Salix drummondiana
Drummond's willow
Family: Salicaceae · Type: shrub · Native
Drummond's willow is a California native shrub found in the central Sierra Nevada and White and Inyo Mountains in streamsides, wet meadows, and subalpine red-fir forest at elevations of 2,200 to 3,000 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces silky white to rusty-white flowers on leafy shoots. Growing as a shrub less than 5 meters tall with distinctive red- or mottled yellow-brown twigs that are brittle at the base, it develops strongly glaucous branches that become smooth with age. Its leaves are strap-shaped to elliptic, 40 to 85 millimeters long, with dense white or white-and-rusty silky hairs, and margins that are entire to shallowly crenate and slightly rolled under. The plant's young leaves are particularly notable for their white- or white-and-rusty silky texture, creating a soft, distinctive appearance.
Habitat: Streamsides, wet meadows, subalpine red-fir forest
Bloom period: Apr-Jul
Elevation: 2200-3000 m
Bioregions: c&s SNH, W&I
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.