''Salix pedicellata'' is a species of

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 s ...

. It is a shrub or small tree to about 6–8 m tall, native around the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

from Portugal to Lebanon and Syria in the north and from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

to Tunisia in the south. ''Salix canariensis'' may be treated as a subspecies of ''S. pedicellata''.

Description

''Salix pedicellata'' is very variable in appearance. It forms a shrub or small tree up to 6–8 m tall. Its trunk may be up to 1.4 m, but is usually shorter. Its twigs are dark brown, initially with short hairs (

tomentose Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

), later smooth (

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

). If the bark is removed from a twig, prominent longitudinal ridges or lines are visible. The leaves are more-or-less oblong, 4–16 cm long and 1–5 cm wide. The upper surface of the leaf is green, the lower greyish with prominent veins. ''S. pedicellata'' flowers in early Spring – February to April in its native habitat. The male catkins are usually densely packed with flowers and are 2–4 cm long. The female catkins are less dense, usually revealing the stem, and slightly longer at 5–8 cm. Both male and female flowers have a single nectary. The seeds are black to olive in colour, cylindrical, about 1.25 mm long and 0.5 mm wide.

Taxonomy

''Salix pedicellata'' was first described by

René Desfontaines René (''Born again (Christianity), born again'' or ''reborn'' in French language, French) is a common given name, first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is th ...

in 1799. ''Salix canariensis'' is treated by some taxonomists as a subspecies of ''S. pedicellata'', under the name ''S. pedicellata'' subsp. ''canariensis'', so that the species ''S. pedicellata'' becomes ''S. pedicellata'' subsp. ''pedicellata''. It hybridizes with ''

Salix atrocinerea ''Salix atrocinerea'', commonly called grey willow or large gray willow, is a species of willow. It is a bush or small tree up to tall. As a pioneer species of willow, it quickly colonizes poor soils. Distribution The grey willow distribution ...

''.

Distribution

''Salix pedicellata'' subsp. ''pedicellata'' is native to some of the countries around the Mediterranean, in Europe (Portugal, Spain, Sicily, mainland Greece, Crete, doubtfully mainland Italy), western North Africa (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia) and Western Asia (the East Aegean Islands, Turkey and Lebanon-Syria). It has been introduced to Ethiopia. ''Salix pedicellata'' subsp. ''canariensis'' is native to

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and the

References

pedicellata Plants described in 1799 Flora of Algeria Flora of the East Aegean Islands Flora of Greece Flora of Italy Flora of Crete Flora of Lebanon and Syria Flora of Macaronesia Flora of Morocco Flora of Portugal Flora of Sicily Flora of Spain Flora of Tunisia Flora of Turkey Flora of Malta {{Salicaceae-stub