About Salix cordata Michx.
Salix cordata Michx., commonly called sand dune willow, furry willow, or heartleaf willow, is a perennial shrub. It typically grows between 3 and 12 feet (0.91 to 3.66 m) tall, with plants over 6 feet (1.8 m) being rare. This species is native to northeastern North America, where it grows on sand dunes, river banks, and lake shores in sandy, silty, or gravelly soils. In Canada, its range stretches from Ontario to Newfoundland and Labrador, and extends south into the U.S. states of Illinois and Pennsylvania. As a freshwater species, it is not native to Canadian Atlantic provinces including Nova Scotia, and it also occurs in the sand dunes of large lakes such as Lake Michigan. Ecologically, Salix cordata is the host species for the specialist herbivore beetle Altica subplicata, and it readily hybridizes with Salix eriocephala. This willow has been used for revegetation projects at former coal mines in New Brunswick, Canada. In tests comparing eight different Salix species for biomass production, it was one of the fastest growing and most easily propagated.
