Botanists have long known that some trees have many forms of growth, including shrubs and even miniature varieties. One such species is the dwarf willow.
To be more precise, this is not the name of a species, but of many varieties of an amazing tree, which we will talk about today.
Most of them grow beyond the Arctic Circle and in highlands. In the Alps, the dwarf willow was found at an altitude of 3.2 km. This tree is found even on the islands of the Svalbard archipelago.
In the USA it grows all the way to Labrador. All willows of this family are distinguished by attachment to wet places: they prefer to grow along the banks, sometimes even in those places that are regularly rolled by the surf.
Almost all of their representatives are so beautiful that they immediately won recognition among landscape designers. In particular, they are recommended for landscaping alpine hills and rocky areas.
Dwarf willow perfectly withstands freezing and long stay under snow thanks tothe fact that its small trunks creep close to the ground.
Oval-shaped buds up to 6 mm long tightly pressed against the shoots. On one shoot, no more than 3-4 leaves develop. No stipules.
The leaves of most species are distinguished by their broadly elliptical shape, their top is round or with a small notch, their length rarely exceeds 25-27 mm.
In addition, young leaves are distinguished by the presence of "fluff" on both sides, while on older specimens it is preserved only along the cuttings of the leaves.
Despite the love of good moisture, dwarf willow is very common on rocky slopes, often grows on the very edge of rock faults, especially preferring limestone rocks. It tolerates acidification (and salinity, as we have already said) of soils quite well. Shoots lowered to the ground take root instantly.
Species that grow in different climatic zones, there are serious differences in the vegetative process. In mid-April, dwarf willows in the Alps bud, and other varieties start growing by early May.
Despite the external similarity, these plants differ greatly from each other in the degree of pubescence of leaves and young shoots, as well as in the size of the trunk itself. So, S. reticulata, growing in the Northern Urals, is distinguished by rather long shoots, reaching 25 cm, and dark green leathery leaves.
Khibiny plants include willowspherical dwarf, the shoots of which do not reach a significant size. Alpine varieties are even more miniature. They keep the fluff on the underside of the leaf for a long time.
All these shrubs grow very poorly, so it is better to use only young sprouts for rooting, since the stiff ones practically do not take root. Plants from the Northern Urals grow and take root best of all. So, in three years they reach the same size as Khibiny specimens in 11 years.
Regardless of the species, the dwarf willow (whose photo is in the article) is extremely resistant to pests, frost and lack of nutrients in the soil.
