Editing Willow (section)

===Leaves===
The [[leaves]] are typically elongated, but they might also be round to oval, frequently with serrated edges. Most species are [[deciduous]]; semi-[[evergreen]] willows with [[coriaceous]] leaves are rare, e.g. ''[[Salix micans]]'' and ''[[Salix australior|S. australior]]'' in the eastern [[Mediterranean]].

All the [[bud]]s are lateral; no absolutely terminal bud is ever formed. The buds are covered by a single scale. Usually, the bud scale is fused into a cap-like shape, but in some species it wraps around and the edges overlap.<ref>{{cite journal |jstor=25027618 |title=The Genus ''Salix'' (Salicaceae) in the Southeastern United States |author=George W. Argus |journal=[[Systematic Botany Monographs]]|volume=9|pages=1–170 |year=1986 |issn=0737-8211 |publisher=[[American Society of Plant Taxonomists]]|doi=10.2307/25027618 }}</ref>

The leaves are simple, feather-veined, and typically linear-lanceolate. Usually they are serrate, rounded at base, acute or acuminate. The leaf [[petiole (botany)|petioles]] are short, the [[stipule]]s often very conspicuous, resembling tiny, round leaves, and sometimes remaining for half the summer. On some species, however, they are small, inconspicuous, and caducous (soon falling).

In color, the leaves show a great variety of greens, ranging from yellowish to bluish color.

Willows are among the earliest woody plants to leaf out in spring and the last to drop their leaves in autumn. In the northern hemisphere, leafout may occur as early as February depending on the climate and is stimulated by air temperature. If daytime highs reach {{convert|10|C|F|round=5}} for a few consecutive days, a willow will attempt to put out leaves and flowers.

In the northern hemisphere, leaf drop in autumn occurs when day length shortens to approximately ten hours and 25 minutes, which varies by latitude (as early as the first week of October for boreal species such as ''S. alaxensis'' and as late as the third week of December for willows growing in far southern areas).