Lemmon's Willow

Lemmon's willow
Lemmon willow

More info for the term: cover

Lemmon's willow provides cover for mammals and songbirds, and provides
shade for salmonids [12].

More info for the term: shrub

Lemmon's willow is a deciduous shrub with numerous slender crooked stems
arising in a loose basal cluster. It is usually about 3 to 10 feet (1-3
m) tall but may grow up to 16 feet (5 m) tall [6,7,18]. Leaves are
alternate, simple, pinnately veined, entire or inconspicuously toothed,
green shiny above and pale glaucous below [6,7]. Male and female
flowers occur on separate plants in catkins. Staminate catkins are
0.4-0.6 inch (1-1.5 cm) long, on occur on leafy flowering branchlets up
to 0.2 inch (5 mm) in length. Pistillate catkins are 0.4 to 1.6 inches
(1-4 cm) long, on leafy flowering branchlets up to 0.4 inch (1 cm) long
[6,7]. The capsules are pubescent.

Lemmon's willow is found from the Sierra-Cascade region of California,
north to Oregon along the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains, and
east to Montana, Nevada, and Colorado [7,11].

More info for the terms: fire regime, root crown

Lemmon's willow generally sprouts from its root crown or stem base
following fire [10,12,27]. Its numerous wind-dispersed seeds are also
important in revegetating areas following fire [27].

FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find FIRE REGIMES".

Quick hot" fires may be used to rejuvenate decadent willows and produce
abundant browse for big game animals [10]. However, it may take 5 or
more years for Lemmon's willow plants to attain stem heights and diameters
which are resistant to browsing [12].

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More info for the term: phanerophyte

Phanerophyte

More info for the term: bog

Lemmon's willow is a riparian species; it grows near streams and rivers
on low gradient floodplains. In Idaho, it inhabits relatively dry
portions of riparian zones [6].

Soils: In Idaho it is consistently found on well-drained gravelly or
sandy soils, while nearby associated willows grow on wet, fine-textured
or coarse-textured soils near the water table [6]. In Oregon it is
found on deep, fine textured alluvium over subsurface soils of various
textures ranging from silt to silty clay loam [12].

Associates: Lemmon's willow is often found with other willows such as
Geyer willow, Drummond willow (Salix drummondiana), planeleaf willow (S.
planifolia), and wolf willow (S. wolfii). Bog birch (Betula glandulosa)
and Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) are also common [6,12].

Elevation: Lemmon's willow is reported to grow from low-middle to upper
elevations. Elevational ranges for California and Oregon are presented
below [12,19]:

from 5,000 to 10,000 feet (1,524-3,048 m) in CA
4,400 to 6,300 feet (1,341-1,920 m) in OR

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
207 Red fir
210 Interior Douglas-fir
218 Lodgepole pine
243 Sierra Nevada mixed conifer

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES26 Lodgepole pine

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the term: forest

K005 Mixed conifer forest
K007 Red fir forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K014 Grand fir - Douglas-fir forest
K015 Western spruce - fir forest

Most fires kill only aboveground plant parts. However, severe fires can
completely remove organic soil layers, leaving willow roots exposed and
charred and thus eliminating basal sprouting [12,22,27].

Willows (Salix spp.) in general are a preferred food of moose and
beaver; Lemmon's willow occurs in riparian habitats which these animals
frequent [4,25]. Lemmon's willow also provides browse for deer and elk
[12]. Information regarding the importance of Lemmon's willow to
livestock is lacking.

Lemmon's willow occurs in riparian habitats, usually bordered by
coniferous forests of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) or Douglas-fir
(Pseudotsuga menziesii); or zones of mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia
tridentata ssp. vaseyana) [6,12]. Only one published classification
scheme listing Lemmon's willow as a dominant was found:

Area Classification Authority

OR: Deschutes, Ochoco, riparian rzas, cts Kovalchik 1987
Fremont & Winema NFs

rzas = riparian zone associations
cts = community types

More info for the term: shrub

Shrub

Many Lemmon's willow communities in Oregon have a long history of overuse
by cattle. Plants in these disturbed stands experience loss of vigor,
as shown by uneven stem age distribution, highlining, clubbing, or dead
clumps. If rested for 5 to 6 years, new shoots may grow 5 to 8 feet
feet (1.5-2.4 m) tall and be more resistant to damage from browsing
[12]. Herbage production in these stands can be doubled if stands are
rested for 2 to 3 years.

