''Salix lanata'', the woolly willow, is a subarctic

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to Iceland, the Faeroe Islands and Finland, through to eastern Siberia. In Scotland it can be found in only a few localities of Perthshire, Angus and Aberdeenshire, generally on rocky mountain sides at altitudes of .Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland, BSBI Handbook No. 4; Meikle; 1984.

Description

''Salix lanata'' is a low, many-branched,

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 ...

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 ...

, generally less than high by broad. The new twigs are hairy at first, soon becoming hairless and brown. The grey-green leaves are rather variable, but generally ovate up to long by up to wide, covered in silvery-grey "wool" to begin with but less so with age. The leaf margins are usually entire. The

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 ...

s appear in summer (May to July), with male and female catkins on separate plants (like all willows this 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 ...

). The female catkins are densely hairy. The petioles are usually less than 1 cm long, and the

stipules In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

usually 1 cm long by 0.6 cm wide, and persistent.''New Flora of the British Isles'';

Clive Stace Clive Anthony Stace (born 1938) is a British botanist and botanical author. He studied at King's College London, graduated from University of London in 1959 and then studied at the Natural History Museum, London. He was awarded a PhD in 1963. H ...

; Third edition; 2011 printing. The texture, colour and compact nature of this plant, together with its extreme hardiness, make it a valuable plant for cultivation. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Gallery

File:Salix lanata general view.JPG File:Salix lanata leaf upper view 1.JPG File:Salix lanata leaf upper view 2.JPG, Upper surface of leaf, also showing stipules File:Salix lanata petiole.JPG, Leaf petiole File:Salix lanata leaf lower view.JPG, Lower surface of leaf File:Salix lanata female catkin.JPG, Female catkin File:Salix-lanata-leaves.JPG, ''Salix lanata'' leaves

References

External links

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q163574 lanata Flora of the Arctic Flora of Scotland Flora of Norway Flora of Sweden Flora of Finland Flora of Russia Flora of the Faroe Islands Flora of Canada Flora of Alaska Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Flora of Michigan Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora without expected TNC conservation status