Single Record

Participant Info

Species
Salix ligulifolia [Salix eriocephala var. ligulifolia] [Salix lutea var. ligulifolia]
Family
Salicaceae
CommonName
strapleaf willow
Presence
YES
Status
native
EarliestDate
1899
LatestDate
2020
Ecosystem
basin, shrubland, foothill, montane, ruderal, urban
Geobotanical
SSanjuans, NCristos, UBasin
Counties
Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache
Passes
WildlifePreserves
Baca, Great Sand Dunes
Other Localities
Alamosa (town), Del Norte
Comments
In the Watershed, strapleaf willow is common in riparian habitats, often found with Salix lasiandra, but not found as often or as high in elevation. In the Valley, it seems to like the sides of irrigation ditches. It is not recorded from but probably present in the Culebras judging from its widespread presence in the Cristos of northern New Mexico. In the USA, it is a Rocky Mountain species, with a disjunct population in the Sierra Nevadas. It follows the Rio Grande drainage through Santa Fe Co but no farther south. Note that it has often been treated as a variety of Salix eriocephala (S. eriocephala subsp. mackenieana var. ligulifolia), with a distribution covering all counties of Colorado except for those the the Great Plains (e.g., Kittel 2023, who gives its elevation range as 5,300'-9,200'). As often, specialists show occurrences of S. eriocephala all east of the Watershed (e.g., BONAP).