BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Salix amygdaloides | Peachleaf Willow 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Peachleaf willow is a rapidly growing, short-lived, small- to
medium-sized deciduous tree with one to several trunks that is typically
from 20 to 40 feet (6-12 m) tall [12,16,20,42,44] but occasionally
reaches 65 to 80 feet (20-24 m) [3,37].  Trunk diameters are typically 8
to 20 inches (20-50 cm) [44].  The bark is thick, yellowish brown to
dark brown, irregular, fissured, and has broad flat ridges [14,37].  The
leaves are alternate, simple, pinnately veined, lanceolate to
ovate-lanceolate, with finely serrate margins which have 15 to 17 teeth
per inch (6-7/cm) [16,20,12,37].  Leaves are 1 to 4 inches (2.5-10 cm)
long and 0.4 to 1.2 inches (1-3 cm) wide [16,20,36,45].  Male and female
flowers occur on separate trees as catkins.  Pistillate catkins are 1 to
3 inches (3-8 cm) long, and staminate catkins are 1 to 2 inches (3-5 cm)
long [14,16].

Due to their morphological similarities, peachleaf willow may be
mistaken or confused with Pacific willow (Salix lasiandra), but they can
be distinguished by differences in their bud scales [12] Peachleaf
willow has bud scales with free overlapping margins and are pointed at
the tip, while Pacific willow has bud scales without free overlapping
margins and are rounded at the tip.


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


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Peachleaf willow's regenerates primarily through the dispersal of
thousands of small seeds.  It is unable to produce suckers from lateral
roots but will resprout from its root crown or stem base following fire
or cutting [2,18,19].  Peachleaf willos It relies heavily on insect
pollination, especially from bees [30].  After fertilization, a capsule
develops which eventually splits open during spring or summer,
dispersing the numerous tiny seeds (about 2,600,000 per pound
[6,420,000/kg] [8]). Producing large quantities of seeds ensures that
some will fall on favorable sites [3].  Seeds have a cottony down which
allows them to float long distances in wind or on water.  Seeds are
non-dormant remaining viable for only a few days.  They germinate
rapidly, usually within 12 to 24 hours of dispersal if a moist seedbed
is reached [8].  The seeds contain significant amounts of chlorophyll,
and photosynthesis generally occurs as soon as the seed is moistened.

Regeneration may also occur through broken pieces of stems or roots,
which are transported and deposited by floodwaters, and later sprout
[47].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Peachleaf willow is found along stream and river banks, pond and lake
borders, moist ravines and ditches, oxbows, roadside gullies, and
prairie sloughs [12,14,16,19,37].  It is shade intolerant and requires
canopy openings to survive [42,44].  It is tolerant of poor drainage and
prolonged flooding [19] but extended immersion in water for a year or
longer will cause most plants to die [17].
 
Soils:  Peachleaf willow occurs on a wide variety of soil textures but
is most commonly found on sandy or silty alluvium [14,19,44].  It can
tolerate weakly saline or alkaline soils [19].  Its growth on gravel or
dense clay is poor, on clay is fair, and on sand, sandy-loam, loam,
clay-loam is good [10].

Associates:  Peachleaf willow is often found bordering water in riparian
or floodplain forests that contain eastern cottonwood (Populus
deltoides), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), boxelder (Acer negundo),
American elm (Ulmus americana), Woods rose (Rosa woodsii), chokecherry
(Prunus virginia), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), and sandbar willow
(Salix exigua) [4,19,33,39].

Elevation:  Peachleaf willow is typically found along low elevation
streams, rivers, and ponds in the Rocky Mountains [12,19]; along
streambanks in the foothills and plains of dryland regions of the
Pacific Northwest [20]; and along lowland floodplain forest of the Great
Plains [35,37].  Elevational ranges for several western states are as
follows [1,10,45]:

        from 3,500 to 9,500 feet (1,067-2,896 m) in CO
        from 3,500 to 5,600 feet (1,067-1,707 m) in UT
        from 3,500 to 7,000 feet (1,067-2,134 m) in WY


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Peachleaf willow is an early successional species which pioneers
floodplain alluvium [4,44].  In Kansas, it occurrs only as a pioneer on
newly deposited alluvium; stands maintain themselves for about 30 years,
until other riparian forest trees shade them out [4].  It is shade
intolerant and can therefore persist along a river's edge, where
repeated flooding prevents other species from becoming established.


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Peachleaf willow is a deciduous tree.  Its catkins emerge with the
leaves in the spring [16].  After fruits ripen, seeds are dispersed from
spring to early summer [8].  The flowering times for several states are
presented below [8,10]:

State     Flowering Begins   Flowering Ends

CO           April              June
MN           May                June
ND           April              May
UT           May                June
WY           June               July
    

Related categories for Species: Salix amygdaloides | Peachleaf Willow