Salix excelsa (Introduced)

  • Salix

Turkey (E-Anatolia, Inner Anatolia, N-Anatolia, NE-Anatolia, W-Anatolia), Iran
(EC-Iran, NE-Iran: Mts., N-Iran, Iranian Aserbaijan, S-Iran, W-Iran), Lebanon
(C-Lebanon), Syria (NW-Syria), N-Yemen, Afghanistan (Wakhan, Badghys, Baghlan,
Balkh, Bamyan, Faryab, Herat, Kabul, Wardak, Orozgan / Daykundi, Paktia / Khost,
Parwan, Qunduz, Takhar), Pakistan (Kurram, Baluchistan, Quetta, Gilgit), Jammu
& Kashmir, Georgia [Caucasus], Northern Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Armenia,
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Bhutan (I) as per Catalogue of Life;
 
Salix excelsa S. G. Gmelin
Closely similar to S. fragilis, photographed Kashmir University campus, pl. validate.

Salix excelsa is a cultivated species called as Crack willow

Sir, I found the image of the type specimen of S. excelsa (http://ww2.bgbm.org/herbarium/specimen.cfm?SpecimenPK=96959&idThumb=297532&SpecimenSequenz=1&loan=0) which is really a good specimen where leaf and catkin can be studied very well. The shape of the leaf of your specimen (which is lanceolate) little differ from the type (where the leaves are broadly elliptic-lanceolate). Moreover the apexes of your leaves are mostly long acuminate, but in the others it is acuminate and even acute in few leaves. After maximum zooming of your images the character of leaf margin and venation pattern are not enough clear. So I’m unable to match with the type specimen. The single catkin present in your first image is also very obscure that cannot be understandable

Thanks … for your efforts.

I happened to accompany Prof. A. K. Skvortsov for nearly one week when he along with Dr. (Mrs) Pruskovikova (I don’t know whether I got her spellings right) visited Kashmir in early seventees (when I was working for my Ph.D. Some of the identifications were done by him (unless I mixed up some specimens). The nomenclature status of several plants has changed since then. 

Its really wonderful that you got the opportunity to meet such a noble worker like Prof. Skvortsov. He is one of the pioneer taxonomist deals with amentiferous group. One of his student, now working at Kew Garden gifted me “Willows of Russia and Adjacent Countries” (translated version) of Skvortsov. Its such a wonderful book and I learn many things specially the phylogeny and evolution among Salix.