Salix lutea
Encyclopedia
Salix lutea is a species of willow
known by the common name yellow willow. It is native to North America, including central Canada and parts of the western and central United States, with the exception of the Great Basin
. It can be found in moist and wet habitat types, such as riverbanks, meadows, and gullies. It is a shrub
up to 7 meters tall, sometimes forming colonial thickets or becoming erect and treelike. The lance-shaped leaves may grow over 11 centimeters long and may have smooth, lightly serrated, wavy, or gland-studded edges. The inflorescence
is a catkin
of flowers up to 4 or 5 centimeters long, stout to slender in shape.
This and other willow species are used in revegetation
projects in riparian
habitat where erosion
is a problem. This species reproduces vegetatively
by sprouting from pieces of stem, but its primary method of reproduction is sexual
, by the dispersal
of a large amount of wind-carried seed.
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
known by the common name yellow willow. It is native to North America, including central Canada and parts of the western and central United States, with the exception of the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
. It can be found in moist and wet habitat types, such as riverbanks, meadows, and gullies. It is a shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
up to 7 meters tall, sometimes forming colonial thickets or becoming erect and treelike. The lance-shaped leaves may grow over 11 centimeters long and may have smooth, lightly serrated, wavy, or gland-studded edges. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a catkin
Catkin
A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated but sometimes insect pollinated . They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged closely along a central stem which is often drooping...
of flowers up to 4 or 5 centimeters long, stout to slender in shape.
This and other willow species are used in revegetation
Revegetation
Revegetation is the process of replanting and rebuilding the soil of disturbed land. This may be a natural process produced by plant colonization and succession, or an artificial , accelerated process designed to repair damage to a landscape due to wildfire, mining, flood, or other cause...
projects in riparian
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
habitat where erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
is a problem. This species reproduces vegetatively
Vegetative reproduction
Vegetative reproduction is a form of asexual reproduction in plants. It is a process by which new individuals arise without production of seeds or spores...
by sprouting from pieces of stem, but its primary method of reproduction is sexual
Sexual reproduction
Sexual reproduction is the creation of a new organism by combining the genetic material of two organisms. There are two main processes during sexual reproduction; they are: meiosis, involving the halving of the number of chromosomes; and fertilization, involving the fusion of two gametes and the...
, by the dispersal
Biological dispersal
Biological dispersal refers to species movement away from an existing population or away from the parent organism. Through simply moving from one habitat patch to another, the dispersal of an individual has consequences not only for individual fitness, but also for population dynamics, population...
of a large amount of wind-carried seed.