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Crack willow

Salix fragilis · Salicaceae · all Salix records

Your local evidence lens

Separate evidence questions, never one approval badge

Set a ZIP to compare this record with state distribution, native range, USDA hardiness, and invasive records.

A genus split is not a placement verdict. Set a ZIP to read the local documented split.

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence: Fire-resistant — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions: No test or rating condition is normalized.
Fire ecology context: No section-reviewed fire-ecology context is normalized.
Placement evidence: 0 source placement records; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions: Global; Valencia, Spain / western Mediterranean
Maintenance: No sourced horticultural maintenance assertion is normalized; fire-test conditions do not supply maintenance advice.

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution: Documented in CO, CT, DC, DE, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, PA, RI, SD, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY.
Native range: No current cited or legacy state native range is normalized.
Introduced / established: No introduced or established row is normalized; that does not prove native status.
USDA hardiness: No hardiness value is normalized.

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Legal-list status: 1 legal-list record; set a location to match exact scope.
Seed-list status: Set a location to compare the separate state noxious-weed seed layer.
Reported invasive here: 1 ecological invasive report; set a location to distinguish exact from regional context.
Broader regional context: Aggregate AK, HI, and L48 evidence is shown only as regional context, never as an exact-state finding.
Federal context: Federal designations remain separate from state legal-list results.

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Crack willow (Salix fragilis) — Photo: (c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY) (CC BY), via iNaturalist. Species-typical, not necessarily this cultivar.

Form: tree
Grows in: CO, CT, DC, DE, IA, ID, IL, IN +27
Rated in: Global; Valencia, Spain / western Mediterranean
Family: Salicaceae
Evidence: 6 cited sources

Legal restrictions and listings.

OH · prohibited · Listed invasive plant — specified sale, propagation, distribution, import, and dissemination activities prohibited · Authority: Ohio Department of Agriculture. Source: Ohio OAC 901:5-30-01 Invasive Plant Species , record ohio:901-5-30-01:A:054, 2026-08-26.

activity restriction: No person may sell, offer for sale, propagate, distribute, import, or intentionally cause the dissemination of this listed invasive plant in Ohio. (official condition)
material scope exception: Cultivated plants grown as food or livestock feed in accordance with generally accepted agricultural practices, including plants authorized by USDA APHIS, are excluded from the ORC 901.50 definition of invasive plant species. (official condition)
operational exception: Disposal and control are allowed only in a manner that does not result in further spread. (official condition)
permit required: Research or educational use requires an Ohio Department of Agriculture compliance agreement and must not result in further spread. (official condition)

Legal designations are separate from ecological invasion reports and fire performance. Read the named class, taxonomic scope, authority, and operating conditions before acting.

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Listed without a rating (5)

FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

5 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
- “calorific value (kcal/kg): 1922.71” · score 1922.71 (FLAMITS — calorific value (kcal/kg))
  
  FLAMITS record 1119; Combustibility measurement; plant part wood; fuel live; predrying no; device calorimeter; site Cardoso2015-1; sampling summer. Primary study Cardoso2015: Cardoso, M. B., Ladio, A. H., Dutrus, S. M., & Lozada, M. (2015). Preference and calorific value of fuelwood species in rural populations in northwestern Patagonia. Biomass and Bioenergy, 81, 514-520.
- “ignition frequency (%): 100” · score 100 (FLAMITS — ignition frequency (%))
  
  FLAMITS record 1502; Ignitability measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Cui2020a-1; sampling ND. Primary study Cui2020a: Cui, X., Paterson, A. M., Wyse, S. V., Alam, M. A., Maurin, K. J. L., Pieper, R., ... Curran, T. J. (2020a). Shoot flammability of vascular plants is phylogenetically conserved and related to habitat fire-proneness and growth form. Nature Plants, 6, 355-359.
- “maximum sample temperature (°C): 347.1” · score 347.1 (FLAMITS — maximum sample temperature (°C))
  
  FLAMITS record 1696; Combustibility measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Cui2020a-1; sampling ND. Primary study Cui2020a: Cui, X., Paterson, A. M., Wyse, S. V., Alam, M. A., Maurin, K. J. L., Pieper, R., ... Curran, T. J. (2020a). Shoot flammability of vascular plants is phylogenetically conserved and related to habitat fire-proneness and growth form. Nature Plants, 6, 355-359.
- “burning duration (s): 16.3” · score 16.3 (FLAMITS — burning duration (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 1890; Sustainability measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Cui2020a-1; sampling ND. Primary study Cui2020a: Cui, X., Paterson, A. M., Wyse, S. V., Alam, M. A., Maurin, K. J. L., Pieper, R., ... Curran, T. J. (2020a). Shoot flammability of vascular plants is phylogenetically conserved and related to habitat fire-proneness and growth form. Nature Plants, 6, 355-359.
- “estimated burnt biomass (%): 55” · score 55 (FLAMITS — estimated burnt biomass (%))
  
  FLAMITS record 2084; Consumability measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Cui2020a-1; sampling ND. Primary study Cui2020a: Cui, X., Paterson, A. M., Wyse, S. V., Alam, M. A., Maurin, K. J. L., Pieper, R., ... Curran, T. J. (2020a). Shoot flammability of vascular plants is phylogenetically conserved and related to habitat fire-proneness and growth form. Nature Plants, 6, 355-359.

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: USDA PLANTS · GBIF · Wikidata · ITIS

Salix fragilis (Crack willow). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/salix-fragilis/. Last verified 2026-08-23.