Japanese name: キヌゲミヤマヤナギ（絹毛深山柳） Scientific name:Salix reinii f. eriocarpa
[Overview]
A deciduous shrub 0.3–2 m tall, found in alpine to subalpine zones.
At lower elevations some plants reach as much as 5 m.
The branches are brown and hairless.
The leaves are simple and alternate, 3–9 cm long and 1.5–5 cm wide, and vary widely from elliptic to round.
The upper surface is slightly glossy, and the underside is powdery white.
The leaf margin has serrations that curl toward the underside.
Young leaves bear fine hairs.
The petiole is 1.3–2 cm long.
It is dioecious.
The flowers are densely arranged on cylindrical catkins that appear at the same time as the leaves unfold, and 3–5 small leaves are attached at the base of each catkin.
The male catkins are 2.5–6 cm long and 1–1.2 cm in diameter.
The female catkins are 2.5–5 cm long and 0.5–0.7 cm in diameter.
The flowers have no petals.
The ovary is covered all over with white silky hairs.
The fruit is a capsule, which splits open when ripe and releases seeds wrapped in cottony hairs called ryujo (willow down).
