Salix fuscescens Andersson

vernacular Alaska bog willow — species · Salicaceae

USDA: SAFU
GBIF: 5372814
Rank: species

Alaska bog willow (Salix fuscescens) — Platephotograph · Matt BowserCC BY source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Shrub, Subshrub
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Salicaceae Mirb.
Genus: Salix

§2a

Native status, by region

AK Alaska Native
CAN Canada Native

§2b

County-level range

· 16 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 16 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: None
Fire: Medium
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: Medium
CaCO₃: Medium
Hedging: Low

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: 40 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 120 min.
Root depth: 12 in min.
Fertility need: Low
Soil texture: coarse, medium

§3c

Form & growth

Lifespan: Short
Mature height: 20 ft
Height @ 20 y: 30 ft
Foliage texture: Medium
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Moderate
Flower colour: Purple
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: Slight

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Summer
Seed abundance: High
Seed begins: Year Round
Seed ends: Year Round
Spread rate: Rapid
Stratify: No
Propagation: seed, cuttings

§3e

Use & availability

Nursery stock: No
Browse palatability: High
Graze palatability: Medium
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: No
Fuelwood: Low
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 16 counties across 1 state.

Alaska view state ↗ 16 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/SAFU ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/5372814 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T10:50:45Z