''Salix kusanoi'' 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 ...

in the family Salicaceae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. It is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree growing to tall. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are alternate, 9 cm long and 4 cm broad, with finely serrated edge and glands. Both sides of the leaves are green and have dark orange fine hairs. The hairs on the underside of the leaves are more obvious, and the hairs can be easily wiped off. The flowers are produced in early spring before the new leaves appear. It 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 ...

, with male and female catkins on separate plants. The male catkins are 8–9 cm long; the female catkins are 3 cm long.Flora of China
''Salix kusanoi''
/ref> File:水社柳 Salix kusanoi 20220306110142 02.jpg, Male catkins with golden yellow flowers File:水社柳 Salix kusanoi 20220306110142 04.jpg, Leaf. Leaf bases are often heart-shaped. File:水社柳 Salix kusanoi 20220306110142 06.jpg, The fine hairs on the leaves File:水社柳 Salix kusanoi 20220306110142 09.jpg, Young leaves File:水社柳 Salix kusanoi 20220306110142 13.jpg, Branches and leaves File:水社柳 Salix kusanoi 20220306110142 16.jpg, Bark of a young plant File:水社柳 Salix kusanoi 20220306110142 21.jpg, Young plant with male flowers

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q714086 kusanoi Endemic flora of Taiwan Endangered plants Trees of Taiwan Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Plants described in 1911