Buy Salix exigua

This lovely U.S. native is one of the most silvery willows known (making it just glow in the moonlight!), this clump-forming 10-20'shrub spreads by basal shoots to form colonies; pretty pinkish stems contrast with the creamy spring catkins and the very narrow silver leaves; a very useful willow for stabilizing banks, also used for poles, basketry, twine and medicine. S/M-W

A deciduous shrub reaching 4-16' in height, spreading by basal shoots to form dense clonal colonies. Salix exigua is an upright tree with slender greyish green branches clothed with long, narrow, finely toothed, silky silver leaves and small pale yellow catkins. The flowers are produced in catkins in late spring, after the leaves appear. In the garden, use it to add texture and a lightweight backdrop. Native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Provides streamside erosion control. Traps sediments and nutrients from surface runoff and prevents them from entering the aquatic system. This willow had many uses for Native Americans; the branches were used as flexible poles and building materials, the smaller twigs were used to make baskets, the bark was made into cord and string, and the bark and leaves had several medicinal uses. Found in riparian. Communitites located in Sagebrush Scrub, Shadscale Scrub, Creosote Bush Scrub, Yellow Pine Forest, Foothill Woodland, Chaparral, Valley Grassland, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Joshua Tree Woodland, Wetland-riparian Between 0 and 5500 feet.