This description covers characteristics that may be relevant to fire ecology and is not meant for identification. Keys for identification are available (for example, [22,30,41,45]), although it is challenging to identify in the field [96].
Shining willow is a deciduous [28] small tree or tall shrub, occasionally growing up to 40 feet (12 m) tall [9,45]. It typically has several stems [28,57], becoming increasingly shrubby with increasing elevation [11].The bark is smooth and thin [28], and the bole and branches are brittle [62]. Twigs are relatively stout [62]. It has lanceolate leaves [21,57] that are 2 to 5 inches (5-13 cm) long [62]. Shining willow is dioecious, so individual trees bear either pistillate or staminate catkins [9,20]. The fruit is a hairless [62] capsule [9,20,57], but the seed coat is covered with soft, cottony hairs [62,110]. The typical variety differs from tail-leaf willow by having glaucous undersides to the leaves [21,57].
Shining willow is distributed from Alaska east to Labrador and south to California, Kansas, and North Carolina [49,63,97]. It is mostly absent from dry interior regions of the Intermountain West [63]. Distributions of the subspecies are shown below.
Distributions of Salix lucida subsp. caudata, Salix lucida subsp. lasiandra, and Salix lucida subsp. lucida, respectively. Maps courtesy of USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC [97] [2018, February 27].States and provinces [49,97]:
United States: AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY
Canada: AB, BC, NT, SK, YT
Experts on the genus Salix report that shining willow sprouts from the root crown after top-kill by fire [57,110]. It may also regenerate from seed if fire has cleared a mineral seed bed [57,109] on a moist site (see Germination and seedling establishment). However, neither shining willow's ability to sprout after fire [37,39] nor its ability to establish from seed after fire is well documented in the literature.
Shining willow showed good recovery after wildfires in North Cascades National Park, Washington. In July 1970, lightning ignited several fires. The 3 largest of these burns—named Thunder Creek No.1 (55 acres (22 ha)), Thunder Creek No. 2 (410 acres (170 ha)), and Silver Creek (290 acres (120 ha))—were monitored in 1971, 1972, and 1974. Coast Douglas-fir dominated most prefire stands; western hemlock and western redcedar were overstory associates. Shining willow had best recovery on Silver Creek, where it more than doubled its cover and quadrupled its height from postfire year 2 to postfire year 4. Of the 3 sites, fire was most severe on Silver Creek, and sprouting species in general showed best recovery on that site. However, the authors did not note whether shining willow had regenerated from sprouts or seeds on any of the 3 burns [69].
Shining willow postfire abundance and growth after 1970 wildfires in North Cascades National Park [69] Site 1971Fuels: As of 2015, little information was available on how shining willow affects fire intensity and spread. Willows in general have moderately low dry-weight density [32] and are not highly flammable [40].
FIRE REGIMES: FIRE REGIMES of riparian communities with shining willow are highly variable across time and space. Fires are often of lower frequency and severity in riparian than in upland areas [64], but there are cases in the western United States where fire severity is similar [24] or more severe [64] in riparian than in upland areas. Montane riparian communities of the western United States and Alaska have surface, mixed-severity, and crown fires; this may vary across years within a plant community and among plant communities within a landscape [8]. For example, balsam poplar communities of interior Alaska have highly variable FIRE REGIMES, with surface, mixed-severity, and crown fires [18,65]. However, alder-willow shrublands rarely burn [59] even when they are adjacent to balsam poplar communities [102]. FIRE REGIMES of black cottonwood communities are not well known, but limited evidence suggests that fires are spotty and of low severity [24,78,81]. Riparian chaparral communities of California and Oregon typically have only replacement-severity fires [50], while riparian coniferous forests have surface, mixed, and crown fires [6,56]. These FEIS Fire Regime Syntheses provide further information on FIRE REGIMES of plant communities in which shining willow occurs:
Shining willow provides important browse and cover for wildlife and livestock. White-footed voles [103], snowshoe hares [13], American beavers [53,58], mule deer [15,17,58], elk [58], and moose [1,13] browse shining willow.
Riparian communities with shining willow are important livestock rangelands. Low-elevation sites may be used year-round [38].
Shining willow provides cover for numerous wildlife species [2,3,7]. American beavers use shining willow for dam material [58]. Dusky-footed woodrats in western Oregon use shining willow as nesting trees. They apparently select nest trees based on availability rather than preference for particular tree species [25]. On the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado, yellow-rumped warblers used shining willow for nesting more than expected based on shining willow frequency (P<0.05) [55]. In California, the federally Endangered least Bell's vireo nests in shining willow branches [33].
