''Salix sericea'', commonly known as silky willow, is a shrub in the
Salicaceae family that grows in swamps and along rivers in eastern United States and Canada. It is tall and has long, thin, purplish twigs.
The leaves are 6–10 cm long, 7–8 mm wide,
lanceolate,
acuminate,
serrulate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...
, dark green and lightly hairy on top, and light green and densely covered with white silky hairs underneath. Mature leaves are
glabrous. The
petioles are 1 cm long.
Catkin
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''). They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged cl ...
s are
sessile and usually
bracteate. ''S. sericea'' blooms in May and fruits in June.
References
sericea
Trees of the Southeastern United States
{{salicaceae-stub