least willow (uncountable)
- Either of two species of willow:
- Salix herbacea, a tiny creeping shrub widely distributed in alpine and Arctic environments.
1848, Cuthbert William Johnson, The Farmer's Encyclopædia[1], page 1142:The leaves of the least willow (S. herbacea), soaked in water, are employed in Iceland for tanning leather.
2000, Geothermal Training in Iceland[2], page 95:The species that characterize the heathland are wooly willow (Salix lanata), broadleaved willow (Salix callicorpea) and least willow (Salix herbacea), especially wooly willow.
2008, R. M. M. Crawford, Plants at the Margin: Ecological Limits and Climate Change[3], →ISBN, page 314:In terms of high-altitude survival, the least willow (S. herbacea) occurs at 2170 m in central Norway.
- Synonym: dwarf willow
- Salix rotundifolia, a densely matted shrub growing in tundral regions.
1972, Agriculture Handbook[4], number 410, page 90:Closely related to least willow (Salix rotundifolia) but differs in having large, slightly hairy capsules, abundant skeletonized leaves, and 3-5 pairs of veins on leaves instead of 2-3 pairs in least willow.
2010, Les Viereck, Alaska Trees and Shrubs[5], →ISBN, page 143:Least willow is found in alpine and arctic tundra in a variety of vegetation types from dry scree to cool, wet slopes.