Salix lasiandra var. lasiandra

Pacific willow

Family: Salicaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Pacific willow is a California native shrub found in southern California and desert regions, commonly inhabiting wet meadows, shores, and seepage areas at elevations up to 2,715 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces delicate white flowers with slender catkins. Growing with flexible stems 1 to 3 meters tall, it forms dense thickets near water sources. Its leaves have distinctive petioles with spherical glands and feature white to rusty-white hairs, creating a soft, textured appearance along branches. In wet habitats, this willow provides critical habitat and stabilization for riparian ecosystems.

Habitat: Common. Wet meadows, shores, seepage areas

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: < 2715 m

Bioregions: CA (less common s CA, D)

California counties: Tulare, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, San Diego, Shasta, Mono, Modoc, Mariposa, Calaveras, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lake, Madera, Napa, Sacramento, San Benito, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tuolumne, Yolo, Alameda, Alpine, Butte, Del Norte, Fresno, Humboldt, Inyo, Kern, Lassen, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Orange, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Sierra, Tehama, Trinity, Riverside, Stanislaus, Colusa

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