Salix exigua Nutt.

  • Family: Salicaceae (willows, poplars, cottonwoods)
  • Common name: sandbar willow
  • Synonym: S. wheeleri, S. stenophylla, S. thurberi, S. rubra, S. nevadensis, S. luteosericea, S. malacophylla, S. longifolia, S. linearifolia, S. interior, S. hindsiana, S. fluvatilis, S. argophylla

    Shrub or small tree to 5 m (15 ft) tall, with many trunks (thicket-forming). Twigs upright, thin, brown or gray. Leaves yellow-green to gray-green, linear, 4-10 cm (1.6-4 in) long and about 6 mm (0.25 in) wide, glabrous or hairy, acuminate, with few small teeth or sometimes none. Catkins 2.5-6 cm (1-2.4 in) long at ends of branchlets. Flowers very small, numerous, pale yellow.Capsules about 6 mm (1/4 in) long, egg-shaped, long-pointed.

    Distribution: Native to a large portion of interior North America from Alaska to Mexico.
    Habitat: Streambanks and other wet places.
    NWI status: OBL
    Comment: Salix is the old Latin name for the willows; exigua (short) refers to the usually small size of the plant.

    Distribution in Oklahoma:

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    Last update: 9/17/99
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