(skeleton leaf willow)
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Photo of Salix phlebophylla by Carl Roland
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Salix phlebophylla is a somewhat uncommon, matted, creeping dwarf shrub with many persistent 'skeletonized' dead leaves. This species occurs in alpine tundra and rocky sites in Denali. Plants grow only 1-7 cm tall. Branches are
glabrous and reddish-brown. Leaves are leathery, glossy green above, green beneath. Leaf margins are
entire and
ciliate. Dead leaves are persistent on the plant for many years, becoming skeletonized so that only the veins remain. Willows are
dioecious (individual plants produce either male or female flowers only), the flowers highly reduced and borne in catkins evolved for wind pollination. Female catkins appear with the leaves, are upright and densely flowered.
Pistils are usually hairy, purplish and pear-shaped. Fruits are a 2-valved
capsule which release many seeds attached to silky hairs. This species is known to hybridize with
S. rotundifolia, another tiny alpine willow.
Salix polaris is a similar dwarf willow, but that species lacks
ciliate leaf margins and the many persistent dead leaves.
Leaves and catkins of Salix phlebophylla appear together.
S. phlebophylla is
dioecious and insect and wind pollinated. Seeds have attached hairs to aid in wind dissemination. It also readily spreads vegetatively.
Collett (2004) documented a sawfly of the genus
Pontania on
S. phlebophylla.
S. phlebophylla, like all willows, contains salicin an aspirin precursor, but is probably too small and overlooked to be of much use.
Disclaimer for Known Uses.
Salix phlebophylla is an amphi-Beringian endemic species with an arctic-alpine distribution ranging from the Russian Far East through Alaska and into the Yukon Territory and (barely) Northwest Territory. In Alaska, S. phlebophylla occurs occasionally in alpine areas over much of the state except is apparently absent or very rare in the Aleutians and the southeast panhandle. In Denali, this species has been found in a few locations on the south side of the Alaska Range (principally near Shellabarger Pass).
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right, depicting recent Denali data.
S. phlebophylla is found a few times in Denali. Elevations ranged from 1006 m to 1493 m with an average elevation of 1310 m.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right. For more on how to interpret these figures, visit Understanding Data Presented.
S. phlebophylla grows in gravel-rocky alpine tundra and meadows.
Well-drained moist to dry sites.
