SALIX CAROLINIANA

-Michaux

Author: Thomas Pope - Ecology 3500 - UGA - Athens, GA


Common Names: Carolina Willow, Coastal Plain Willow, Ward's Willow


courtesy of W.H. Duncan


Table ofContents



Higher Taxon

Class:Magnoliopsida

Sub-class:Dilleniidae

Family: Salicaceae

Sub-Family:Salicoideae

Tribe:Saliceae

Genus:Salix

Section:Humboldtiana
-could not locate holotype from taxonomy source

Description: Salix's common name is the willow and is estimated to contain between 400-500 species throughout North America and Europe (Argus.,1986). Salix tends not to thrive in tropical regions for there are only three species found in Central and South America. The species of Salix caroliniana is generally around12m (40 ft) tall. It is described by Argus as "having branches dark to light brown, glabrous or sparsely pubescent (coated with soft hairs); branchlets reddish brown to yellowish brown, brittle at branch base, with bud scale margins free and overlapping. The larger blades are commonly 7.5-11.5cm long and 5 to 7.5cm in width. New leaves emerge reddish green"(Argus.,1986,pp.22-23). The largest mature blades lanceolate (lance-shaped), narrowly linear and oblong (Argus., 1997, p.52).




Species List:
Salix has a wide range of species from the eastcoast to the midwest. Some species include S. setchelliana, S. vestita, S. maccalliana, S. reticulata, S. nivalis, S. serissima, S. floridana, S. breweri, and S. hookeriana to name a few. All species differ with their hybrid origins, which makes various Salix species hard to identify (Fritz 1998). Caroliniana is different from other species such that its branches are a darker brown and has prominant stipules. To visit other genera and more species of this family visit back into "discover life" at this site.




Geography:
Salix caroliniana is most abundant in the southeast, especially in N. Florida. It occurs most naturally near water, such as lakes and ponds, and thrives in coastal areas. Tropical climates are too much for the carolinina as few species are found south of the United States.(Newsholme) Other than coastal areas, caroliniana thrives in the Ozarks, where it occurs primarily on rocky or gravelly stream beds with secondary occurrences in moist, open fields and woods.(Argus;S.E. p.23)

 

Salix caroliniana>

 

Area

Status

References

Europe

Continental United States

yes

Argus; 1986

United Sates east of Mississippi

yes

Argus; 1986

Coastal Plains

 

widespread

Newsholme; 1992

Southeastern United States

AL, AR, DE, DC, FL, GA, KY, MD, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV

yes

Argus; 1986

Central and S. America

rare, except in Cuba

Newsholme; 1992

Ohio River Valley

yes

Newsholme; 1992

SW Texas and Ozarks

yes

Newsholme; 1992
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Natural History:
Salix caroliniana tends to flower in the south from December to early May, and in the North it flowers from mid March to early June. Outside of the southeastern U.S., caroliniana is fairly rare, it is on the endangered list in Indiana and Ohio(Argus; 1986 p.25). Argus suggests that caroliniana's vegtative history once thrived more than today in the Ozark's until the swamps became too dry, where the trees then moved up the Mississippi Valley. One is most likely to find Salix caroliniana on a N. Florida pond embankment or by a river in the Ohio River Valley.Argus; 1997