Shining willow provides shade for trout and other cold-water fish [38,58]. Shining willow trees that fall into watercourses are a source of large woody debris that creates deep pools for fish [38].
Palatability and nutritional value: Big game, American beavers, and livestock find shining willow moderately to highly palatable [28]. Its palatability is rated poor for cattle and horses and fair to good for mule deer, domestic sheep, and domestic goats [83]. No information was found on the nutritional value of shining willow.
Shining willow is fast-growing. In a treatise on the genus, Newsholme [75] described shining willow as "vigorous" and "strongly growing" relative to other willows. An experiment comparing growth of riparian plant species in 2 temperature-controlled greenhouses suggests that shining willow grows faster in subtropical than in temperate climates [84].
Browsing can reduce shining willow growth [58]. In Jordan Crater Research Natural Area, Oregon, shining willow in areas with American beavers had significantly less height and crown diameter than shining willow in areas that were inaccessible to American beavers due to lava caps (P>0.05) [53]. However, shining willow usually recovers unless heavy browsing is prolonged over several growing seasons [58]. Five months after shining willows in a lava cap area were clipped to the root crown, they averaged 8.2 feet (2.5 m) tall [54]. In Malheur County, Oregon, seedling growth and density of shining willow was similar with light- to moderate-intensity spring or fall cattle grazing and in cattle exclosures, but shining willow growth and density were reduced with heavy to very heavy grazing [86].
Shining willow regenerates from seed and by sprouting. A continually moist substrate is required for germination and seedling establishment.
Shining willow seed production is "prolific" [51]. Although information on age at first reproduction was not available for shining willow in particular, Salix spp. seedlings usually first produce seeds at 5 to 10 years old. Sprouts may produce seeds at 1 or 2 years old [110].
Shining willow is highly desirable browse, and herbivores can greatly reduce its flower and seed production [110].
Site characteristics: Shining willow grows in wet to moist sites: along streams, rivers, and lakeshores and in seeps, wet meadows, freshwater swamps, and moist alluvial bottomlands [9,22,28,30]. In central Oregon, it is an indicator species for riparian areas and moist to wet meadows at low to moderate elevations [28].
Elevation: Shining willow occurs from sea level to 10,000 feet (0-3,100 m) across its range [30]. It is most common at midmontane elevations. It is found at low to middle elevations in Montana [20] and Canada [85] and from sea level to midmontane elevations in the shining Northwest [41]. In a 1900 survey on the Stanislaus and Tahoe National Forests, California, Sudworth [91] found shining willow was most common below coniferous forests, within riparian areas surrounded by oak woodlands or chaparral. Elevational ranges are shown below by area.
Area Elevation (feet) Idaho, eastern 4,600-6,600 [11,38] Montana 3,040-6,600 [39] New Mexico Nevada <7,700 feet [66] Utah up to 8,000 [26] Washington, Mt Rainier National Park 2,000-4,000 [89] Wyoming 4,100-10,000; most common along low-elevation streams [28] Rocky Mountains 4,100-10,000 for tail-leaf willowSoils: Shining willow grows in wet to moist soils [28]. Textures are usually silt, sand, or gravel; shining willow commonly grows on sandbars [28,45], gravelbars [15,28], and alluvial soils. In Idaho, it grows in sandy or gravelly soils close to stream edges or high water lines [11]. Best growth is attained in alluvial river silts [75]. In Wyoming, shining willow communities occur on volcanic alluvium in the Bighorn Basin [104] and on the Shoshone National Forest [28].
See the Appendix for a list of scientific names and links to FEIS Species Reviews.
Plant communities: Shining willow is common or dominant in many riparian plant communities across its range. In riparian woodlands, it commonly codominates with black cottonwood [74] or balsam poplar [104], and it codominates or dominates some riparian thickets [30]. For example, it codominates in tall shrub communities with alders [67,104] or other willows [67,74,104] and often occurs in riparian mixed shrublands[46,74].
In Alaska, shining willow is common in warm taiga areas, such as warm slopes dominated by quaking aspen [101]. It often forms thickets or occurs in shrub communities on riverbanks and alluvial areas [2], typically in association with alders and/or other willows [99]. It grows along the Tanana River with balsam poplar, thinleaf alder, Alaska willow, sandbar willow, smallfruit willow, and firmleaf willow [1,13].
In the Pacific Northwest, shining willow grows in the understories of balsam poplar communities. It and other willows may form "nearly impenetrable" thickets [27]. It is common west of the Cascade crest from British Columbia to northern California, forming woodlands on major floodplains or codominating in tall shrublands with other willows [47]. Along Meadow Creek in Oregon, shining willow grew in sandbar willow-black cottonwood communities with thinleaf alder and MacKenzie's willow [15].
