General: Dioecious shrubs, 0.2-1.5 m tall, spreading by layering; stems erect or decumbent, flexible at base; twigs yellow- to red-brown, smooth or sparsely hairy.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, narrowly oblong to elliptic or lance-shaped, 2-7 cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, lower surface glaucous, smooth; upper surface dull, smooth, margins entire, bases and tips pointed to rounded; leaf stalks without glandular dots at top; stipules rudimentary.
Flowers: Unisexual, lacking sepals and petals, borne in catkins which flower as leaves emerge, the catkins stout, on leafy twigs; floral bracts pale, smooth or hairy, hairs straight or wavy; stamens 2; ovaries 1, smooth; styles 0.1-0.2 mm long.
Fruits: Capsules which split open to release the seeds, each of which is surrounded by a tuft of hairs; stalks 2-3 mm long.
Notes: Hybrids between this species and S. athabascensis are common in northern BC.
Moist to wet bogs, fens and muskeg in the montane zone; frequent throughout BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, except absent in NW BC; N to S YT and S NT, E to NF and S to NJ, NY, PA, IN, IA, ND, ID and OR.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
