Salix vulpina subsp. alopochroa ("Saikokukitsuneyanagi")

Japanese name: サイコクキツネヤナギ （西国狐柳）
Scientific name: Salix vulpina subsp. alopochroa

[Overview]
A deciduous shrub 2 m tall, found in hills and mountains.
It forms clumps.
The bark is grayish brown, and ridge lines are conspicuous on the surface of the wood.
The leaves are simple and alternate, elliptic to obovate, 5–12 cm long and 2–5.5 cm wide.
On the upper surface, wrinkles sunken along the veins are conspicuous, and on the underside the veins bear rust-colored or white soft hairs.
The leaf margin has shallow serrations.
The leaves have petioles.
There are semicircular stipules.
The margin of new leaves does not curl toward the underside.
It is dioecious.
The flowers are densely arranged on cylindrical catkins that appear before the leaves unfold, and the male catkins are thick and short.
No leaves, or only very small leaves, are attached at the base of the catkins.
The flowers have no petals.
The fruit is a capsule, which splits open when ripe and releases seeds wrapped in cottony hairs called ryujo (willow down).

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