''Salix arctica'', the Arctic willow, is a tiny creeping

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist ...

(family

Salicaceae The Salicaceae is the willow family of flowering plants. The traditional family (Salicaceae ''sensu stricto'') included the willows, poplar, aspen, and cottonwoods. Genetic studies summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) have greatly ...

). It is adapted to survive in Arctic conditions, specifically tundras.

Description

''S. arctica'' is typically a low shrub growing to only in height, rarely to , although it may reach in height in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. It has round, shiny green leaves long and broad; they are pubescent, with long, silky, silvery hairs. Like the rest of the willows, Arctic willow is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...

, with male and female

catkin A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind- pollinated ( anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in '' Salix''). They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arra ...

s on separate plants. As a result, the plant's appearance varies; the female catkins are red-coloured, while the male catkins are yellow-coloured.Jepson Flora
''Salix arctica''
/ref> Despite its small size, it is a long-lived plant, growing extremely slowly in the severe

arctic climate The climate of the Arctic is characterized by long, cold winters and short, cool summers. There is a large amount of variability in climate across the Arctic, but all regions experience extremes of solar radiation in both summer and winter. ...

; one in eastern Greenland was found to be 236 years old. Hybrids with ''

Salix arcticola Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist ...

'' and '' Salix glauca'' are known.

Distribution and habitat

The Arctic willow grows in

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mo ...

and rocky moorland, and is the northernmost

woody plant A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposite to herbaceous plants that die back to the ground until s ...

in the world, occurring far above the

tree line The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...

to the northern limit of land on the north coast of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...

. Its distribution is circumpolar. It occurs in Canada in the mainland northern territories and in the Arctic Archipelago all the way up to Ellesmere Island alongside Greenland, and in northern Quebec and Labrador, as well as in northern Iceland, Fenno-Scandinavia, northern Russia and northern Alaska. It also occurs further south in North America on high-altitude

alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

, south to the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

. It also occurs in

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

, China.Salicaceae of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
''Salix arctica''
Flora Europaea
''Salix arctica''
/ref>

Ecology

The Arctic willow is a food source for several Arctic animals.

Muskox The muskox (''Ovibos moschatus'', in Latin "musky sheep-ox"), also spelled musk ox and musk-ox, plural muskoxen or musk oxen (in iu, ᐅᒥᖕᒪᒃ, umingmak; in Woods Cree: ), is a hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae. Native to the Arctic, ...

en, caribou,

Arctic hare The Arctic hare (''Lepus arcticus'') is a species of hare highly adapted to living in the Arctic tundra and other icy biomes. The Arctic hare survives with shortened ears and limbs, a small nose, fat that makes up close to 20% of its body, and a ...

s, and

lemming A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also incl ...

s all feed on the bark and twigs, while the buds are the main food source of the

rock ptarmigan The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in the UK. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊᕿ� ...

. It is the primary host plant and food source for the Arctic woolly bear moth (''

Gynaephora groenlandica ''Gynaephora groenlandica'', the Arctic woolly bear moth, is an erebid moth native to the High Arctic in the Canadian archipelago, Greenland and Wrangel Island in Russia. It is known for its slow rate of development, as its full caterpillar life ...

'').

Uses

Both the

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, ...

and the Gwich’in make use of this willow. Twigs are used as fuel, while the decayed flowers (''suputiit'') are mixed with

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ...

and used as wicking in the ''

kudlik The qulliq (seal-oil, blubber or soapstone lamp, iu, ᖁᓪᓕᖅ, ''kudlik'' ; ik, naniq), is the traditional oil lamp used by Arctic peoples, including the Inuit, the Chukchi and the Yupik peoples. This characteristic type of oil lam ...

''. The plant was used for several medicinal purposes, such as relieving toothache, helping to stop bleeding, curing diarrhoea and indigestion, and as a

poultice A poultice, also called a cataplasm, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is spread on cloth and placed over the skin to treat an aching, inflamed, or painful part of the body. It can be used on wounds, such as cuts. 'Poultice ...

on wounds. Both the Gwich’in and Inuit in the

Bathurst Inlet Bathurst Inlet, officially Kiluhiqtuq, is a deep inlet located along the northern coast of the Canadian mainland, at the east end of Coronation Gulf, into which the Burnside and Western rivers empty. The name, or its native equivalent ''King ...

area were known to eat parts of the plant, which is high in

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) a ...

and tastes sweet.Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
, S.G. Aiken, M.J. Dallwitz, L.L. Consaul, C.L. McJannet, L.J. Gillespie, R.L. Boles, G.W. Argus, J.M. Gillett, P.J. Scott, R. Elven, M.C. LeBlanc, A.K. Brysting and H. Solstad. 1999 onwards. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 29 April 2003. . One young leaf contains 7 to 10 times more vitamin C than an orange. The inside of the young shoots (excluding the bark) can be eaten raw, including those found underground.

References

External links

*
Jepson Manual treatment – ''Salix arctica''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q674096 arctica Flora of the Arctic Alpine flora Flora of Greenland Flora of Norway Flora of Sweden Flora of the Faroe Islands Flora of Iceland Flora of Russia Flora of Siberia Flora of Alaska Flora of Canada Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of New Mexico Flora of Japan Flora of China Flora without expected TNC conservation status