Farr's Willow

About Farr's Willow in Alberta

Farr's willow is a native Alberta mountain willow of streambanks, wet montane to subalpine meadows, seepy ground, and other upper-elevation shrub wetland settings. It is usually a smaller mountain willow rather than a tall coarse river-bottom species, and it is more relevant to field botany, mountain ecology, and upper-wetland interpretation than to urban planting. For Ancient Roots Alberta, it matters where intact mountain hydrology still supports mature native willow communities, especially in wet meadow, seepage, and stream-edge systems that remain structurally rich and ecologically continuous.

Identification: Leaves are mostly narrowly elliptic to elliptic, with margins usually entire. Compared with some related mountain willows, the leaves tend to read as narrower and cleaner-edged rather than obviously toothed.

Alberta range and habitat: Farr's willow is best treated as a native foothill-to-subalpine willow of western Alberta mountain settings rather than as a prairie lowland willow. Practical habitats include streambanks, wet meadows, montane to subalpine seepy ground, and upper-elevation shrub wetlands.