least willow

least willow (uncountable)

1. Either of two species of willow:
   1. Salix herbacea, a tiny creeping shrub widely distributed in alpine and Arctic environments.
      • 1848, Cuthbert William Johnson, The Farmer's Encyclopædia‎, page 1142:

        The leaves of the least willow (S. herbacea), soaked in water, are employed in Iceland for tanning leather.

      • 2000, Geothermal Training in Iceland‎, page 95:

        The species that characterize the heathland are wooly willow (Salix lanata), broadleaved willow (Salix callicorpea) and least willow (Salix herbacea), especially wooly willow.

      • 2008, R. M. M. Crawford, Plants at the Margin: Ecological Limits and Climate Change‎, →ISBN, page 314:

        In terms of high-altitude survival, the least willow (S. herbacea) occurs at 2170 m in central Norway.

      Synonym: dwarf willow

   2. Salix rotundifolia, a densely matted shrub growing in tundral regions.
      • 1972, Agriculture Handbook‎, number 410, page 90:

        Closely related to least willow (Salix rotundifolia) but differs in having large, slightly hairy capsules, abundant skeletonized leaves, and 3-5 pairs of veins on leaves instead of 2-3 pairs in least willow.

      • 2010, Les Viereck, Alaska Trees and Shrubs‎, →ISBN, page 143:

        Least willow is found in alpine and arctic tundra in a variety of vegetation types from dry scree to cool, wet slopes.