| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
Shrub, tree, generally dioecious (rarely monoecious)
Stem: trunk < 40 m; wood soft; bark smooth, bitter; buds scaly
Leaves simple, alternate, deciduous; stipules generally deciduous, often large
Inflorescence: catkin, generally appearing before leaves; each flower subtended by disk or 1–2 nectary glands and 1 bract
Flower: perianth 0
Staminate flower: stamens 1–many
Pistillate flower: pistil 1, ovary superior, chamber 1, stigma lobes 2–4
Seeds many; hairs fine, white, cottony
Fruit: capsule; valves 2–4
Genera in family: 2 genera, 340 species: generally temp (except Australia, Malay Archipelago) moist places; many cultivated. Hybridization common; identification often difficult. Family description, key to genera by John O. Sawyer, Jr.
Shrub, tree, dioecious; bud scale 1, not sticky, margins generally fused (or free, overlapping)
Stem: twigs generally flexible and not glaucous
Leaf: blade linear to widely obovate, entire to toothed, generally ± hairy
Inflorescence: dense catkin emerging before, with, or after leaves, sessile or on a short leafy shoot; bract subtending each flower
Flower: perianth 0
Staminate flower: stamens 1–8
Pistillate flower: ovary stalked or sessile, style 1 or 0, stigmas 2, each sometimes 2-lobed; nectaries 1–several, generally rod-like, generally between inflorescence axis and flower
Fruit: valves 2
Species in genus: ± 400 species: ± worldwide, especially n temp, arctic
Etymology: (Latin: ancient name)
Reference: [Argus 1986 Syst Bot Monog 9:1–170; Dorn 1976 Canad J Bot 54:2769–2789]
Difficult, highly variable. Not all specimens will key easily; sprout shoots and other extreme forms are not included in keys, may require field comparison for identification. Studies of variation, hybridization needed.
| Native |
Tree < 15 m
Stem: twigs red- to yellow-brown, hairy, becoming glabrous, brittle at base; bud scale margins free, overlapping
Leaves: stipules vestigial on early leaves, leaf-like later; petiole generally with glands; young leaves glabrous or white- or white-and-rusty-hairy; mature blade 67–150 mm, lanceolate to widely elliptic, acuminate (base rounded to acute), indistinctly finely crenate, glabrous, shiny to highly glossy above, glaucous below,
Inflorescence appearing with or after leaves, 35–110 mm, on leafy shoots 3–35 mm (shoot leaves entire); flower bract tawny; pistillate bract deciduous after flower
Staminate flower: stamens 5
Pistillate flower: ovary glabrous, style 0.2–0.6 mm, stalk 1–3.4 mm
Chromosomes: 2n=38
Ecology: Common. Riverbanks, seepage areas, lake shores (subalkaline or brackish), canyons, ditches
Elevation: 0–1700 m.
Bioregional distribution: California (except Modoc Plateau, Sonoran Desert)
Distribution outside California: s Oregon, n Nevada, Arizona, Mexico, n C.America
Flowering time: Mar–May
Synonyms: var. araquipa (Jeps.) C.R. Ball