In California, shining willow grows in valley, coastal, and montane riparian communities. In the Central Valley, shining willow occurs in riparian forests with box elder, California sycamore, Fremont cottonwood, and valley oak [43,80]. Lianas including California wild grape and Pacific poison-oak are conspicuous. These communities are usually above the active floodplain on upper terraces [43]. It codominates with buttonbush in backwater sloughs, oxbows, and other quiet waters. These communities, once common, are now rare due to agricultural development [42]. In the North Coast Ranges, it grows in redwood forests with bigleaf maple, red alder, and black cottonwood [80]. Near Eel River, shining willow grows in black cottonwood-Oregon ash communities [105]. In coastal central and southern California, shining willow codominates with white alder in arroyo riparian forests, especially on dunelands within the coastal fog zone [42]. Inland, it may codominate with white alder and other willows along some rivers and permanent streams [16]. In the South Coast Ranges, shining willow occurs in riparian forests with white alder, California sycamore, Fremont cottonwood, and red willow [80]. In the San Bernardino Mountains, shining willow grows in quaking aspen woodlands with Jeffrey pine, white fir, incense-cedar, and black cottonwood. The understory is composed of Wood's rose and wax currant, and the ground layer is a "rich herbaceous flora" of perennials [94]. A black cottonwood-quaking aspen-shining willow/thinleaf alder-thimbleberry/swollen beaked sedge-Pacific onion community is described for the Lake Tahoe region. These communities occur along streams within Jeffrey pine landscapes [87].
In Nevada, shining willow grows on stabilized channels above the scour zone. It dominates some tall willow communities in the Toiyabe and Independence ranges. Forbs usually dominate the ground layer; Columbian monkshood and stinging nettle are common dominants. These tall willow communities are surrounded by mountain big sagebrush communities [66]. Shining willow/forb communities of similar composition and structure occur on the Humboldt National Forest [67]. In the Ruby Mountains, Shining willow/shining willow communities occur downslope from singleleaf pinyon-Utah juniper communities [66].
In Utah, shining willow codominates in tall shrub communities with other willows and sometimes codominates in thinleaf alder communities. Herbaceous dominants may include field horsetail, creeping bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, and swollen beaked sedge. Codominant willows may include Geyer's willow, narrowleaf willow, and Drummond's willow. In southwestern Utah, a shining willow-narrowleaf willow/Nebraska sedge-Baltic rush community occurs on alluvial soils with seasonally high water tables [77].
In Idaho, shining willow occurs within riparian zones of Wyoming big sagebrush, mountain big sagebrush, and Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir communities [11]. It is codominant in black cottonwood stands, in mixed willow stands with peachleaf willow and narrowleaf willow, and in mixed stands with various other shrubs including Wood's rose and red-osier dogwood [46,74]. These mixed-shrub communities often have ground layers of herbs such as blue wildrye, Kentucky bluegrass, and scouringrush horsetail [74].
In Wyoming, shining willow codominates some riparian woodlands with Fremont cottonwood, quaking aspen, and peachleaf willow at low (4,500 feet (1,400 m) to high (up to 8,000 feet (2,400 m) elevation. Shrub dominants include Wood's rose, bristly black currant, and red-osier dogwood. Shining willow also grows in wet Baltic rush meadows at 6,500-8,000 feet (2,000-2,400 m) elevation. Other dominant graminoids may include Nebraska sedge, swollen beaked sedge, and smoothstem sedge, with occasional silverberry and water birch [76]. It is important in subalpine fir-Engelmann spruce riparian communities [107].
In Montana, shining willow dominates some communities adjacent to large streams and rivers at low to midelevations, often in association with Booth's willow, yellow willow, and red-osier dogwood. It grows as a tree at low elevations but becomes multistemmed and shrubby at midelevations [37,39]. Shining willow is a minor community type in western and south-central Montana, generally associated with the black cottonwood community type [39].
On floodplains of the Animas River, Colorado, shining willow is associated with thinleaf alder and herbs including mountain clover, dwarf fireweed, and tickle grass [4]. In foothills of the Front Range, it is sometimes dominant in narrowleaf cottonwood-willow streamside associations. Netleaf hackberry is common in this type; codominant willows may include blue-stem willow and narrowleaf willow. This type occurs in wide, open canyon bottomlands [98]. A 1907 publication identified a narrowleaf cottonwood-Scouler's willow formation with shining willow. The association was most common on canyon bottoms but occasionally ran up sheltered canyon walls [108].
