Bailey &: Bailey: Woody Plants of National Parks 



43 



1. Dodge's Willow, Dwarf Alpine Willow (Salix Dodgeana 

 Rydb.). — Minute prostrate alpine shrub only 1 inch high; leaves tiny, less 

 than 1/4 inch long; male catkins 3- or 4-flowered, the stamens 2 with filaments 

 not hairy; female catkins mostly 2-flowered; capsules smooth. 



Occurrence. — YELLOWSTONE: covers large areas on slopes of Electric Peak, 9,600 

 feet. 



2. Snow Willow (Salix nivalis Hook.). — Low creeping dwarf shrub, 

 usually with stems lying flat on the ground; leaves elliptic to reverse-egg- 

 shaped or roundish, 1/3 to 1/2 inch long, dark green and shining above, whit- 

 ish below and prominently veined, the margins not toothed; catkins appearing 

 after the leaves, few-flowered, less than % inch long; scales yellowish, not 

 hairy or scarcely so; stamens 2, the filaments not hairy; capsules finely hairy 

 or scarcely so, the style very short or none. 



Occurrence. — OLYMPIC: Mount Angeles, 5,500 feet; Marmot Pass. MOUNT RAINIER, 

 rare, 4,000 to 6,000 feet. GLACIER, occasional, about 7,000 feet: Siyeh Pass; rocks 

 above Sue Lake; Cutbank Pass; Gunsight Pass. YELLOWSTONE: summit of Electric 

 Peak, 11,000 feet. GRAND TETON. 



2a. Summit Willow (Var. saximontana Rydb. Schneid.). — Similar to 

 the species except leaves usually larger, % to 1^2 inches long; catkins larger, 

 usually many-flowered. 



Occurrence. — GLACIER, about 7,000 feet. YELLOWSTONE, occasional. ROCKY MOUN- 

 TAIN: Long Lake, 10,200 feet. 



Kirkwood^^*^* suggests that S. nivalis and var. saximontana are but varia- 

 tions of the Old World species, S. reticulata L., "becoming enlarged or de- 

 pauperate and variously modi- 

 fied in accordance with shelter 

 or exposure in severe situations 

 of high altitude." 



3. Skyland Willow 

 {Salix petrophila Rybd.), fig. 

 9. — Low prostrate shrub with 

 erect stems 2 to 4 inches high, 

 often forming carpet-like mats 

 on moist rocky slopes or in 

 rocky alpine meadows; leaves 

 1/3 to 1 inch long, elliptic to 

 reverse-egg-shaped, smooth or 

 hairy only on the margins, dull 

 green above, paler below, the margins not toothed; catkins appearing with the 

 leaves, the staminate 1/2 to % inch long, the seed-bearing catkins % to 1-% 

 inches long; scales dark, hairy; stamens 2, the filaments distinct, not hairy; 

 capsules finely hairy, the style 1 to li^ mm. long. The specific name, 

 petrophila, comes from two Greek words meaning rock and loving, referring 



Fig. 9. Skyland willow (Salix petrophila). 



10 Kirkwood, J. E., Northern Rocky Mountain Trees and Shrubs, p. 93. 1930. 



