Meanings
- Either of two species of willow:
- uncountableSalix herbacea, a tiny creeping shrub widely distributed in alpine and Arctic environments.
In terms of high-altitude survival, the least willow (S. herbacea) occurs at 2170 m in central Norway.
2008, R. M. M. Crawford, Plants at the Margin: Ecological Limits and Climate Change, →ISBN, page 3142 more examples
The leaves of the least willow (S. herbacea), soaked in water, are employed in Iceland for tanning leather.
1848, Cuthbert William Johnson, The Farmer's Encyclopædia, page 1142The species that characterize the heathland are wooly willow (Salix lanata), broadleaved willow (Salix callicorpea) and least willow (Salix herbacea), especially wooly willow.
2000, Geothermal Training in Iceland, page 95Synonyms: dwarf willow
- uncountableSalix rotundifolia, a densely matted shrub growing in tundral regions.
Least willow is found in alpine and arctic tundra in a variety of vegetation types from dry scree to cool, wet slopes.
2010, Les Viereck, Alaska Trees and Shrubs, →ISBN, page 1431 more example
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.
1972, Agriculture Handbook, number 410, page 90
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSalix herbacea, a tiny creeping shrub widely distributed in alpine and Arctic environments.
Translations
Icelandic grasvíðir
- grasvíðirSalix herbacea
Cite this entry
least willow. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/least%20willow
“least willow.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/least%20willow. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “least willow,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/least%20willow.
Source: least willow on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.