Willow, Sitka - S. sitchensis

Shrub-type; Small tree or shrub 1 to 8 meters (3 to 25 feet) tall. Branches are dark brown to gray and sparsely hairy. Twigs are densely velvety and brittle at the base. The leaves are alternate, deciduous, broad and tapering from above the middle to the base. They are 4 to 9 centimeters (2 to 3.5 inches) long with the upper side bright green and sparsely silky and the lower side is satiny with short hairs pressed flat. The margins are smooth or with tiny glandular teeth. The leaf stalks are yellowish, velvety and 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) long. Stipules are half-oval and they fall off early in the season on slow growing twigs or they are retained throughout the season. Sitka willow is common along streams and rivers in thickets, lakeshores and wetland margins, forest edges and wet openings, and clearings. It can be found in low to mid elevations.

Field propagation by dormant unrooted hardwood cuttings is fairly easy.

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Last Modified: 07/05/2007