Salix xanthicola
Salix xanthicola K.I. Chr.
Salicaceae – Willow family
Conservation status. Vulnerable [VU B2ac(ii,iii)]. BDA. Balkan endemic.
Morphology and biology. Shrub up to 2.5 m high. Young twigs variably densely hairy; the older with scattered hairs to glabrous, slender. Stipules up to 17 mm long, reniform to almost cordate, green above, grey and hairy beneath, persistent. Leaves alternate, 5.5–17 cm long, 1.5–4.5 cm wide, lanceolate, narrowly oblong to oblanceolate, apiculate at the apex, rarely obtuse, margin glandular hairy, undulate, revolute, pubescent; dark green above, silvery puberulent, rarely to greyish green beneath. Catkins lateral, dense, male, ca.23 mm long, female 35–70 mm long; bracts pale red, densely ciliate, obtuse at the apex. Filaments completely united, anthers pale red, free. Fruit sessile, dehiscing capsule with dense, short hairs. Seed numerous. Fl. IV, fr. V–VI. Wind pollination. Reproduction by seeds.
Habitats and populations. Grows on river banks on substrata with permanent moisture, in typical hygrophilous communities including Salix alba, S. amplexicaulis, Populus alba, and Tamarix spp. Forms pure populations with different densities in sunny places and takes part in riparian communities together with other species.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Rhodopi Mts (C and E – along the Arda River and its tributaries); 80–650 m alt.
General distribution. Balkan Peninsula (NE Greece and S Bulgaria).
Threats. Habitat disturbances as a result of natural phenomena (flooding, increase of the water level along the river banks, draining activities, redirection of river beds).
Conservation measures taken. Protected species according to the national Biodiversity Act. Some localities are in sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Control on the current state of the species’ populations and their potential changes.
References. Christensen 1991; Zieliński 1992; Christensen et al. 2006.
Author: Ana Petrova
