| Author | Brotero | |
| Distribution | Mountains only, from 3 counties: Buncombe, Burke, and Henderson.
Native of Europe; in N.A. scattered ME to Ont. and WI, south to NC, MO, NE. | |
| Abundance | Very rare. | |
| Habitat | Bogs, swampy area along river, waste area, edge of orchard. | |
| Phenology | Flowering April. | |
| Identification | This willow's leaves are broader towards the tip than basally, and are tomentose or velvety whitish beneath. The typical growth form is a very tall shrub 10 feet or more. See also keys in Weakley (2018) and FNA to tell from S. cinerea and S. caprea. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | A synonym is S. cinerea ssp. oleifolia.
The genus Salix is a very large and complex group of plants that vary from ground-hugging Arctic belly plants to huge trees. There are 113 species in North America alone, including introduced species. They are extremely important to browsing mammals -- rabbits, deer, elk, muskox, moose, many rodents -- and browsing birds like ptarmigan. Many birds use them to nest in. Here in NC we only have a small number of native species (5) and so do not appreciate the ecological importance of willows. We highly recommend reading the introductory pages of George Argus's FNA treatment (2010) and his excellent monograph on the willows of the southeastern U.S. (1986). The latter has drawings and descriptions of all southeastern U.S. taxa. Due to natural and horticultural hybridization, some plants will not key cleanly and you may have to compare your specimen with others verified by Argus. | |
| Other Common Name(s) | | |
| State Rank | SE | |
| Global Rank | [GNR] | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FACW link |
| USACE-emp | FACW link |
