Salix sitchensis

Salix sitchensis
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Salicaceae
Genus:	Salix
Species:	S. sitchensis
Binomial name
Salix sitchensis Sanson ex Bong.
Synonyms
Salix coulteri Salix cuneata

Salix sitchensis is a species of willow known by the common name Sitka willow.

It is native to northwestern North America from Alaska to northern California to Montana.

It is a common to abundant plant in many types of coastal and inland wetland habitat, such as marshes, riverbanks, swamps, coastal sand dunes, and mountain springs.

Salix sitchensis is variable in appearance, taking the form of a bushy shrub or an erect tree up to 8 m (26 ft) tall. The leaves are up to 12 cm long, lance-shaped or oval with pointed tips, smooth-edged or toothed, often with the edges rolled under. The undersides are hairy to woolly in texture, and the upper surfaces are mostly hairless and dark green.

The inflorescence is a catkin of flowers, slender or short and stout. Male catkins are up to 6 cm long and female catkins are longer, sometimes exceeding 10 cm as the fruits develop. The bloom period is March in California.

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