BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Salix lemmonii | Lemmons Willow 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Lemmons willow is a deciduous shrub with numerous slender crooked stems
arising in a loose basal cluster.  It is usually about 3 to 10 feet (1-3
m) tall but may grow up to 16 feet (5 m) tall [6,7,18].  Leaves are
alternate, simple, pinnately veined, entire or inconspicuously toothed,
green shiny above and pale glaucous below [6,7].  Male and female
flowers occur on separate plants in catkins.  Staminate catkins are
0.4-0.6 inch (1-1.5 cm) long, on occur on leafy flowering branchlets up
to 0.2 inch (5 mm) in length.  Pistillate catkins are 0.4 to 1.6 inches
(1-4 cm) long, on leafy flowering branchlets up to 0.4 inch (1 cm) long
[6,7].  The capsules are pubescent.


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Undisturbed State:  Phanerophyte (microphanerophyte)
   Undisturbed State:  Phanerophyte (nanophanerophyte)
   Burned or Clipped State:  Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Sexual:  Lemmons willow reproduces primarily through the dispersal of
thousands of small seeds.  Like other willows, it probably relies
heavily on insect pollination, especially from bees.  After
fertilization, a capsule develops which eventually splits open during
spring or summer, dispersing the numerous tiny seeds [5].  The
production of large quantities of seeds ensures that some will fall on
favorable sites.  Seeds have a cottony down, which allows them to float
long distances in wind or water.  Seeds are not dormant and remain
viable for only a few days.  They germinate rapidly, usually within 12
to 24 hours of dispersal if a moist seedbed is reached [5].  The seeds
contain significant amounts of chlorophyll, and photosynthesis generally
occurs as soon as the seed is moistened.

Vegetative:  Lemmons is unable to produce suckers form lateral roots but
will resprout from its root crown or stem base after fire or cutting
[1,10,12].  Regeneration may also occur through broken pieces of stems
or roots, which are transported and deposited by floodwaters, and later
sprout [27].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Lemmons willow is a riparian species; it grows near streams and rivers
on low gradient floodplains.  In Idaho, it inhabits relatively dry
portions of riparian zones [6].

Soils:  In Idaho it is consistently found on well-drained gravelly or
sandy soils, while nearby associated willows grow on wet, fine-textured
or coarse-textured soils near the water table [6].  In Oregon it is
found on deep, fine textured alluvium over subsurface soils of various
textures ranging from silt to silty clay loam [12].

Associates:  Lemmons willow is often found with other willows such as
Geyer willow, Drummond willow (Salix drummondiana), planeleaf willow (S.
planifolia), and wolf willow (S. wolfii).  Bog birch (Betula glandulosa)
and Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) are also common [6,12].

Elevation:  Lemmon willow is reported to grow from low-middle to upper
elevations.  Elevational ranges for California and Oregon are presented
below [12,19]:

        from 5,000 to 10,000 feet (1,524-3,048 m) in CA
             4,400 to 6,300 feet (1,341-1,920 m) in OR


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Like many other willows, Lemmon willow is probably an early seral
species.   


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Lemmons willow is a deciduous shrub.  Its catkins emerge with, or
sometimes before the leaves in the spring [7,18].  After fruits ripen,
seeds are dispersed from spring to early summer [5].  It flowers from
May to June in California [18].

Related categories for Species: Salix lemmonii | Lemmons Willow