Salix exigua, Narrowleaf Willow
Scientific Name: Salix exigua
Common Name: Narrowleaf Willow
Also Called: Coyote Willow, Desert Willow, Hinds' Willow, Narrow-leaf Willow, Sandbar Willow, (Spanish: Sauce)
Family: Salicaceae or Willow Family
Synonyms: (Salix exigua 7 var., Salix fagifolia, Salix fallacina, Salix fluviatilis var. argophylla, Salix hindsiana 3 var., Salix interior 2 var., Salix longifolia 3 var., Salix luteosericea, Salix macrostachya var. leucodendroides, Salix malacophylla, Salix nevadensis, Salix parishiana, Salix sessilifolia subsp. hindsiana, Salix sessilifolia 2 var., Salix stenophylla )
Status: Native
Duration: Perennial
Size: Up to 15 to 20 feet or so.
Growth Form: Shrub, tree; deciduous; clonal from root sprouting, often forming thickets; twigs brownish and silky becoming glabrous.
Leaves: Green; leaves linear-lanceolate with short petioles, new leaves silky also becoming glabrous, margins variable, entire to serrated.
Flower Color: Green or inconspicuous; flowers (catkins) after, or during new leaf growth; pistillate and staminate flowers; fruit a glabrous capsule.
Flowering Season: March to May.
Elevation: Up to 9,500 feet; below 7,000 feet in California.
Habitat Preferences: Along streams, marshes and wet ditches.
Recorded Range: Salix exigua is found in the western ½ of the United States and Canada. It is also native to Baja California and northern Mexico. In Arizona it is found throughout the state in appropriate habitat.
North America & US County Distribution Map for Salix exigua.
U.S. Weed Information: No information available.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No information available.
Wetland Indicator: In North America Salix exigua, Narrowleaf Willow has the following wetland designations: North America, Arid West, FACW; Great Plains, FACW; Western Mountains, Valleys, and Coast, FACW.
FACW = Facultative Wetland, usually occur in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands
OBL = Obligate Wetland, almost always occur in wetlands
Threatened/Endangered Information: In North America Salix exigua, Narrowleaf Willow is listed by the following states as Threatened or Endangered: Connecticut, Sandbar Willow, Threatened; Maryland, Sandbar Willow, Endangered, Massachusetts, Sandbar Willow, Threatened.
In the Southwestern United States, Arizona has 19 species of Salix, California has 30 species, Nevada has 23 species, New Mexico has 24 species, Texas has 8 species and Utah has 27 species. All data is approximate and subject to taxonomic changes.
Comments: Narrowleaf Willow, Salix exigua is common where found and has a long line of synonyms and extremely variable in shape and form from region to region and within regions as well. Salix exigua has an extreme range of distribution across in North America.
For a comprehensive thoroughly documented review of Salix exigua see the USDA USFS Fire Effects Information System, or FEIS.
Salix exigua, Narrowleaf Willow has been used for a variety of purposes by North American indigenous peoples.
Blackfoot Fiber, Building Material
Used to make the framework of the sweat lodges.
Costanoan Fiber, Basketry, Shoots used in basketry.
Flathead Fiber, Basketry, Willow made into baskets cemented with gum and used to cook fish.
Havasupai Other, Tools, Used to make tongs for removing cactus fruit.
Kawaiisu Other, Smoking Tools, Twigs with leaves used as 'wrappers' to hold tobacco.
Lakota Fiber, Building Material, Branches used for building sweatlodges.
Pomo, Kashaya Fiber, Building Material, Large branches used as the framework for thatched summer homes, sudatories and other construction.
Montana Indian Drug, Antirheumatic (External), Poles used for framework of 'sweat tepee' for rheumatism.
Navajo Food, Fodder, Leaves and bark used as food for both wild and domesticated animals.
See all ethno-botanical uses at Native American Ethnobotany, University of Michigan, Dearborn.