Lemmon's willow

Salix lemmonii is a shrub growing 1 to 4 meters tall, sometimes forming colonial thickets. Its stems arise in a cluster and spread into many slender, angular branches. The leaves are up to 11 centimeters long, lance-shaped to oval with pointed tips, smooth or lightly serrated along the edges, and hairless and waxy or slightly hairy. The inflorescence is a stout catkin of flowers a few centimeters long, the female catkins lengthening to 6 or 7 centimeters as the fruits develop. This willow sometimes hybridizes with Salix geyeriana, to which it is closely related. This shrub is commonly used in revegetation projects in its native range, where it is useful for stabilizing eroded riparian habitat.