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Home/Species/ Hoary Willow

Salix candida

Fluegge ex Willd.

Hoary Willow

G5Secure Found in 9 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.140413
Element CodePDSAL020K0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderSalicales
FamilySalicaceae
GenusSalix
Other Common Names
sageleaf willow (EN) Sageleaf Willow (EN) Saule tomenteux (FR)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-10-10
Change Date1984-09-06
Edition Date2024-10-10
Edition AuthorsWilliams, C.L., rev. N. Ventrella (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Salix candida is a perennial shrub occurring in bogs, fens, meadows, and floodplains on calcareous substrates of North America, from Alaska throughout all of Canada, south to Washington through Colorado, the upper Midwest, and northeastern United States. There are over 700 estimated occurrences rangewide, which are threatened by the conversion of natural wetlands for development or agriculture, water management, and impoundment with dams, livestock grazing, invasive species, peat mining, rights-of-way maintenance, deer browse, herbicides, and other threats in some places. Little is known about threats and trends, but with a large range extent, high number of occurrences, abundant habitat, broad habitat preferences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, Salix candida is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Salix candida occurs in North America, from Alaska throughout all of Canada, south to Washington through Colorado, the upper Midwest, and northeastern United States (FNA 2010). Range extent was estimated to be over 11 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024, there are estimated to be over 700 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Salix candida is threatened by conversion of natural wetlands for development or agriculture, water management, and impoundment with dams, livestock grazing, invasive species, peat mining, rights-of-way maintenance, deer browse, herbicides, and other threats in some places, though there is insufficient data, including anecdotal accounts, to understand scope and severity of threats for this species (NatureServe 2024).
Ecology & Habitat

Description

From CNHP Wetland Guide 2012: Erect low shrub, to 1 m tall, often forming clones by layering; year-old twigs dark gray-brown to yellow-brown, not glaucous, woolly in patches or floccose to glabrescent, yellow-brown to red-brown or gray-brown, densely (white) woolly or tomentose, sometimes floccose; leaves glaucous on underside but usually obscured by dense hairs, narrowly elliptic, oblong, or lance-linear, 5-9 cm x 0.8-1.8 cm, entire or remotely crenulate, densely white woolly hairy on underside, upperside glabrate to loosely woolly hairy, petioles 3-12 mm long; catkins flowering as leaves emerge; staminate stout or subglobose, 17-39 × 8-16 mm, flowering branchlet 0.5-7 mm; pistillate densely to moderately densely flowered, stout or slender, 20-66 × 9-18 mm, flowering branchlet 1-24 mm; floral bract tawny or brown, 1.2-1.8 mm, apex rounded or acute, below hairy, hairs straight to wavy; staminate catkins narrowly oblong to oblong, 0.6-1 mm; filaments distinct or connate less than 1/2 their lengths; anthers purple turning yellow, ellipsoid, long-cylindrical, or globose, 0.4-0.6 mm; pistillate catkins oblong, 0.4-1 mm; ovary pear-shaped, beak sometimes slightly bulged below styles; ovules 12-18 per ovary; styles 0.3-1.9 mm; capsules hairy, 4-6 mm

Diagnostic Characteristics

Salix candida is one of the most distinctive willows, due largely to leaf characteristics. The thinly tomentose early leaves are evidently glaucuous beneath, and so, early in the season these plants somewhat resemble S. brachycarpa, which is similar in its habitat, stature and floral morphology. Salix candida, however, has notably longer and narrower leaves.

From CNHP Wetland Guide 2012: Main Characteristics:
Erect low shrub, to 1 m tall
Leaves narrow, densely white-tomentose below, upper surface dark green and shiny, with strongly revolute margins
Twigs of this year's growth densely woolly or tomentose
Found in calcareous or rich fens

Habitat

Salix candida occurs in "floodplains, marl bogs, fens, and meadows, [on] calcareous substrates" (FNA 2010).
Terrestrial Habitats
Grassland/herbaceous
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLANDBog/fenRiparian
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
WisconsinSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
ConnecticutS3Yes
MassachusettsS3Yes
MichiganSNRYes
WyomingS2Yes
NebraskaSNRYes
MaineS1Yes
VermontS3Yes
IndianaSNRYes
North DakotaSNRYes
South DakotaS1Yes
WashingtonS1Yes
IllinoisS2Yes
IdahoS2Yes
New JerseyS2Yes
ColoradoS2Yes
OhioS2Yes
New YorkS5Yes
AlaskaS3Yes
IowaS3Yes
New HampshireSNRYes
PennsylvaniaS1Yes
MontanaS3Yes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
Island of NewfoundlandS4Yes
Prince Edward IslandS1Yes
QuebecS5Yes
British ColumbiaS5Yes
LabradorS2Yes
New BrunswickS3Yes
Nova ScotiaS1Yes
SaskatchewanS4Yes
NunavutS4Yes
Northwest TerritoriesSNRYes
Yukon TerritoryS3Yes
AlbertaS4Yes
ManitobaS5Yes
OntarioS5Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentUnknownUnknownUnknown
2 - Agriculture & aquacultureUnknownUnknownUnknown
2.1 - Annual & perennial non-timber cropsUnknownUnknownUnknown
2.1.4 - Scale unknown/unrecordedUnknownUnknownUnknown
2.3 - Livestock farming & ranchingUnknownUnknownUnknown
2.3.4 - Scale unknown/unrecordedUnknownUnknownUnknown
3 - Energy production & miningUnknownUnknownUnknown
3.2 - Mining & quarryingUnknownUnknownUnknown
4 - Transportation & service corridorsUnknownUnknownUnknown
7 - Natural system modificationsUnknownUnknownUnknown
7.2 - Dams & water management/useUnknownUnknownUnknown
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1.1 - Unspecified speciesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.2 - Problematic native species/diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.2.2 - Named speciesUnknownUnknownUnknown
9 - PollutionUnknownUnknownUnknown
9.3 - Agricultural & forestry effluentsUnknownUnknownUnknown
9.3.3 - Herbicides and pesticidesUnknownUnknownUnknown

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)Yes
Roadless Areas (9)
Washington (4)
AreaForestAcres
Abercrombie - HooknoseColville National Forest33,862
Grassy TopColville National Forest10,302
Grassy TopIdaho Panhandle National Forests13,485
Salmo - Priest BColville National Forest11,869
Wyoming (5)
AreaForestAcres
Beartooth Proposed WildernessShoshone National Forest16,837
Libby FlatsMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest11,107
Sheep MountainMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest17,626
Sulphur CreekShoshone National Forest30,221
Windy MountainShoshone National Forest31,283
References (31)
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