Autumn Willow

About Autumn Willow in Alberta

Autumn willow is a native Alberta wetland shrub with especially strong relevance to fens, bog edges, wet thickets, and other peat- or marl-influenced lowland habitats. It is a glossy-leaved shrub rather than a tree-like riparian willow, and it stands out ecologically because fruiting catkins can persist late into the season and even through winter, with seeds overwintering before germinating in spring. For Ancient Roots Alberta, it matters mainly as an indicator of intact wetland hydrology and fen-savvy native shrub structure rather than as a size-driven heritage specimen.

Identification: Leaves are narrowly oblong to narrowly ovate or lanceolate, with highly glossy upper surfaces and lower surfaces that are usually not glaucous or only thinly so. Petioles carry pairs of spherical glands distally or throughout. Juvenile leaves are glabrous and reddish or yellowish green.

Alberta range and habitat: Autumn willow is native in Alberta and is best treated as a strongly wetland-centered species rather than a general alluvial or urban willow. It belongs especially to fens, wet thickets, bogs, marly lakeshores, and related high-moisture landscapes.