Arctic Willow

Salix arctica subsp. var.	Arctic Willow
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	Salicaceae > Salix arctica var. ,

Salix arctica (Arctic Willow) is a tiny creeping willow (family Salicaceae). It is adapted to survive in harsh Arctic and subarctic environments, and has a circumpolar distribution round the Arctic Ocean. It grows in tundra and rocky moorland, and is the northernmost woody plant in the world, occurring far above the tree line up to the northern limit of land on the north coast of Greenland. It also occurs further south in North America on high altitude Alpine tundra south to the Sierra Nevada in California and the Rocky Mountains in New Mexico, and in Asia to Xinjiang in China.

It is typically a low shrub growing to only 1 - 15 cm in height (rarely to 25 cm high), however in the Pacific Northwest it may reach 50 cm in height, and has round, shiny green leaves 1 - 4 cm long and broad, rarely up to 8 cm long and 6 cm broad; they are pubescent, with long silky, silvery hairs. Like the rest of the willows, Arctic Willow is dioecious, with male and female catkins on separate plants. As a result the plant's appearance varies; the female catkins are red-coloured, while the male catkins are yellow-coloured.

Despite its small size, it is a long-lived plant, growing extremely slowly in the severe Arctic climate; one in eastern Greenland was found to be 236 years old.

Varieties

Hybrids with Salix arcticola and Salix glauca are known.

Gallery

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External links

• w:Arctic Willow. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Arctic Willow QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)