Salix brachycarpa var. brachycarpa

Short-fruited willow

Family: Salicaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Short-fruited willow is a rare (CNPS 2B.3) California native shrub found in central Sierra Nevada Mountains (eastern slope, Mono County) in subalpine limestone meadows at elevations of 3,200 to 3,500 meters. Flowering from June to August, this shrub produces delicate flowers in dense, spheric clusters on leafy shoots. Growing to less than 0.5 meters tall with distinctive red-brown twigs that become glabrous with age, it develops silky young stems that mature to smooth branches. Its leaves are approximately elliptic, 10 to 20 millimeters long with dense, soft, fine hairs on the underside and convex bases. Its ovaries are densely woolly, with small nectaries and short styles measuring 0.5 to 1.5 millimeters long.

Habitat: Subalpine meadows (especially on limestone)

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 3200-3500 m

Bioregions: c SNH (e slope, Mono Co.)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.