Prairie Willow

  

(Salix humilis)

prairie willow
© Pauline Catling, all rights reserved
prairie willow leaves
© Pauline Catling, all rights reserved

The prairie willow is a shrub to small tree native to central and Eastern North America. With a suckering habit, the shrub forms thickets on sandy, dry, or disturbed areas such as roadsides or rocky bluffs. Not common in landscaping, however it can be used in mound or naturalized plantings.

The foliage is linear or lanceolate in shape. Colour is grey-green to blue-green, darker on top and silvery on the bottom. dark brown thin stems are covered with whitish hairs. Male or female catkins exist on separate plants and can add some visual interest in early to mid spring.

References

Canadensys. (2020.). Salix humilis Marshall. [Data set] Canadensys. Retrieved from https://data.canadensys.net/vascan/taxon/9118?lang=en

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. (2016). Salix humilis. Retrieved from https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=sahu2

The Morton Arboretum. (n.d.). Prairie willow. Retrieved from https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/search-trees/search-all-trees-and-plants