Pacific willow

Leaves

Form

• Lance-shaped
• Tip often long-pointed and twisted, base rounded
• Lower surface somewhat hairy
• Stipules pointed

Length

• 5–12 cm
• Stipules 2–5 mm

Colour

• Upper surface shiny dark green
• Lower surface whitish
• Midvein orange-yellow

Margin

• Finely toothed

Petiole

• Glandular at junction with the blade

Buds

Form

• Stout, pointed, shiny at the tip
• Pressed against the twig, closely spaced
• Covered with a single scale
• No true terminal bud; end bud originates as a lateral bud
• Flower buds larger than leaf buds
• Leaf scars V-shaped, with 3 vein scars
• Stipule scars on either side

Length

• 10–13 mm

Colour

• Light reddish-brown
• Pale at the base

Twigs

Form

• Stout, brittle, shiny
• Woolly when young, becoming hairless

Colour

• Yellowish, brownish or reddish

Flowers

Form

• Catkins on short leafy shoots

Length

• Pollen catkins 2–4 cm
• Seed catkins longer

Structure

• Dioecious

Floral timing

• With the leaves

Fruits

Form

• Capsule narrowly conical, hairless

Length

• 6–8 mm

Colour

• Light reddish-brown

Timing

• Bracts shed before capsules open

Bark

Form

• Furrowed with broad flat scaly plates

Colour

• Grey or brown becoming dark

Size

Height

• To 9 m
• The tallest native willow in British Columbia

Tree form

Open-grown

Trunk

• Crooked, with a rounded but ragged crown

Crown

• Branches upright

Habitat

Site

• Gravelly soils along lakeshores and stream banks

Associated species

• Red alder and black cottonwood

Range

Alaska to California, and eastward to Saskatchewan