Diamondleaf / Flat-Leaved Willow

About Diamondleaf / Flat-Leaved Willow in Alberta

Diamondleaf or flat-leaved willow is a native Alberta moist-site willow with broad relevance across Boreal, Aspen Parkland, and Foothills natural regions. It can function as a low to medium shrub of wet meadows, riparian corridors, low wet shrublands, and other cool moist habitats, and in some settings it becomes an important structural shrub rather than a scattered minor species. For Ancient Roots Alberta, it matters mainly through intact native moist landscapes and willow-dominated shrub communities rather than through exceptional specimen size.

Identification: Leaves are relatively broad, flat, and often diamond- or elliptic-shaped, which underlies the common names diamondleaf and flat-leaved willow. They are broader than the leaves of narrow alluvial willows and fit cool moist upland-wetland habitats well.

Alberta range and habitat: Diamondleaf or flat-leaved willow is native in Alberta and occurs in a range of moist to wet natural habitats rather than in dry ornamental landscapes. It is an ecologically important shrub across several Alberta regions.