Salix – Latin name for willow

Leaves:

• alternate (rarely opposite)
• simple
• lanceolate to ovate and up to 8” long
• entire margins (~serrate)
• short petioles
• stipules deciduous or persistent

Flowers:

• dioeceious
• upright catkins

Fruit:

• capsules
• flask-shaped
• seed have silky hairs to aid in dispersal
• wind dispersed

Other notes:

• trees to 90 ft. or shrubs
• deciduous
• winter buds with one scale
• usually found in wet soils
• hybridizes easily – makes identification to species difficult

Species:

• Salix lasiandra (Pacific/shining willow)
• Salix sitchensis (Sitka willow)