Flora-Fauna

Salix libani Bornm.

(Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 31(2): 259; 1914 – Red List of the Vascular Flora of Lebanon, 2025)

• Life-form & habit: Small deciduous tree or large shrub up to 8 m tall, often multi-stemmed, with greyish bark and flexible young twigs.

• Leaves: Alternate, narrowly lanceolate to elliptic, 5–12 × 1–3 cm, margin finely serrulate, apex acute; upper surface dark green and glabrous, lower surface lighter with sparse hairs along veins. Petiole short, stipules small and caducous.

• Inflorescence & flowers: Catkins appearing before or with the leaves in early spring; males slender and dense, 3–5 cm long, with yellow anthers; female catkins lax, elongating in fruit. Ovary shortly pedicellate, glabrous or slightly pubescent; stigmas bifid.

• Fruit: Capsule narrowly ovoid, splitting to release numerous small silky-haired seeds.

• Phenology: Flowers in March–April; fruits mature soon after flowering.

• Habitat & elevation: Wetlands, riverbanks, and spring-fed valleys on limestone or sandstone substrates, 600–1 800 m asl, often associated with Alnus orientalis.

• Lebanese distribution: Scattered populations from north to south Lebanon, including the Beqaa Valley and Mount Lebanon slopes; present near Barouk, Ain Dara, Ehden, and along tributaries of Nahr el-Jaouz and Nahr el-Kalb.

• Native range: Lebanon, Syria, southeastern Türkiye; possibly extending further in the northern Levant.

• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: The species’ status remains unresolved. Sometimes treated as Salix pedicellata Desf. or S. pedicellata subsp. libani (Bornm.) Rech. f. Morphologically distinct by its smaller leaves and shorter pedicels. Further genetic and morphological studies are needed to clarify its rank.

• Conservation notes: Formerly assessed as Near Threatened in Lebanon. Populations are small, fragmented, and threatened by water pollution, deforestation, and unsustainable wood harvesting. Effective protection of riparian zones and habitat restoration are priority actions.