Salix ligulifolia

Strap-leafed willow

Family: Salicaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Strap-leafed willow is a California native shrub found in the Klamath Ranges, northern High Sierra Nevada, Sierra Nevada, and Warner Mountains along rivers and streams at elevations of 1,100 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces yellow-green flowers with delicate bracts and small brown flower clusters. Growing up to 8 meters tall with yellow-green or brown twigs that can be glabrous or long-shaggy-hairy, it has a distinctive shrubby form. Its strap-shaped to narrowly elliptic leaves measure 60 to 133 millimeters long, with gland-dotted or finely serrate margins and sparse short-silky undersides. The shrub produces unique leaf-like stipules with rounded to pointed tips, adding to its distinctive botanical character.

Habitat: Rivers, streams

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 1100-2500 m

Bioregions: KR, CaRH, SNH, Wrn

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