# Salix arctica

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Species of willow

Arctic willow Arctic willow in Glacier National Park Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Clade: Embryophytes Clade: Tracheophytes Clade: Spermatophytes Clade: Angiosperms Clade: Eudicots Clade: Rosids Order: Malpighiales Family: Salicaceae Genus: Salix Species: S. arctica Binomial name Salix arctica Pall. North American territories Synonyms[1][2][3] Salix anglorum Cham. Salix anglorum var. araioclada C.K.Schneid. Salix arctica var. antiplasta (C.K.Schneid.) Fernald Salix arctica var. araioclada (C.K.Schneid.) Raup Salix arctica var. brownei Andersson Salix arctica var. kophophylla (C.K.Schneid.) Polunin Salix arctica var. pallasii (Andersson) Kurtz Salix brownei Lundstr. Salix brownii Bebb Salix diplodictya Trautv. Salix ehlei Flod. Salix pallasii Andersson Salix taimyrensis Trautv. Salix tortulosa Trautv. Salix crassijulis Trautv.

***Salix arctica***, the **Arctic willow**, is a tiny creeping [willow](/source/Willow) (family [Salicaceae](/source/Salicaceae)). It is adapted to survive in Arctic conditions, specifically tundras.

## Description

*S. arctica* is typically a low [shrub](/source/Shrub) growing to only 15 centimetres (6 inches) in height, rarely to 25 cm (10 in), although it may reach 50 cm (20 in) in height in the [Pacific Northwest](/source/Pacific_Northwest).[4] It has round, shiny green [leaves](/source/Leaves) 1–4 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄2 in) long and 6 cm (2+1⁄4 in) broad; they are pubescent, with long, silky, silvery hairs. Like the rest of the willows, Arctic willow is [dioecious](/source/Dioecious), with male and female [catkins](/source/Catkin) on separate plants. As a result, the plant's appearance varies; the female catkins are red-coloured, while the male catkins are yellow-coloured.[5][6]

Despite its small size, it is a long-lived plant, growing extremely slowly in the severe [arctic climate](/source/Climate_of_the_Arctic); one in eastern Greenland was found to be 236 years old.[5]

[Hybrids](/source/Hybrid_(biology)) with *[Salix arcticola](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salix_arcticola&action=edit&redlink=1)* and *[Salix glauca](/source/Salix_glauca)* are known.[5]

## Distribution and habitat

The Arctic willow grows in [tundra](/source/Tundra)[7] and rocky [moorland](/source/Moorland), and is the [northernmost](/source/List_of_northernmost_items) [woody plant](/source/Woody_plant) in the world, occurring far above the [tree line](/source/Tree_line) to the northern limit of land on the north coast of [Greenland](/source/Greenland). Its distribution is circumpolar. It occurs in Canada in the mainland northern territories and in the Arctic Archipelago all the way up to Ellesmere Island alongside Greenland, and in northern Quebec and Labrador, as well as in northern Iceland, [Fennoscandia](/source/Fennoscandia), northern Russia and northern Alaska.

It also occurs further south in [North America](/source/North_America) on high-altitude [alpine tundra](/source/Alpine_tundra), south to the [Sierra Nevada](/source/Sierra_Nevada) in [California](/source/California) and the [Rocky Mountains](/source/Rocky_Mountains) in [New Mexico](/source/New_Mexico). It also occurs in [Xinjiang](/source/Xinjiang), [China](/source/China).[8][5][9]

## Ecology

The Arctic willow is a food source for several Arctic animals. [Muskoxen](/source/Muskox), [caribou](/source/Reindeer), [Arctic hares](/source/Arctic_hare), and [lemmings](/source/Lemming) all feed on the bark and twigs, while the buds are the main food source of the [rock ptarmigan](/source/Rock_ptarmigan).

