Summary ⁷

Salix exigua, commonly known as coyote willow, narrowleaf willow, and sandbar willow, is a species of willow native to much of North America, excluding the southeastern and far northern United States. In Native American cultures the wood was used for building materials, poles, baskets, cord, and string.

Botanical Information ⁸

Coyote willow is native to North America. Its scientific name is Salix exigua. It has yellow flowers that are either male or female and occur on separate plants. This plant, along with other willows, is known as "dioecious", meaning there are separate female and male trees. Coyote willow has long, narrow leaves, 2-10cm long with tiny hairs all over. The flowers appear before or at the same time as the leaves.

Ecological Information ⁹

Coyote willow is a keystone species of the Bosque. It can be found growing in stands along the Rio Grande river banks. Coyote willow needs to grow close to rivers and other water. It requires sand or gravel and adequate moisture to germinate and develop. It is important to the riparian ecosystem because it helps stabilize the stream banks where it grows from erosion and it also provides shelter and food to many animals of the Bosque.

Ethnobotanical Information ⁹

Coyote willow has a wide range of uses. It was used for roofs, sleeping benches, and boats. Coyote willow’s branches and leaves are used for weaving baskets. Coyote willow is crushed up to dye deerskin. It also has medicinal uses similar to aspirin because, like most willows, it contains a chemical closely related to acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) called salicin. Salicin concentrations are highest in the bark of the coyote willow.

References ¹⁰

https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_saex.pdf

Bosque Field Guide
Cartron, Lightfoot, Mygatt, Brantley, Lowrey. (2008). A Field Guide to the Plants and Animals of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque. (p. 96). New Mexico, University of New Mexico Press.

About the Author ¹¹

Student author(s)*: Liam (3rd grade) and Savannah from Chinook Spirit Children’s Academy

*The entries in this field guide have been edited by Yerba Mansa Project staff to ensure that they contain quality, fact-checked content and standardized formatting. https://yerbamansaproject.org/

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Don Loarie, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/loarie/7876017582/
2. (c) chinookspirit, all rights reserved
3. (c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/plant_diversity/5026961437/
4. (c) Andrey Zharkikh, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/zharkikh/7835890224/
5. (c) Andrey Zharkikh, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/zharkikh/6992127265/
6. (c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/plant_diversity/27369547456/
7. Adapted by caseynm from a work by (c) smiller33, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
8. Adapted by albuquerqueherbalism from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_exigua
9. (c) smiller33, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
10. Adapted by Hannah from a work by (c) smiller33, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
11. Adapted by albuquerqueherbalism from a work by (c) smiller33, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Calflora
• CalPhotos
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Jepson eFlora
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• OregonFlora.org
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online

Range Map

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