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Prairie willow is dioecious — plants produce either all male or all female inflorescences in the form of short catkins produced from one-year-old branches before the leaves emerge; a tiny black or bicolored bract covered in long, dense white hairs is present at the base of both male and female catkins. The florets lack both sepals and petals but both have a basal, hairy bract (regardless of sex). Male catkins are 1/4-1.25" long, elongating as they mature. Initially the male catkins are silvery (from long hairs) but become yellow or reddish from the numerous anthers. Individual male florets consist of a hairy, basal bract and a pair of stamens with cylindrical anthers initially purple, turning yellow, red, or orange. Female catkins are 1/2-3" long, also elongating as they mature. Individual female florets consist of the hairy bract and a hairy green ovary 4-8 mm long with an elongate beak densely covered with wooly hairs; a pair of stigmas protrude from the tip. After fertilization, the female florets transform into 1/4-1/2" long capsules, light brown at maturity, that split in two to release seeds surrounded by long, cottony hairs.

Salix

Salix humilis

prairie willow [Blooms: Apr-May]