It is the primary [host plant](/source/Host_plant) and food source for the Arctic woolly bear moth (*[Gynaephora groenlandica](/source/Gynaephora_groenlandica)*).[10]

## Uses

Both the [Inuit](/source/Inuit) and the [Gwich’in](/source/Gwich%E2%80%99in) make use of this willow. Twigs are used as fuel, while the decayed flowers (*suputiit*) are mixed with [moss](/source/Moss) and used as wicking in the *[kudlik](/source/Kudlik)*. The plant was used for several medicinal purposes, such as relieving toothache, helping to stop bleeding, curing [diarrhoea](/source/Diarrhoea) and indigestion, and as a [poultice](/source/Poultice) on wounds.[11]

Both the Gwich’in and Inuit in the [Bathurst Inlet](/source/Bathurst_Inlet) area were known to eat parts of the plant, which is high in [vitamin C](/source/Vitamin_C) and tastes sweet.[11] One young leaf contains 7 to 10 times more vitamin C than an orange.[7] The inside of the young shoots (excluding the bark) can be eaten raw, including those found underground.[7]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Tropicos"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140219102302/http://www.tropicos.info/Name/28300018?tab=synonyms). Archived from [the original](http://www.tropicos.info/Name/28300018?tab=synonyms) on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [The Plant List](http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-5001380)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago – Salix arctica Pall"](https://nature.ca/aaflora/data/www/wlsaar.htm).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["*Salix arctica*"](http://www.fs.fed.us/global/iitf/pdf/shrubs/Salix%20arctica.pdf) (PDF). February 2016.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-scaa_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-scaa_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-scaa_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-scaa_5-3) Salicaceae of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: [*Salix arctica*](https://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/sal/www/wlsaar.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120314022708/http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/sal/www/wlsaar.htm) 14 March 2012 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-jeps_6-0)** Jepson Flora: [*Salix arctica*](http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Salix+arctica)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_7-2) U.S. Department of the Army (2019). [*The Official U.S. Army Illustrated Guide to Edible Wild Plants*](https://books.google.com/books?id=T2p7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA12). Guilford, CT: [Lyons Press](/source/Lyons_Press). p. 12. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4930-4039-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4930-4039-1). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [1043567121](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1043567121).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-grin_8-0)** ["*Salix arctica*"](https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=102715). *[Germplasm Resources Information Network](/source/Germplasm_Resources_Information_Network)*. [Agricultural Research Service](/source/Agricultural_Research_Service), [United States Department of Agriculture](/source/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture). Retrieved 24 December 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-fe_9-0)** Flora Europaea: [*Salix arctica*](http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Salix&SPECIES_XREF=arctica&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK=)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Kukal, Olga; Heinrich, Bernd; Duman, John G. (September 1988). ["Behavioral Thermoregulation in the Freeze-Tolerant Arctic Caterpillar, *Gynaephora groenlandica*"](http://jeb.biologists.org/content/138/1/181). *Journal of Experimental Biology*. **138** (1): 181–193. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[1988JExpB.138..181K](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1988JExpB.138..181K). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1242/jeb.138.1.181](https://doi.org/10.1242%2Fjeb.138.1.181).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_11-1) [Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago](https://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/_ca/www/wl.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110605171052/http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/_ca/www/wl.htm) 5 June 2011 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), S.G. Aiken, M.J. Dallwitz, L.L. Consaul, C.L. McJannet, L.J. Gillespie, R.L. Boles, G.W. Argus, J.M. Gillett, P.J. Scott, R. Elven, M.C. LeBlanc, A.K. Brysting and H. Solstad. 1999 onwards. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 29 April 2003. ["Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archieplago - Contents"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110303062506/http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/). Archived from [the original](https://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/) on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2017..

## External links

- Media related to [Salix arctica](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Salix_arctica) at Wikimedia Commons

- [Jepson Manual treatment – *Salix arctica*](http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Salix+arctica)

Taxon identifiers Salix arctica Wikidata: Q674096 Wikispecies: Salix arctica BOLD: 126334 CoL: 79CJ8 EoL: 590254 EPPO: SAXAR EUNIS: 182524 FNA: 200005753 FoC: 200005753 GBIF: 5372665 GRIN: 102715 iNaturalist: 67799 IPNI: 777076-1 ITIS: 565479 NatureServe: 2.734355 NCBI: 395313 Observation.org: 121646 Open Tree of Life: 775560 Plant List: kew-5001380 PLANTS: SAAR27 POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:777076-1 Tropicos: 28300018 VASCAN: 9069 WFO: wfo-0000929004

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Salix arctica](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_arctica) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_arctica?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.