''Salix arizonica'' is a species of willow known by the common name Arizona willow. It is native to the

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

, where it occurs in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.''Salix arizonica''.
The Nature Conservancy. This

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

varies in size and shape, occurring in low mats or upright, sometimes forming thickets.''Salix arizonica''.
Center for Plant Conservation. It reaches 2.6''Salix arizonica''.
Flora of North America. to 3 meters in maximum height. The branches are often bright red in color, while the smaller twigs are yellowish, reddish, or brownish, with a coating of hairs. The leaves are generally oval in shape and have smooth or serrated margins. The shiny leaf blades are up to 5 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a

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, arranged cl ...

. The species 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 reproductio ...

. Flowering occurs in May and June. The shiny leaves of this willow help distinguish it from other willows in the habitat, all of which have waxy leaves. This species is very similar to ''

Salix boothii ''Salix boothii'' is a species of willow known by the common name Booth's willow. It is native to western North America from British Columbia and Alberta south to California and New Mexico. It grows in moist mountain habitat, such as riverb ...

'', a plant that has certain

flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

s that are lacking in ''Salix arizonica''. They can also be distinguished by the size and shape of the leaves. This willow occurs in three main areas, the White Mountains of Arizona (including Mt. Baldy), the plateaus of Utah, and the Rocky Mountains of southern Colorado and New Mexico. This plant grows in subalpine meadows and cienegas and on streambanks. It occurs in spots where there is moisture available year-round. Other species in the habitat include '' Dasiphora floribunda'', ''

Caltha leptosepala ''Caltha leptosepala'', the white marsh marigold, twinflowered marsh marigold, or broadleaved marsh marigold, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the buttercup family. It is native to western North America from Alaska to New Mexico, wher ...

'', '' Carex'' spp., ''

Deschampsia caespitosa ''Deschampsia cespitosa'', commonly known as tufted hairgrass or tussock grass, is a perennial tufted plant in the grass family Poaceae. Distribution of this species is widespread including the eastern and western coasts of North America, parts o ...

'', ''

Pedicularis groenlandica ''Pedicularis groenlandica'' is a showy flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae which is known by the common names elephant's head, elephant-head lousewort and butterfly tongue. This erect plant can grow to a height of . Its sharply-toothed ...

'', ''

Picea engelmannii ''Picea engelmannii'', with the common names Engelmann spruce, white spruce, mountain spruce, and silver spruce, is a species of spruce native to western North America. It is mostly a high-altitude mountain tree but also appears in watered canyon ...

'', '' Poa pratensis'' and other willow species, such as '' S. monticola'' and '' S. planifolia''. The main threat to this species is grazing by livestock and wild ungulates. Animals reduce the plants'

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

and height as well as their survival and ability to

reproduce sexually Sexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that involves a complex life cycle in which a gamete ( haploid reproductive cells, such as a sperm or egg cell) with a single set of chromosomes combines with another gamete to produce a zygote tha ...

.Maschinski, J. (2001)
Impacts of ungulate herbivores on a rare willow at the southern edge of its range.
''Biological Conservation'' 101(1) 119-30. Other threats include alteration of the local hydrology, logging, road maintenance, recreational activity, ski resort activity, fungi of the ''

Melampsora epitea ''Melampsora'' is a genus of Basidiomycota fungi. ''Melampsora'' species are plant pathogens. Subtaxa ''Melampsora'' contains the following species and formae speciales: *'' Melampsora abietis-canadensis'' *'' Melampsora abietis-caprearum'' ...

'' species complex, and climate change.Decker, K
''Salix arizonica'' Dorn (Arizona willow): A Technical Conservation Assessment.
Prepared for the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Species Conservation Project April 20, 2006. This species has been shown to have significant

genetic variation Genetic variation is the difference in DNA among individuals or the differences between populations. The multiple sources of genetic variation include mutation and genetic recombination. Mutations are the ultimate sources of genetic variation, ...

between its well-separated populations.Thompson, J. T., et al. (2003)
Genetic analysis of the rare species ''Salix arizonica'' (Salicaceae) and associated willows in Arizona and Utah.
''Western North American Naturalist'' 63(3) 273-82.

References

{{Authority control arizonica