Undergreen Willow

About Undergreen Willow in Alberta

Undergreen willow is a native Alberta willow, but it is best understood as a western and mountain species rather than as a broad lowland generalist. It occurs in alpine and subalpine slopes, open spruce woods, streamsides, gravel benches, glacial moraine, and wet fens, where its hairy non-glaucous leaves and cool open habitat help distinguish it from other western mountain willows. For Ancient Roots Alberta, it matters most in intact foothill, mountain, and upper-wetland landscapes where native shrub structure still reflects cold-site ecological continuity.

Identification: Leaves are narrowly oblong to broadly elliptic, often hairy on both sides, and the lower surfaces are not glaucous. Margins are entire or serrulate. The non-glaucous underside is one of the core distinguishing features and helps separate this species from some other gray or glaucous mountain willows.

Alberta range and habitat: Undergreen willow is native in Alberta and occurs mainly in natural western and mountain landscapes. It is not a routine willow of settled lowland Alberta.