Salix tracyi

Tracy's willow

Family: Salicaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Tracy's willow is a California native shrub found in northern coastal California on shores and floodplains of rivers and creeks, often in sandy or gravelly serpentine habitats at elevations of 90 to 460 meters. Flowering from April to May, this willow produces small flowers with yellow-brown bracts arranged in catkins. Growing 1 to 6 meters tall with yellow- to red-brown twigs, it develops slender stems that become glabrous with age. Its leaves are distinctive, measuring 55 to 96 millimeters long and ranging from strap-shaped to oblanceolate, with mature blades that can be entire, wavy, or minutely serrate and often slightly rolled under. Young leaves are white- or white-and-rusty-hairy, while mature leaves can be glabrous or covered in white tomentose hairs.

Habitat: Shores, floodplains of rivers, creeks; sandy, gravelly, rocky, often serpentine

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 90-460 m

Bioregions: NCo

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