science

Salix cupularis

Salix cupularis is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Salix cupularis rather than just read about it. In short: Salix cupularis is a small shrub from the willow genus (Salix) with leaves 1.5 to 2.7 centimeters long. It is native to northwestern China.

Key takeaways

Salix cupularis belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Salix cupularis to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Salix cupularis from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Salix cupularis is a small shrub from the willow genus (Salix) with leaves 1.5 to 2.7 centimeters long. It is native to northwestern China.

Description Salix cupularis is a small shrub. The branches are initially reddish-brown or black-purple and later gray and have clearly developed nodes. The buds are brown-red, shiny, narrowly elongated, and about 4 millimeters long. The leaves have roundish stipules about 5 millimeters. The petiole is yellowish, and about a third to a half times as long as the leaf blade. The leaf blade is elliptical or obovate-elliptical, rarely rounded, 1.5 to 2.7 centimeters long and 1 to 1.5 centimeters wide, entire, with a rounded or broad wedge-shaped base and a more or less rounded and acuminate or long pointed end. The upper side of the leaf is dull green and bare, the underside greenish. Six to nine pairs of side veins are formed. The male inflorescences are catkins about 2 centimeters long. The peduncle is short and has three leaflets. The bracts are obovate, about half as long as the stamens, downy or hairless on the underside of the leaf towards the tip. They have a rounded tip. Male flowers have adaxially and abaxially narrowly ovate-petiolate nectar glands connected at the base. They have two stamens. The stamens are hairy at the base. Female catkins are elliptical to short cylindrical, about 1 centimeter long, and petiolate. The bracts are ovate to broadly ovate, 1.5 to 2 millimeters long and have a rounded tip. Female flowers have an adaxial and a somewhat smaller abaxial nectar gland. The adaxial gland is divided into two or three parts, the base of the gland is fused and thus resembles a disc. The ovary is long ovate, hairless, and short stalks. The stylus is about 1 millimeter long, the stigma has two columns. The capsule fruits are about 3 millimeters long when ripe. Salix cupularis flowers in June with the leaf shoots or a little later, the fruits ripen in July and August.

Range The natural range is in the northwest of the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and in Inner Mongolia. Salix cupularis grows on mountain slopes at elevations of 2500 to 4000 meters.

Taxonomy Salix cupularis is in the section Sclerophyllae of the willow family (Salicaceae). It was described scientifically for the first time in 1923 by Alfred Rehder in Arnoldia, the Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. No synonyms are known. The genus name Salix is the classical Latin name for various willow species. There are two varieties:

Salix cupularis var. cupularis: the tip of the leaf is more or less rounded and pointed, male catkins are about 1 centimeter long. The distribution area is in the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan on mountain slopes at elevations of 2500 to 4000 meters. Salix cupularis var. acutifolia S. Q. Zhou: The tip of the leaf is long, pointed, male catkins are up to 2 centimeters long. The distribution area is in Inner Mongolia in the Helen Mountains at an elevation of about 3200 meters.

Literature Wu Zheng-yi, Peter H. Raven (Ed.): Flora of China. Volume 4: Cycadaceae through Fagaceae. Science Press / Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing / St. Louis 1999, ISBN 0-915279-70-3, pp. 218, 220, 221 (English). Helmut Genaust: Etymological dictionary of botanical plant names. 3rd, completely revised and expanded edition. Nikol, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-937872-16-7, p. 552 (reprint from 1996).

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Salix cupularis

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Salix cupularis claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Salix cupularis before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Salix cupularis ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Salix cupularis

In research: Salix cupularis appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Salix cupularis in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Salix cupularis is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Endemic flora of China, Flora of Inner Mongolia, Flora of North-Central China, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Salix cupularis outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Salix cupularis in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Salix cupularis means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Salix cupularis out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Salix cupularis in simple terms?

Salix cupularis is a small shrub from the willow genus (Salix) with leaves 1.5 to 2.7 centimeters long. It is native to northwestern China.

Why does Salix cupularis matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Salix cupularis?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Salix cupularis.