Salix herbacea

Herb - willow ( Salix herbacea )

The herb - willow ( Salix herbacea ) is a plant of the genus willow ( Salix).

Description

The creeping dwarf shrub grows like a carpet. He achieved stature heights from 2 to 10 inches and has a woody stem, creeping underground. Only the branches with two to three leaflets protrude from the earth. The round leaves are 5-20 mm wide, short-stalked, glabrous, glossy bright green and usually in pairs against constantly on short shoots. The increase in thickness of the shoots is extremely low with less than 0.5 mm per year.

The herb - willow blooms from May to September. The flowers are up to fourth- twelfth in terminal stalked short, almost spherical kitten. The anthers are before Ausstäuben bright red, just like the young fruit.

Occurrence

The species is arctic - alpine south common in Asia, North America, Europe to the Pyrenees, the Apennines and the Balkans. As location and lime-free soil constantly damp debris at altitudes 1800-3200 m are preferred.

The herb - willow is characteristic species of the plant community Salicetum herbaceae ( Schneetälchen on calcium-poor soils).

Others

"The least of all the trees " ( Carl von Linné ) is considered the Ice Age relic. The herb - willow has adaptations to insect poor location and the long snow cover: it is pollinated by the wind, and their seeds remain viable for long in the cold ground.