Not to be semantically confused with : Dwarf Cherry , Dwarf Cornel, Dwarf Elder, Dwarf Birch or Dwarf Gorse [short trees with similar names]
Like many willows, it freely hybridizes with other Willows; six hybrids are known.
Hybridizes with :
Mountain Willow (Salix arbuscula) to produce Salix × simulatrix
Eared Willow (Salix aurita) to produce Salix × margarita
Woolly Willow (Salix lanata) to produce Salix × sadleri
Downy Willow (Salix lapponum) to produce Salix × sobrina
Dark-leaved Willow (Salix myrsinifolia) to produce Salix × semireticulata
- Creeping Willow (Salix repens) to produce
Salix × cernua
Whether any of the above photographs correspond with any of the above hybrids is unknown.
Some similarities to : Bearberry in that Bearberry is also a mountain under-shrub barely getting 2 inches above the ground, and which has shiny veined leaves (but which are not cupped but rather curved outwards.
Uniquely identifiable characteristics
Distinguishing Feature : The seed capsules and the very low habit on high mountainous ground.
Dwarf Willow is one of the shortest woody plants in the World, barely if every reaching 2 inches above the ground. It likes the cold and occupies high mountainous bare and rocky ground, only ever reaching the lower lands in the far North of Scotland. Like all other Willows, it is dioecious, and has red-coloured male and yellow-coloured female catkins on separate plants, which are so different as to look like a different species.
Some claim it to be the worlds smallest 'tree', but it has anything but a typical tree-like stance or jizz.
USE BY BUTTERFLIES
LAYS EGGS ON |
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CHRYSALIS |
BUTTERFLY |
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Camberwell Beauty Purple Emperor Comma Large Tortoiseshell Scarce Tortoiseshell Large Tortoiseshell |
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