Salix lucida – Shining Willow

The foliage of this shrubby willow is much glossier than just about any other willow, hence the plant’s common name. While it occasionally takes on a tree-like form to 20’ high, it’s much more common to see it as a multistem shrub about as wide as high. While it has a very widespread distribution, covering most of North America, except for the southeast, it tends to be locally distributed where it occurs, with small populations of a few plants showing up here and there, but particularly along stream banks where it plays an important role in reducing erosion.