''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, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions.
Most species are known ...
,
native
Native may refer to:
People
* '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood
* '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Nat ...
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 and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...
and
Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
...
to the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
and the mountains of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
and
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
.
[''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 (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines.
In zoology
''Calcare ...
, 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 Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
shrub
A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...
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''). It contains 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 th ...
, for use as groundcover
Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows low over an area of ground, which protects the topsoil from erosion and drought. In a terrestrial ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as the ...
. 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 ...
's Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
It includes the full range of cultivated p ...
.
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