CA CO ID MT NV OR WY

All willows produce salicin, which chemically is closely related to
acetylsalicylic acid, commonly known as aspirin. This is probably why
Native Americans used various preparations from willows to treat
toothache, stomach ache, diarrhea, dysentery, and dandruff [6]. Native
Americans also used the stems for basketry and bow making, and the bark
for tea and fabric making [4].

Lemmon's willow has been used in landscape plantings for the past 30
years in the Tahoe Basin of California and Nevada [2].

In the West, willows in general are considered to be more palatable to
sheep than to cattle, but cattle may make greater use of willows because
they tend to frequent riparian areas [24].

More info on this topic.

More info for the term: shrub

Lemmon's willow is a deciduous shrub. Its catkins emerge with, or
sometimes before the leaves in the spring [7,18]. After fruits ripen,
seeds are dispersed from spring to early summer [5]. It flowers from
May to June in California [18].

More info for the terms: root crown, seed

Lemmon's willow generally sprout from the root crown or stem base
following fire, although sometimes not until the following year
[12,22,27]. It is a prolific seeder, and off-site plants are important
seed sources for revegetating burned areas [27].

More info for the terms: caudex, root crown, seed

survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex
off-site colonizer; seed carried by wind; postfire years one and two
off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire yr 1&2

More info for the terms: capsule, root crown, seed

Sexual: Lemmon's willow reproduces primarily through the dispersal of
thousands of small seeds. Like other willows, it probably relies
heavily on insect pollination, especially from bees. After
fertilization, a capsule develops which eventually splits open during
spring or summer, dispersing the numerous tiny seeds [5]. The
production of large quantities of seeds ensures that some will fall on
favorable sites. Seeds have a cottony down, which allows them to float
long distances in wind or water. Seeds are not dormant and remain
viable for only a few days. They germinate rapidly, usually within 12
to 24 hours of dispersal if a moist seedbed is reached [5]. The seeds
contain significant amounts of chlorophyll, and photosynthesis generally
occurs as soon as the seed is moistened.

Vegetative: Lemmon's is unable to produce suckers form lateral roots but
will resprout from its root crown or stem base after fire or cutting
[1,10,12]. Regeneration may also occur through broken pieces of stems
or roots, which are transported and deposited by floodwaters, and later
sprout [27].

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This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

2 Cascade Mountains
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin

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Like many other willows, Lemmon's willow is probably an early seral
species.

Salix austinae (Bebb)

The currently accepted scientific name of Lemmon's willow is Salix
lemmonii Bebb. [1]. It is closely related and possibly conspecific with
Geyer willow (S. geyeriana) [1]. Brunsfeld and Johnson [1] reported
that plants referred to in the past by numerous authorities as S.
geyeriana var. meleiana differ from S. geyeriana in a number of respects
and more closely match descriptions of S. lemmonii found in Idaho.
Hitchcock and Cronquist [11] have stated that although S. geyeriana and
S. lemmonii are obviously closely related, they should be retained as
distinct species until the necessity to combine them is clearly
demonstrated.

More info for the term: competition

Cuttings of Lemmon's willow can be used to revegetate disturbed riparian
areas. Cuttings quickly stabilize disturbed alluvium, allowing other
plants to become established. Unrooted willow stem cuttings (slips)
should be planted on sites that provide sufficient moisture to start and
maintain growth throughout the growing season [26]. Since willows are
sensitive to both competition and shading, dense tall grasses will
reduce transplant survival [20] and may need to be removed by cutting or
by herbicide application [16]. Although harder to plant, rooted stock
is recommended for use because it has higher survival rates [20,26].
Prerooting can be accomplished by growing cuttings under greenhouse
conditions, allowing roots to grow 0.8 to 1.2 inches (2-3 cm) in length
[20]. Slips should be obtained from local native stands. They should
be 12 to 20 inches (30-50 cm) long and taken in the spring from dormant
2- to 4-year-old wood greater than 0.4 inch (1 cm) in diameter [20]. A
20-inch (50 cm) cutting should be planted to a depth of 12 inches (30
cm), with 8 inches (20 cm) left aboveground [20]. This deep planting
allows for more rooting surface to extract soil moisture, and higher
amounts of carbohydrates as stored food reserves [20,26]. If serious
streambank erosion has resulted in a nearly vertical cut bank, slope
reshaping may be necessary to enhance success of transplants. Reshaping
may not be necessary if, through protective measures, existing
vegetation is able to stabilize the site [20,26]. Under any method of
revegetation, sites should be fenced to protect them from grazing and
trampling.

Salix lemmonii is a species of willow known by the common name Lemmon's willow, named after J.G. Lemmon. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in moist and wet areas in mountain coniferous forest habitat, such as streambanks and meadows.