BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Salix barrattiana | Barratt Willow 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Barratt willow is a much branched, low, often depressed, native
perennial shrub.  It is generally about 3 feet (30-150 cm) tall.  The
young twigs are sticky and have long, soft hairs.  The leaves are 1 to 3
inches (4-7 cm) long.  The species is dioecious; male aments are 1 to 2
inches long (2-5 cm) and female aments are 2 to 4 inches (4-9 cm) long.
The seed capsule is hairy.  Barratt willow forms extensive thickets in
alpine/subalpine habitats [5,12,15,15].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Undisturbed State:  Phanerophyte (nanophanerophyte)
   Burned or Clipped State:  Cryptophyte (geophyte)


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Barratt willow reporoduces by seed sexually produced by pollination and
fertilization [2].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Barratt willow grows on boggy meadows, moist open hillsides in
mountains, and along lakeshores and streambanks.  It has been reported
on rock slides and recent alluvial deposits.  Soils range from very
calcareous to very acidic [5,7,14].  It survives long, cold winters and
short, cool summers in areas in Alberta with a mean annual temperature
under 32 degrees F (0 degrees C).  Barratt willow was reported in a
krummholz community near timberline with Engelmann spruce (Picea
engelmannii), alpine larch (Larix lyallii), and subalpine fir (Abies
lasiocarpa) [7].  It has been reported at 8,475 feet (2,584 m) in Alberta
[7], between 6,800 and 10,500 feet (2,075 and 3,200 m) in Montana [15],
and at 10,000 feet (3,050 m) in Wyoming [2].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Fruit matures in late July and August [9,15].

Related categories for Species: Salix barrattiana | Barratt Willow