Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Silky Willow

Salix sericea

Marsh.

Silky Willow

G5Secure Found in 4 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.130815
Element CodePDSAL022N0
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
Saule soyeux (FR) silky willow (EN)
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 Date2025-06-09
Change Date1984-09-06
Edition Date2025-06-09
Edition AuthorsN. Ventrella (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Salix sericea is a perennial shrub or tree occurring on boggy shores, terraces, along steams, sedge meadows, and seepages of eastern North America, from Quebec and Nova Scotia, Canada south to Georgia, west to Arkansas, and north to Wisconsin in the United States. There are over 300 estimated occurrences of this taxon, which are potentially threatened by development, water diversion, alteration of hydrology, erosion, recreational activities, invasive species, and other threats in some places. Little is known about trends and threats, but with a large range extent, high number of occurrences, abundant habitat, broad habitat preferences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, Salix sericea is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Salix sericea occurs in eastern North America, from Quebec and Nova Scotia, Canada south to Georgia, west to Arkansas, and north to Wisconsin in the United States (FNA 2010). Range extent was estimated to be over 2.5 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data collected between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1994 and 2025, it is estimated that there are more than 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Salix sericea is likely threatened by development, water diversion, alteration of hydrology, erosion, recreational activities, invasive species, and other threats in some places. However, they are considered negligible given the broad range and large number of occurrences of the species and its somewhat flexible and abundant habitat, as well as no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Salix sericea occurs in "wet, boggy shores, sandy terraces, ledges along streams, low woods, sedge meadows, acid bogs, open seepages, rocky, silty, sandy, or peaty substrates, possibly also on serpentine soils" from 5-1300 m in elevation (FNA 2010).

Ecology

Salix sericea is the host plant for caterpillars of Saturium acadica, the Acadian hairstreak butterfly (Native Plant Trust 2025).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandGrassland/herbaceous
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLANDBog/fenRiparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
QuebecS3Yes
New BrunswickS5Yes
Nova ScotiaS3Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
TennesseeSNRYes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
IndianaSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
VermontS5Yes
New HampshireSNRYes
AlabamaSNRYes
New JerseyS4Yes
KentuckyS5Yes
VirginiaS5Yes
South CarolinaS3Yes
DelawareS1Yes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
West VirginiaS5Yes
New YorkS5Yes
IllinoisS3Yes
WisconsinS1Yes
North CarolinaS5Yes
MarylandSNRYes
MissouriSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
GeorgiaS2Yes
MaineSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
ConnecticutSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
ArkansasSHYes
IowaS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined———

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)Yes
Roadless Areas (4)
New Hampshire (1)
AreaForestAcres
Carr MountainWhite Mountain National Forest17,110
North Carolina (3)
AreaForestAcres
Barkers Creek (addition)Nantahala National Forest975
Lost CovePisgah National Forest5,944
Overflow CreekNantahala National Forest3,379
References (9)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2010. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 7. Magnoliophyta: Salicaceae to Brassicaceae. Oxford University Press, New York. xxii + 797 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  3. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  4. 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.
  5. Little, E.L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agriculture Handbook No. 541. U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C. 375 pp.
  6. Native Plant Trust. 2025. Go Botany website. Online. Available: https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org (accessed 2025).
  7. NatureServe. 2025. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  8. <p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
  9. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).