Salix squarrosa C. K. Schneider; S. subpycnostachya Burkill.

Shrubs. Branchlets dull purplish red or grayish black, glabrous, shiny. Buds oblong-lanceolate. Petiole short; leaf blade obovate-oblong or oblanceolate, rarely obovate-elliptic, 3-6 × 1-2 cm, glabrous, abaxially greenish, base subrounded to cuneate, margin serrulate, apex acute; midvein raised abaxially. Flowering precocious. Catkins sessile, 2-3 × 1-1.3 cm; bracts black or brownish yellow proximally, elliptic or ovate, villous, often glabrescent distally, apex shortly acuminate or acute. Flower buds ovoid. Male flower: adaxial gland russet; stamens 2, connate throughout or only filaments united, glabrous or pilose at base. Female flower: ovary ovoid, densely pubescent; style ca. 1/2 as long as ovary. Fl. Apr, fr. Jun. 2n = 76.

Mountain slopes, streamsides; 2700-4800 m. SE Gansu, Qinghai, W Sichuan, Xizang, NW Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim]