Coastal Plain willow
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Salix caroliniana
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Salicaceae
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Landscape Uses:
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Accent tree in wet areas and along ponds and lakes edges. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
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Availability: |
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Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida. |
Description: |
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Small tree to medium tree or large shrub with a speading, open, irregular crown. Trunks short, often leaning. Bark gray, roughened with ridges and furrows. Leaves temperate deciduous, light green, long and narrow, to about 8 inches long. |
Height: |
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Typically 15-30 feet in height in South Florida; to 68 feet in Florida. Often as broad as tall or broader. |
Growth Rate: |
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Fast. |
Range: |
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Eastern and central United States west to Texas and south to Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the Exploring Florida website. Note: Little's map shows S. caroliniana distributed in the Florida Keys; this appears to be an error. |
Habitats: |
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Wet thickets and swamps. |
Soils: |
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Wet to moist, moderately well-drained to poorly-drained organic soils. |
Nutritional Requirements: |
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Low; it grows in nutrient poor soils. |
Salt Water Tolerance: |
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Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water. |
Salt Wind Tolerance: |
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Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation. |
Drought Tolerance: |
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Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought. |
Light Requirements: |
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Full sun to light shade. |
Flower Color: |
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Greenish-yellow. |
Flower Characteristics: |
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Semi-showy catkins. |
Flowering Season: |
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Spring. |
Fruit: |
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Capsule containing wind dispersed seeds. |
Wildlife and Ecology: |
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Provides some food and significant cover for wildlife. Only native larval host plant for viceroy (Limenitis archippus) butterflies; also larval host for (Automeris io) moths. Attracts bee pollinators. |
Horticultural Notes: |
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Can be grown from seed and cuttings (including root cuttings). |
Comments: |
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George D. Gann, 14 January 2015 In habitat, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
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George D. Gann, 14 January 2015 In habitat, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
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