''Salix reticulata'', the net-leaved willow,
or snow willow,
[Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, 2nd Ed., 2013 p. 197] is a dwarf
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 the colder parts of Europe, North America, and Northern Asia. It is found in the western United States (''Salix reticulata'' subsp. ''nivalis''), including the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains. In Europe it extends south through the
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...
and
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
to the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
and the mountains of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
.
[''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.[Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland, BSBI Handbook No. 4; Meikle; 1984.] It is common in Canada, Greenland and Finland, and present but rare in Scotland.
The plant grows on wet, often slightly
calcareous
Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.
In zoology
''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...
, rocks and ledges.
Description
''Salix reticulata'' is a dwarf, prostrate,
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 ...
growing to tall by broad, forming loose open mats with extensive, much-branched, underground stems. The exposed stems can rise to high. The twigs are slightly hairy at first, then hairless and dark reddish-brown later.
Leaves are 1.2 cm to 5 cm long, 1 to 3.5 cm wide; densely hairy at first, becoming hairless at least on the upper side. The leaves have a conspicuous network of veins.
In Spring, slender yellow
catkins
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 ...
with pink tips appear.
[
]
Cultivation
''Salix reticulata'' is cultivated as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
, for use as groundcover
Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought.
In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as t ...
. 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 ...
's 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 ...
.
References
Further reading
Gallery
File:Salix reticulata - General View 2.JPG, General view (for scale, the orange object is the end of a biro).
File:Salix reticulata - Leaf-upper.JPG, Upper surface of leaf.
File:Salix reticulata - Leaf-lower.JPG, Lower surface of leaf.
File:Salix reticulata - Seed Head.JPG, Seed head (for scale, the orange object is the end of a biro).
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Salix reticulata'' subsp. ''nivalis''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q39634
reticulata
Flora of Europe
Flora of temperate Asia
Flora of Northern America
Garden plants of Europe
Garden plants of North America
Groundcovers
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus