''Salix glabra'', the smooth willow, is a small shrub from the
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 ...
genus (''Salix''). It is found in the mountainous areas of several European countries.
Description
The smooth willow is a shrub that reaches heights of up to 1.5 meters. All parts of the plant are bare. The bare wood shows short, scattered welts. The bark of the thick branches and twigs is bare and red-brown.
[
The alternate leaves are arranged in a petiole and a leaf blade. The simple, bald leaf blade is 4 to 6 centimeters long and 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters wide and elliptical or ovate to elongated with a blunt to pointed end, a rounded to wedge-shaped base and a glandular serrate edge. The upper side of the leaf is dark green and very shiny, the underside is whitish and has a thick wax coating. The leaf veins stand out clearly. The stipules are poorly developed.][
The smooth willow flowers from May to June just before the leaves shoot. The short inflorescence stem is covered with leaves. The kitten-shaped inflorescences are elliptical with a length of up to 7 centimeters. The bracts of male flowers are monochrome, female flowers are two-colored and bearded at the tip and have a broad nectar gland . Male flowers have two stamens hairy at the base with initially purple-red, later yellow-discolored anthers. The ovary of female flowers is stalked and glabrous. The extended stylus ends in a short and split scar.][
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 76 or 114.]
Habitat and distribution
The natural distribution area is in Europe in Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, Southern Germany
Southern Germany (, ) is a region of Germany that includes the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, which includes the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia in present-day Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and the southern portion of Hesse ...
, eastern Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
, Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
, and in Northern Italy
Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...
.[
The smooth willow grows in the mountains in cool, moist forests on weakly acidic to alkaline, humus to sandy-loamy, nutrient-rich soils in sunny to light-shaded, cool and winter cold locations and is frost hardy . She likes to grow on dolomite . It is a character species of Salicetum glabrae from the association Salicion waldsteininanae.][
]
Clarification
The first publication of ''Salix glabra'' was made in 1772 by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli
Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Johannes Antonius Scopolius) (3 June 1723 – 8 May 1788) was an Italians, Italian physician and natural history, naturalist. His biographer Otto Guglia named him the "first ...
.[ The specific epithet ''glabra'' is Latin for "smooth" or "bald".][
]
References
Andreas Roloff
Andreas Roloff (born 15 May 1955 in Bremen) is a German forest scientist. Dorit Petschel: ''175 Jahre TU Dresden.'' Band 3: ''Die Professoren der TU Dresden 1828–2003.'' Hrsg. im Auftrag der Gesellschaft von Freunden und Förderern der TU Dresd ...
, Andreas Bärtels: ''Flora der Gehölze. Bestimmung, Eigenschaften und Verwendung. Mit einem Winterschlüssel von Bernd Schulz.'' 3., korrigierte Auflage. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2008, , S. 579.[Helmut Genaust: ''Etymologisches Wörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen.'' 3., vollständig überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. Nikol, Hamburg 2005, , S. 267 (Nachdruck von 1996).]
Erich Oberdorfer
Erich Oberdorfer (26 March 1905 in Freiburg – 23 September 2002) was a German biologist specializing in phytosociology and phytogeography. His official botanical author abbreviation is "Oberd." Early life and education
Oberdorfer was born in F ...
: ''Pflanzensoziologische Exkursionsflora für Deutschland und angrenzende Gebiete''. 8. Auflage. Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, . Seite 309.