BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Salix bebbiana
Bebb's willow
| Scientific Name: | Salix bebbiana Sarg. | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Bebb's willow | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vascular Plant | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | SALIBEB | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Oct 2024) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S5 (Apr 2019) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2010) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Technical Description: | |||||||||||
| Diagnostic Characteristics: | SALIX BEBBIANA occurs in the subgenus VETRIX in the section Vetrix, along with S. DISCOLOR and S. PETIOLARIS (Mosseler 1990). Froiland (1962) has proposed a second variety of SALIX BEBBIANA to be SALIX BEBBIANA var. PERROSTRATA (Rybd.) Schneid, also called smooth Bebb's willow. It is characterized primarily by glabrous and weakly reticulated leaves and has a wide distribution in the United States (Froiland 1962). Argus (1957) found the two forms difficult to distinguish in areas of overlap. This designation is somewhat controversial, however, as Goodrich (1983) states that "this separation probably merits no recognition." | ||||||||||
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| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | In North America, Salix bebbiana occurs in "riparian and upland conifer forests, wet lowland thickets, Picea mariana treed bogs, stream margins, lakeshores, prairie margins, dry south-facing slopes, cienegas, seeps, [and] disturbed areas" (FNA 2010). This species has colonized a variety of habitats, including borders of mountain streams, swamps, lakes, hillsides, open meadows, forest margins and even irrigation ditches (Froiland 1962, Goodrich 1983) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Elevation (m) (min / max): | Provincial: | ||||||||||
| Known Pests: | |||||||||||
| Pollen Vector: |
BIOTIC
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| Dispersal: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Inventory | |||||||||||
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| Ownership of occurrences (Known locations): | |||||||||||
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Salix bebbiana is a widespread species, occurring in North America, Europe, and Asia (POWO 2024). In North America, it occurs from Alaska throughout all of Canada, and most of the western, upper Midwest, and northeastern regions of the United States (FNA 2010). Populations in the San Francisco Peaks and the White Mountains in Arizona represent the southernmost extent of its distribution in North America. Range extent was estimated to be 75 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024). | ||||||||||
| Disjunct, more common elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | MFO; GWENDOLYN L. WARING (1992), rev. N. Ventrella (2024) | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Oct 10, 2024 | ||||||||||
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| Last Literature Search: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Argus, G.W. 1957. The willows of Wyoming. University of Wyoming Publications 21:1-63. |
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Atchley, J.L. 1989. Temperature, light and soil effects on the establishment of Bebb's willow (SALIX BEBBIANA). M.S. Thesis, Montana State Univ., Bozeman, Montana. |
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Chmelar, J. 1974. Propagation of willows by cuttings. N.Z. J. For. Sci. 4:185-190. |
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Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2010. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 7. Magnoliophyta: Salicaceae to Brassicaceae. Oxford University Press, New York. xxii + 797 pp. |
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Froiland, S.G. 1962. The genus SALIX (willows) in the Black Hills of South Dakota. USDA-USFS Tech. Bull. No. 1269. |
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Goodrich, S. 1983. Utah flora: Salicaceae. The Great Basin Nature. 43:531-550. |
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Little, E.L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agriculture Handbook No. 541. U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C. 375 pp. |
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Mosseler, A. 1990. Hybrid performance and species crossability relationships in willows (Salix). Canad. J. Bot. 68: 2329-2338. |
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Mosseler, A. and C.S. Papadopol. 1989. Seasonal isolation as a reproductive barrier among sympatric SALIX species. Can. J. Bot. 67:2563-2570. |
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Sacchi, C.F. 1987. Reproductive ecology of the arroyo willow, SALIX LASIOLEPIS. Ph.D. Dissertation, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Az. |
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Waring, G. L. 1991. Factors affecting SALIX BEBBIANA seedling establishment at Fern Mountain, AZ. Report for The Nature Conservancy and U.S. Forest Service, Coconino Forest. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2024. Species Summary: Salix bebbiana. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed May 29, 2026).