Shining willow grows in interior ponderosa pine forests in Arizona and New Mexico [62]. It also grows in riparian shrub communities, including Arizona alder-bigtooth maple-Arizona walnut/fowl mannagrass, green ash-Goodding's willow-Fremont cottonwood, and blue-stem willow-peachleaf willow-yellow willow communities [92].Shining willow is an early-seral species [9,39]. Near Mayo, Yukon, it occurred on 1- to 15-year-old thaw slumps. The slumps originated after erosion on the banks of the Stewart River exposed ice-rich sediment, which melted and collapsed [12].
Shining willow is more common just above than on newly deposited alluvium. On the Tanana River floodplain near Fairbanks, Alaska, it is most common on new terraces, 2 to 5 years after initial colonization by other willows (often, sandbar and Alaska willows) and horsetails [1,44,100]. Shining willow codominated the youngest terrace with Alaska willow, small-fruit willow, and firmleaf willow. Thinleaf alder and balsam poplar seedlings were establishing with these willows [1]. By the Animas River, Colorado, shining willow had 0.3% cover on 30-year-old floodplain sites, but it was not present on younger or older floodplain sites [4]. In Montana, shining willow may be successionally replaced by black cottonwood and eventually, by interior Douglas-fir [39].
Heavy browsing pressure can favor later-successional species over shining willow and other willows. Along the Tanana River, aboveground biomass of shining willow was less in areas with high-density moose populations (7.5 kg/ha shining willow browse removed at ~1 moose/km²) compared to areas with less dense populations (1.0 kg/ha removed at ~0.2 moose/km²). Areas with high moose density also had higher proportions of dead:live sprouts of shining willow and other willows (P<0.001). Thinleaf alder and balsam poplar had less browsing pressure and were replacing the willows [13].
Disturbance may enhance colonization by shining willow. In the 1980s, shining willow dominated "semixeric", high swales on the Merced River of California (26%-75% cover). These swales were the result of gold dredging that occurred from 1907 to 1951. Narrowleaf willow codominated (26%-50% cover) [106].
See FIRE ADAPTATIONS AND PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE for information on shining willow succession after fire.The scientific name of shining willow is Salix lucida Muhl. (Salicaceae) [30,97]. Subspecies include:
Salix lucida Muhl. subsp. caudata, greenleaf willow
Salix lucida Muhl. subsp. lasiandra (Benth.) A.E. Murray, Pacific willow
Salix lucida Muhl. subsp. lucida (Benth.) A.E. Murray [30,97], shining willow
In this review, "shining willow" refers to the species as a whole. Subspecies are referred to by their scientific names.
Shining willow hybridizes with Sierra willow [30].
Salix lucida, the shining willow, Pacific willow, red willow, or whiplash willow, is a species of willow native to northern and western North America, occurring in wetland habitats.[1][2][3] It is the largest willow found in British Columbia.[4]
It is a deciduous large shrub or small tree growing to 4–15 metres (13–49 ft) tall.[4] The shoots are greenish-brown to grey-brown. The leaves are narrow elliptic to lanceolate, 4–17 centimetres (1+1⁄2–6+1⁄2 in) long and 1–3.5 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄2 in) broad, glossy dark green above, usually glaucous green below, hairless or thinly hairy. The flowers are yellow catkins 1–9 cm (1⁄2–3+1⁄2 in) long, produced in late spring after the leaves emerge.[2][3][5]
The subspecies are:[1][2][3]
It is closely related to Salix pentandra of Europe and Asia.[6]
Salix lucida, the shining willow, Pacific willow, red willow, or whiplash willow, is a species of willow native to northern and western North America, occurring in wetland habitats. It is the largest willow found in British Columbia.
It is a deciduous large shrub or small tree growing to 4–15 metres (13–49 ft) tall. The shoots are greenish-brown to grey-brown. The leaves are narrow elliptic to lanceolate, 4–17 centimetres (1+1⁄2–6+1⁄2 in) long and 1–3.5 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄2 in) broad, glossy dark green above, usually glaucous green below, hairless or thinly hairy. The flowers are yellow catkins 1–9 cm (1⁄2–3+1⁄2 in) long, produced in late spring after the leaves emerge.
The subspecies are:
S. l. lucida – shining willow, Newfoundland west to eastern Saskatchewan, and south to Maryland and South Dakota S. l. lasiandra (Benth.) E.Murray (syn. S. lasiandra Benth.) – Pacific willow, Alaska east to Northwest Territory, and south to California and New Mexico. S. l. caudata (Nutt.) E.Murray – whiplash willow, interior western North America from eastern British Columbia south to eastern California and Nevada, included in S. l. lasiandra by some authors.It is closely related to Salix pentandra of Europe and Asia.
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Male catkins of S. l. lasiandra
