39
38 Stipules deciduous or inconspicuous or linear	40

39 To 7 m tall, branchlets reddish-brown, gray pubescent, young leaves green	S. eriocephala var. famelica
39 To 4 m tall; branchlets yellowish to reddish, glabrous to villous, young leaves reddish	S. pseudomonticola

40 Leaf apex abruptly tapering to a slender tip	S. amygdaloides
40 Leaf apex acute or shortly acuminate	41

41 Leaf base attenuate	S. petiolaris
41 Leaf base rounded; Lake Athabasca	42

42 New leaves white tomentose, becoming greyish villous, then glabrescent; leaves lanceolate (pistillate catkins on leafy shoots)	S. x brachypurpurea
42 New leaves glabrous; leaves lanceolate to elliptic (pistillate catkins subsessile)	S. turnorii