Salix lasiandra var. caudata

Tail-leaf willow, Tail-Leaf Willow

Family: Salicaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Tail-leaf willow is a California native shrub found in the Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, and Great Basin in wet meadows, lakeshores, and riverbanks at elevations of 35 to 3,050 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces white or grayish flowers on flexible branches. Growing with spreading stems up to 3 to 5 meters tall, it forms dense thickets in moist environments. Its leaves have distinctive petioles 4 to 15 millimeters long with leaf-like glands at the base, and mature blades covered in white to rusty-white soft, shaggy hairs that give the leaves a distinctive textured appearance. The shrub creates important riparian habitat, providing cover and stabilization along waterways.

Habitat: Wet meadows, lakeshores, riverbanks

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 35-3050 m

Bioregions: SNH, SnBr, GB

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