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Salix herbacea, the dwarf willow, least willow or snowbed willow, is a species of tiny creeping willow (family Salicaceae) adapted to survive in harsh arctic and subarctic environments. Distributed widely in alpine and arctic environments around the North Atlantic Ocean , it is one of the smallest woody plants .
The Arctic willow is a food source for several Arctic animals. Muskoxen, caribou, Arctic hares, and lemmings all feed on the bark and twigs, while the buds are the main food source of the rock ptarmigan. It is the primary host plant and food source for the Arctic woolly bear moth (Gynaephora groenlandica). [10]
Salix polaris, the polar willow, is a species of willow with a circumpolar distribution in the high arctic tundra, extending north to the limits of land, and south of the Arctic in the mountains of Norway, the northern Ural Mountains, the northern Altay Mountains, Kamchatka, and British Columbia, Canada. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Salix reticulata, the net-leaved willow, [1] or snow willow, [2] is a dwarf willow, native to the colder parts of Europe, North America, and Northern Asia. It is found in the western United States ( Salix reticulata subsp. nivalis ), including the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains.
Within the tundra, some dominant plant species include lichen, cotton grass, and Arctic willow. Lichens. Lichens dominate the tundra as the region's major primary producer. A symbiotic combination of algae and fungi, a lichen is able to survive in the harsh conditions of the tundra (Biodiversity Institute of Ontario et al. 2010).
At lower altitude is low alpine tundra with continuous plant cover; dwarf birch and willows up to 1 m tall and grasslands, as well as numerous lakes and bogs. At still lower altitude is the adjacent montane birch zone with mountain downy birch ( Betula pubescens ); some stunted spruce and pine , and many lakes and bogs.
In the Southern Arctic tundra, shrubs are more regular, consisting of dwarf birch, Arctic willow, northern Labrador tea, Dryas spp., and Vaccinium ssp. In waterlogged areas, moss, willow and sedge cover is substantial. [22] Invasive species, such as the Kentucky blue grass, orchids, Red fescue and flax proved to be unsuccessful.
In northern Greenland, the ground is covered with a carpet of mosses and low-lying shrubs such as dwarf willows and crowberries. Flowering plants in the north include yellow poppy, Pedicularis, and Pyrola. [2] [3] Plant life in southern Greenland is more abundant, and certain plants, such as the dwarf birch and willow, may grow several feet high.