Feltleaf Wiillow
Salix alaxensis
Family: Salicaceae
What it is like
Salix alaxensis is a deciduous Tree growing to 10 m (32ft 10in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 3 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen in June. The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). and is pollinated by Bees. The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.
Height (m): 10
Where it is found
Moist tundra and gravels. Prefers rocky soils along the sides of rivers and lakes. Grows up to and beyond the tree-line, when it becomes a small recumbent low-spreading shrub.
North-western N. America - Alaska to British Columbia, east to Hudson Bay.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 1
Inner bark - raw or cooked. A sweet flavour, it has been eaten as a winter titbit. The taste is somewhat like watermelon or cucumber. The bark has been used as a survival food. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in soups or can be added to cereal flour for use in making bread etc. Young tender leaves and shoots - raw or cooked. The shoots are peeled and eaten in spring. A source of vitamin C. The flowers have been sucked by children for the sweet nectar.
Inner bark: the bark that is found just beneath the tough outer bark of trees and shrubs.
Nectar: produced in such abundance by some flowers that it can be harvested fairly easily.
Medicine
Rating: 2
The fresh bark of all members of this genus contains salicin, which probably decomposes into salicylic acid (closely related to aspirin) in the human body. This is used as an anodyne and febrifuge.
Anodyne: Relieves pain, it is milder than an analgesic.
Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.
Vitamin C: Plants good for their vitamin C content
Other
Rating: 2
In northern parts of this plant's range, its wood is often the sole source of firewood. Dynamic accumulator.
Dynamic accumulator: Plants that gather minerals or nutrients from the soil and store them in a more bioavailable form and in high concentration in their tissues. Used as fertilizer or to improve mulch.
How it is grown
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in most parts of this country. It is an aggregate species and ranges in habit from a small tree right down to a dwarf shrub growing along the ground in exposed sites. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Succeeds in most soils, including wet, ill-drained or intermittently flooded soils, but prefers a damp, heavy soil in a sunny position. Rarely thrives on chalk. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. Although the flowers are produced in catkins early in the year, they are pollinated by bees and other insects rather than by the wind. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Propagating it: Seed - must be surface sown as soon as it is ripe in late spring. It has a very short viability, perhaps as little as a few days. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, November to February in a sheltered outdoor bed or planted straight into their permanent position and given a good weed-suppressing mulch. Very easy. Plant into their permanent positions in the autumn. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, June to August in a frame. Very easy.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Secondary; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade;
Habit: Tree
Hardiness: 3-7
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist, wet