Arctic Willow

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Ivaarctos2.jpg


Plant Characteristics
Habit   shrub

Height: 4 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 4.
Width: 24 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 24. to 48 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 48.
Lifespan: perennial
Cultivation
Exposure: sun
USDA Zones: 1 to 8
Flower features: blue, purple
Scientific Names

Salicaceae >

Salix >

arctica >


Salix arctica (Arctic Willow) is a tiny creeping willow (family Salicaceae). It is adapted to survive in harsh Arctic and subarctic environments, and has a circumpolar distribution round the Arctic Ocean. It grows in tundra and rocky moorland, and is the northernmost woody plant in the world, occurring far above the tree line up to the northern limit of land on the north coast of Greenland. It also occurs further south in North America on high altitude Alpine tundra south to the Sierra Nevada in California and the Rocky Mountains in New Mexico, and in Asia to Xinjiang in China.[1][2][3]

It is typically a low shrub growing to only 1 - 15 cm in height (rarely to 25 cm high), however in the Pacific Northwest it may reach 50 cm in height,[4] and has round, shiny green leaves 1 - 4 cm long and broad, rarely up to 8 cm long and 6 cm broad; they are pubescent, with long silky, silvery hairs. Like the rest of the willows, Arctic Willow is dioecious, with male and female catkins on separate plants. As a result the plant's appearance varies; the female catkins are red-coloured, while the male catkins are yellow-coloured.[2][5]

Despite its small size, it is a long-lived plant, growing extremely slowly in the severe Arctic climate; one in eastern Greenland was found to be 236 years old.[2]

Cultivation

Propagation

Pests and diseases

Varieties

Hybrids with Salix arcticola and Salix glauca are known.[2]

Gallery

References

  1. Germplasm Resources Information Network: Salix arctica
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Salicaceae of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Salix arctica
  3. Flora Europaea: Salix arctica
  4. Template:PDFlink
  5. Jepson Flora: Salix arctica

External links