MacKenzie's Willow

About MacKenzie's Willow in Alberta

MacKenzie's willow is a native Alberta riparian willow best treated here as Salix prolixa, with older literature sometimes placing it under Salix mackenzieana and related names. In Alberta it belongs mainly to moist lowland and river-edge settings such as streambanks, lake margins, wet meadows, fresh alluvium, and gravel bars, and it appears more important in wild watershed landscapes than in ornamental planting. For Ancient Roots Alberta, its value is chiefly tied to native riparian continuity, mature floodplain structure, and persistent willow communities in boreal and foothill watersheds.

Identification: Leaves are narrowly oblong, narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, or obovate, with lower surfaces glaucous and upper surfaces dull rather than brightly glossy. Bases may be cordate, subcordate, rounded, or convex. The contrast between the pale glaucous underside and the less reflective upper surface is one of the more practical field clues.

Alberta range and habitat: MacKenzie's willow is native in Alberta and should be treated primarily as a wild riparian and moist-site species. It fits Alberta's native river-edge and wet lowland landscapes more than dry uplands or ornamental urban settings.