Salix matsudana
Dragon's Claw Willow
Salicaceae
ExpandHabitat
- native to China
- zone 5, warmer parts of 4
Habit and Form
- medium sized deciduous tree
- rounded shape
- 40' to 50' tall
- with similar width
- fine texture
- fast growth rate
Summer Foliage
- alternate leaf arrangement
- lanceolate, simple leaves
- serrated leaf margins
- bright green leaf color
- smooth leaf top, glabrous leaf bottom
Autumn Foliage
- yellow-green
- not ornamentally important
Flowers
- male flowers showy
Fruit
- not ornamentally important
Bark
- stems are yellowish in youth
- stems mature into on olive-green or brown
- glabrous
Culture
- fast growing
- easily transplanted form containers are B&B
- prefers moist soil
- prefers to grow along water sources
- full sun
- pH adaptable
- short lived
- salt tolerant
Landscape Use
- good tree for wet sites
- for unusually branching effect
- for medium texture
- for flowers
- for salt tolerance
Liabilities
- numerous insect and disease problems
- suckers
- short-lived
ID Features
- olive-green branches
- alternate leaf arrangement
- serrated leaf margins
- generally found on wet sites
- flowers bottle-brush like
Propagation
- by cuttings
- by seed
Cultivars/Varieties
'Golden Curls' - This hybrid plant is more shrubby than 'Tortuosa', with distinctive yellowish stems that are contorted and twisted. It often is shrubby in habit, though it may form a small tree with semi-pendulous branches. The leaves are also curled on this plant.
'Navajo' (probably the same as 'Umbraculifera') - This plant forms a medium-sized tree with a broad, rounded crown. It can grow to 40' tall and wide.
'Pendula' - This tree has weeping branches and bright green young stems.
'Snake' - Marketed as an improved form of 'Tortuosa', this plant is said to possess greater branch contortions and disease resistance. The two plants appear difficult to distinguish, however.
'Tortuosa' - Known as the "Dragon's Claw Willow", this is a rather popular tree that possesses strongly twisted and coiled branches. It can form a rounded-irregular tree 30' tall, and the young stems are yellowish. Among the plants grown for contorted growth, this is perhaps the most vigorous.