Bebb’s willow

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

N5 - Secure
SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Wetland Indicator Status

Great Plains

FACW - Facultative wetland

Midwest

FACW - Facultative wetland

Northcentral & Northeast

FACW - Facultative wetland

Description

Bebb’s willow is a common and widespread tall shrub or small tree. It occurs in Europe, Asia, and North America. In the United States it occurs in the east from Maine to New Jersey, west to Washington State and Oregon, and south along the Rocky Mountains to Arizona and New Mexico. It occurs throughout Canada and Alaska. It is found in marshes, swamps, and other wetlands; in prairie swales and wet thickets; on stream margins and lake shores; and in ditches and disturbed areas. It grows under full or partial sun in moist to wet soil. It is fast growing, quick to colonize new wet areas, and capable of forming dense thickets.

Bebb’s willow is usually a tall shrub with a few upright stems up to 60″ or 80″ (1.5 to 2 m) tall. It is sometimes a shrubby tree up to 23′ (7 m) tall with a trunk 6″ to 12″ (15 to 30 cm) in diameter. The crown is broad and rounded.

The bark is gray and smooth on young stems, becoming rough and furrowed on older stems and deeply furrowed on older trees.

The branchlets are greenish, slender, and hairy in the first year, becoming reddish brown and hairy or almost hairless in the second year.

The leaves are alternate and are on minutely hairy, 3⁄16″ to ½″ (5 to 13 mm) long stalks (petioles). The leaf blades are ¾″ to 3½″ (20 to 87 mm) long and ⅜″ to 1¾″ (10 to 44 mm) wide, averaging 1¾″ (44 mm) long and ⅝″ (16 mm) wide. They are elliptic to narrowly elliptic, widest at or above the middle, inversely egg-shaped or inversely lance-shaped, and tapered to a point at the tip. The upper surface is dark green and dull or slightly glossy. It may be moderately densely hairy, sparsely hairy, or almost hairless. The secondary veins are deeply impressed, giving the surface a puckered appearance. The lower surface is moderately densely hairy to almost hairless, and is covered with a whitish, waxy bloom (glaucous). The margins are slightly rolled under and may be untoothed, have rounded teeth (crenate), or have irregular sharp, forward pointing teeth (serrate). Young foliage is often reddish.

Male and female flowers are borne in cylindrical clusters (catkins) on separate plants. Male catkins flower just before the leaves emerge. They are globe-shaped, ⅜″ to 1⅝″ (10 to 42 mm) long, and ¼″ to ⅝″ (7 to 16 mm) wide, and they are on 1⁄64″ to 7⁄16″ (0.5 to 11 mm) long branchlets. The anthers on male flowers are yellow or purple turning yellow.

Female catkins flower as the leaves emerge. They are slender or almost round, ⅝″ to 3¼″ (16.5 to 85 mm) long, and ⅜″ to 1¼″ (9 to 32 mm) wide, and they are on 1⁄32″ to 1″ (1 to 26 mm) long branchlets. The flowers are up to ¼″ (6 mm) long, inversely club-shaped, and rounded at the base with a long beak.

The fruit is a hairy, ⅛″ to ⅜″ (4 to 9 mm) long seed capsule with a short, rounded base and a long beak. Seeds are released from mid-May to early July and are dispersed by wind.

Height

5′ to 23′ (1.5 to 7 m)

Flower Color

Similar Species

Habitat

Moist to wet. Full to partial sun. Marshes, swamps, and other wetlands, prairie swales, wet thickets, stream margins, lake shores, ditches, disturbed areas.

Ecology

Flowering

Early April to late June

Pests and Diseases

Use

Distribution

Sources

2, 3, 5, 7, 24, 28, 30, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 8/21/2026).

Midwest Herbaria Portal. 2026. https://midwestherbaria.org/portal/index.php. Accessed 8/21/2026.

Salix bebbiana Sarg. in Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Abreu, C., Acero P, A., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (2026-07-17 XR). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgykv

Smith, Welby R. 2008. Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota: The Complete Guide to Species Identification. The University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN.