Salix schwerinii E.L.Wolf

Multi-stemmed shrub. Current year's branchlets grey yellow-brown (UCL80), densely short-silky, hairs persistent. Year-old branchlets light brown (UCL57), 3.0–4.0 mm diameter, densely short-silky hairy, hairs mostly lost by 2^nd year. Dead leaves from previous summer persisting on year-old branchlets, dead leaves twisted and sinuous. Flower buds 7.5–8.5 mm long, 3.5 mm wide, 3.0 mm deep, narrowly ovoid, 2 lateral angles present, grey reddish orange (UCL39), densely covered in long-silky hairs. Leaves alternate. Stipule persistent, 17–18 mm long, 5 mm wide, very narrowly asymmetrically ovate and twisted. Petiole 6–11 mm long, densely short-silky hairy, groove absent, glands absent, base not enlarged, pinky red below the dense silvery hairs. Emerging leaves green, with densely short-silky hairs. Proximal leaves entire, similar in shape to mature leaves, but smaller. Leaf lamina 135–188 mm long, 15–18 mm wide, length to width ratio 7.5–11.5:1, very narrowly ovate or very narrowly elliptical, not falcate; base cuneate; apex very narrowly acute; leaf galls absent; margins slightly crenate, finely revolute, undulate, hydathodes obvious only near the apex; upper lamina surface slightly bullate due to impressed veins, very glossy, young leaves moderately densely short-silky hairy, becoming glabrous but dense tomentum persisting on midvein, stomata absent; lower lamina surface midvein raised, side-veins slightly raised, lower surface not visible due to persistent, dense, long-silky hairs. Catkins male, emergence coetaneous with leaves. Flowering branch 22–25 mm long with 2 cataphylls. Male catkin 15–20 mm long, 13–17 mm diameter; catkin rachis not visible between flowers. Flower bract 3.0–3.2 mm long, 0.8–1.0 mm wide, brown to black in upper two-thirds, hyaline below; apex acute, moderately dense long-silky hairs on both surfaces and margins, denser on outer surface than margin. Male nectary 1, 0.9–1.0 mm long, 0.22 mm wide, yellow. Stamens 2, filaments free, hairs absent; anthers 1.2–1.8 mm long, yellow.

Leaves are very narrowly elliptical to very narrowly ovate. Leaf margins are entire, sometimes undulate. The lower leaf surface is densely covered in persistent, long-silky hairs that give a satiny look. Stipules are persistent and twisted. Flower scales begin crimson and become bicoloured, turning black at the apex. Anthers are slightly red-tinted before opening.

Most similar to Salix udensis, which has leaves of a similar size and shape (very narrowly ovate lamina). Salix schwerinii never has flattened young shoots as does S. udensis 'Sekka'. Salix schwerinii has obvious and persistent leafy stipules that are twisted, and it has a shorter petiole (6–11 mm long; cf. 8–13 mm long in S. udensis). The hairs on the underside of the leaf are very dense and appressed (cf. moderately dense and not appressed in S. udensis). Also similar to S. viminalis, but stipules persist in S. schwerinii while in S. viminalis they do not.

First collection: CHR 644727, L. Newstrom-Lloyd, M. Garbarret, B. Polturat, 8 September 2014, Aokautere.

First publication: This publication.

Flowering: Late August–late September.

Diploid, 2n = 38 (CCDB, based on four counts), provisionally confirmed using flow cytometry with PN386.