''Salix caroliniana'', commonly known as the coastal plain willow, is a shrub or small tree native to the southeastern United States, Mexico and parts of Central America and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. It is an

obligate {{wiktionary, obligate As an adjective, obligate means "by necessity" (antonym ''facultative'') and is used mainly in biology in phrases such as: * Obligate aerobe, an organism that cannot survive without oxygen * Obligate anaerobe, an organism that ...

wetland species and grows as an emergent species in the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...

. In the absence of fire, ''S. caroliniana'' can convert herbaceous wetlands to forested wetlands. Although fires kill large woody stems and the species does not reproduce by

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s or root sprouts, it sprouts readily after fire. As a result, the total number of stems does not change, but fire converts ''S. caroliniana'' from a tree into a shrub. ''Salix caroliniana'' flowers in the early spring, either before or together with the emergence of leaves. In

Alachua County, Florida Alachua County ( ) is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida since 1906, when the campus ope ...

in 1982, flowering was recorded during February and March. The species was first described by French naturalist André Michaux in 1803 in his ''Flora Boreali-Americana''.''Salix caroliniana'' Michx.
Tropicos. The male flowers provide much spring pollen for bees. It is a larval host to the black-waved flannel moth, the

blinded sphinx ''Paonias excaecatus'', the blinded sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was Species description, first described by James Edward Smith (botanist), James Edward Smith in 1797. Distribution It is found in Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

, the

cecropia moth ''Hyalophora cecropia'', the cecropia moth, is North America's largest native moth. It is a member of the family Saturniidae, or giant silk moths. Females have been documented with a wingspan of five to seven inches (160 mm) or more. These m ...

, the

elm sphinx ''Ceratomia amyntor'', the elm sphinx or four-horned sphinx, is a North American moth in the family Sphingidae. The species was Species description, first described by Carl Geyer in 1835. It has a wingspan of - inches (8.2 - 11.5 cm). As the ...

, the

imperial moth ''Eacles imperialis'', the imperial moth, is a member of the family Saturniidae and subfamily Ceratocampinae. It is found mainly in the East of South America and North America, from the center of Argentina to south Canada. The species was first d ...

, the

Io moth ''Automeris io'', the Io moth () or peacock moth, is a colorful North American moth in the family Saturniidae. The io moth is also a member of the subfamily Hemileucinae. The name Io comes from Greek mythology in which Io was a mortal lover of ...

, the

modest sphinx ''Pachysphinx modesta'', the modest sphinx or poplar sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Thaddeus William Harris in 1839. Gallery Pachysphinx modesta MHNT CUT 2010 0 119 Wakefield, Quebec Canada m ...

, the mourning cloak, the

polyphemus moth ''Antheraea polyphemus'', the Polyphemus moth, is a North American member of the family Saturniidae, the giant silk moths. It is a tan-colored moth, with an average wingspan of 15 cm (6 in). The most notable feature of the moth is its ...

, the promethea moth, the

red-spotted purple ''Limenitis arthemis,'' the red-spotted purple or white admiral, is a North American butterfly species in the cosmopolitan genus ''Limenitis''. It has been studied for its evolution of mimicry, and for the several stable hybrid wing patterns wi ...

, and the viceroy.The Xerces Society (2016), ''Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects'', Timber Press.

References

caroliniana Flora of the Eastern United States Flora of the Caribbean Flora of Central America Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of Oklahoma Flora of Texas Taxa named by André Michaux Plants described in 1803 {{Salicaceae-stub